National Breastfeeding Week – just another excuse for cake?

Is there anything that doesn't have its own occasion these days? Daffodil Day, Arthur's Day, Heritage Week, Book Week, Culture Night even Fish 'n' Chip day. Some of these are awareness raising, some are nothing more than marketing ploys. They seem to work in that the public masses go out of their way to focus on what they're supposed to at the designated time. Overall, having a day/night/week to celebrate your product or charity is good for business.

In 2005 I had my first child. I sometimes attended a breastfeeding support group with him run by my local public health nurse. Even though I had no breastfeeding difficulties, it was nice to meet other women around my own age, also flailing around trying to come to terms with who they were now; trying to accept that their new lives revolved around these whole other tiny people now permanently attached to their breasts, each generating more laundry than a busy hotel and every stranger on the street seemed determined to share their strong, knowing but vastly differing opinions on how the child should be treated. The group usually consisted of a bit of friendly chat, comparison of developmental milestones, discussions on where to get the best nursing bras and a teabag in a mug. If we were lucky we got a biscuit. My public health nurse was of the 'watch the baby not the scales' persuasion so although she would weigh a baby at a mother's request, it wasn't often part of the morning. The first week in October I turned up to find nice sandwiches, proper coffee and cake all laid on for us by the HSE to celebrate National Breastfeeding Week. What is the point of having a week, I wondered briefly, surely you either breastfeed or you don't? There was some talk of the launch of the Breastfeeding in Ireland 5 Year Strategic Action Plan to increase rates of breastfeeding in Ireland. I shrugged, shifted my baby to my other hip and helped myself to a chocolate eclair.

I moved house soon after that and spent a great deal of time in my new area trekking along to various coffee mornings, parent and toddler groups and nursing toddler mornings. I knew no one in the area and figured it was important to make friends, if not just for me, for my son. Some of these I liked more than others. In some, where my older baby was the only one still breastfed, the only one who had never slept anywhere but my bed and the only one who wouldn't let a puréed vegetable pass his lips, I felt pressured and judged. I frequented the nursing toddler mornings more often than the others. I was far more comfortable there.

In 2007 I had my second son and the women in my local La Leche League group were fabulous in supporting me through the ups and downs of breastfeeding through pregnancy and tandem nursing beyond. Something I hadn't even considered possible before. When he was three weeks old we attended the launch of National Breastfeeding Week 2007 back in the Rotunda where he was born.

By then I saw the point of it. This year the focus of the week was Your Network of Support, something I now realised was incredibly important even for those who breastfed with no physical difficulty. It's hard to stand up for yourself against the grain of what is seen as normal in this country. Even when what you are doing intuitively feels right, mothering your first child is always filled with questions and doubts. Having people to talk to who don't give 'advice' who just listen and act as a sounding board, gave me options and suggestions and left the decision making up to me was empowering and helped me become more confident in my mothering. It's also great to have someone to call if there is pain or other complications. Someone who will offer a breastfeeding solution to a breastfeeding problem because there very often is one. Whatever support group suits you best, they really are a great asset because unfortunately in our society, being home alone with a baby or toddler is a very lonely place to be.

This year, National Breastfeeding Week runs from 1^st- 7^th October. The theme is 'Breastfeeding Friendly' with a focus on supporting breastfeeding families and encouraging greater acceptance of this important and natural process. Many events, talks and coffee mornings are happening around the country. Most of these are organised by voluntary breastfeeding support groups such as Friends of Breastfeeding, La Leche League and Ciudiú. Some of them are available here http://www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie/NBW2011.html but keep an eye out locally too.

I'll be at some of them handing out the coffee, cake and leaflets because as far as I'm concerned, if only one new mother finds herself a name, phone number or group to reach out to when she doubts her own mothering skills, someone who will reassure her and not undermine her; or if one pregnant woman decides to come along to see what its all about and meets someone supportive, the whole week will have been a success. I am also looking forward to the cake.

Some useful breastfeeding support sites:

http://www.breastfeeding.ie/

http://www.lalecheleagueireland.com/

http://www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie/

This piece was written for http://www.theantiroom.com