Debunking Myths with Up-to-Date Information

Myth: Breastfeeding is easy and babies naturally know how to breastfeed.

Fact: Breastfeeding is natural but that doesn’t mean it is easy. Breastfeeding is instinctual——Your baby is born with reflexes that can help with breastfeeding, like a sucking reflex and rooting reflex——but breastfeeding is a learning process for both mom and baby.

Breastfeeding is just like walking, the most natural thing in the world…once you get the hang of it.  Have you ever see how many times a toddler falls down when learning to walk?  How many times they hold onto things for support? Then they take their first wobbly steps and eventually get a little less wobbly. Then they walk. Then they RUN. That’s breastfeeding.

Myth: When baby cries, it always means baby is hungry.

Fact: A crying fussy baby does not always mean baby is hungry.

⁃ Find other ways to comfort baby after feeding if baby still fussy and refusing the breast. (Rock baby, change of scenery, baby wear, music etc.

⁃ Baby will NOT overeat at the breast but they will on a bottle.

⁃ Cluster feeding doesn’t mean baby isn’t getting enough

Myth: It is normal for Breastfeeding to hurt.

Fact: Breastfeeding should NEVER ever hurt. Pain while nursing, pinching, dry, cracked or bleeding nipples is a sign of a lip and/or tongue tie. Meet with an LC and get baby evaluated and revised if necessary.

Myth: Breastfeeding to sleep will form a bad habit.

Fact: Breastfeeding baby to sleep is NOT a bad habit, despite what you may have been told. Baby wanting to nurse to sleep is NORMAL. I promise you, it won’t last forever. Your child will eventually fall asleep without breastfeeding when they are developmentally, physically and emotionally ready (or when you decide you are both ready to stop nursing to sleep).

Myth: You can’t drink alcohol while breastfeeding. Pumping and dumping is necessary.

Fact: Generally, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed reaches your blood and milk.

Myth: Breastmilk is no longer beneficial after the a certain point.

Fact: The benefits of breastmilk continue and are more actually more significant and longer-lasting for both you and your child the longer breastfeeding continues.

Myth: Baby’s bowel movements are green and frothy. This is the result of “hindmilk-foremilk imbalance”.

Fact: Green, frothy bowel movements can occur and are often the result of an overactive letdown from mama or milk going through baby too fast…both are related to lip or tongue ties. This is NOT the result of “hind milk-foremilk imbalance.” Our breasts do not make two kinds of milk. Baby and your body know how to control the flow of milk and baby will stop nursing when they have had their fill. There is no need to think there is an imbalance between milk fat content. This is huge myth!

Myth: Certain and foods, herbs and supplements can help increase supply.

Fact: THERE IS NO MAGIC TEA, PILL, DRINK, COOKIE, or SUPPLEMENT that will boost supply…it is just not how our bodies were designed. How did we survive as a species? Many of these products that claim to boost supply, can actually do more harm than good. (See food and supplements).

Myth: A breastfeeding mother should space her feedings so that her breasts will have time to refill.

Fact: The emptier the breast, the faster the body makes milk to replace it; the fuller the breast, the more production of milk slows down. If a mother consistently waits until her breasts “fill up” before she nurses, her body may get the message that is making too much and may reduce total production.

Myth: I was told my baby’s tie is minor and that revision is not needed.

Fact: There is no such thing as a minor tie! All ties cause issues!