Support network helped us to breastfeed, say mums

Two mums who struggled to breastfed their babies have said they would have struggled without the help of a peer support group.

Manpreet Pinder, who has since trained as a volunteer breastfeeding peer supporter, and her sister, Sukhneet, said without the group they would not have learned how to breastfeed.

Ms Pinder, who had her son in 2020, said she found it difficult to breastfeed at first. "Though I loved him from the moment he came into this world, it was really tough," she said.

Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Support Network has drop-ins, with a qualified breastfeeding counsellor and peer supporters, in Dursley, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Churchdown, Cirencester and Stroud.

Ms Pinder said of her breastfeeding experience: "It was so painful, I couldn't get him on. I don't have words to describe the pain, it was so bad."

"Before I had a baby, I thought: you need clothes, you need nappies. But I never thought about how you feed your baby," she added.

"The most difficult part of breastfeeding is at night. Naturally, babies will feed quite a lot at night.

"That behaviour of a baby, the fussiness and wanting to latch on all the time, that's a recipe for a horrible time."

Ms Pinder's sister Sukhneet said that until she had her own child, she did not realise the extent of what her sister had gone through.

"It felt like my son was never full, it felt like he was always hungry. I didn't realise there was a skill to breastfeeding," she said.

"I spent so much time during my pregnancy focusing on the birth. I never once thought of the breastfeeding side of things. I just wanted to breastfeed because it's a really good bonding thing."

On the NHS website, it says: "In the first week, your baby may want to feed very often. It could be every hour in the first few days.

"As a very rough guide, your baby should feed at least 8 to 12 times, or more, every 24 hours during the first few weeks.

"It's fine to feed your baby whenever they are hungry, when your breasts feel full or if you just want to have a cuddle."