Is it true that 75% of women in the US do not breastfeed at all? I read that 80% of women attempt to breastfeed in the hospital, and that only 20% of women are exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. (However, from what I understand, if you give you baby even one bottle of formula, you are not considered to be “exclusively” breastfeeding, so I would imagine a higher percentage than 20% are breastfeeding at least part of the time at 6 months.) Maybe my info is wrong. It is certainly difficult to get accurate information on these types of things.

Noted and corrected, Black Sheep. Thanks much! (Sorry for the confusion Laure68). — Madeline

Making formula feeding more difficult be reducing the amount of free formula is not an appropriate way to increase breastfeeding. If breastfeeding all it’s cracked up to be, let it compete on an even playing field based on what is actually known about its supposed advantages. Besides, formula is not free for long, while breastmilk is.

The hospital’s supply of formula was a godsend for us when my wife, who was breastfeeding, had emergency surgery 2 weeks after giving birth and the painkillers made her milk undrinkable for several days.

The two biggest breakthroughs for me were realizing that when they said it shouldn’t hurt at all, they didn’t really mean it. They meant that it might hurt a little for the first day or to, but it shouldn’t hurt a lot and it should get better. The second was to realize that I should block out what the nurses were telling me. The advice I got was all over the place, and was often conflicting. I even had nurses yell at me when I did things that other nurses had suggested. I finally just decided to trust my son and my body, and things got much, much better after that.

Ken, I’m glad the small supply of free formula was helpful for your wife & baby but the truth is that most women aren’t having emergency surgery 2 weeks postpartum. And free formula lasts long enough for a breastmilk supply to be diminished or a baby’s latch to become confused. Then there’s no more free formula and if there is any breastmilk, then there are significant barriers to successfully breastfeeding again due to baby’s confusion and lack of ability to latch. The reason formula companies give out free samples is the same reason drug dealers do, so they can hook their customers and keep them shopping for their product. It isn’t that hard to get emergency formula if you need it.

It really hurt like hell (for me) for the first two weeks. They kept telling me my daughter’s latch was wrong, or there was something wrong with her tongue, or everything was wrong, etc. After two weeks, we turned a corner and it all got better. It didn’t hurt, and I went on to nurse for almost two years. But those first two weeks were beyond brutal. My nipples were cracked and all f*cked up, and emotionally I wasn’t in the best of shape either. Now that I’m pregnant again, I’m wondering if it will be like this with the next baby.

I had an amazing lactation consultant who gave me very simple positioning guidance and a nipple sheild in the hospital and told me – “don’t go home and google ‘nipple sheilds’, you’ll freak yourself out – we’ll phase it out when you’re ready.” Having that little crutch was enough to get me over some of the initial pain and discomfort and I gave up the nipple sheild when I was ready, a couple of days later. Having a supportive family was absolutely essential. I couldn’t have gotten this far (10.5 months and going) without them.