When I first worked in the villages, I noticed that many mothers didn’t start breastfeeding until after the milk came in. Surprisingly enough somehow a lot of moms in the countryside still succeed to breastfeed their baby, but not always. The good thing is that all mothers I meet want to breastfeed their baby (China really could have the best breastfeeding rates world-wide). On the other hand, I still have to meet the first mother who doesn’t start with bottle-feeding, simply because one believes that the new mom doesn’t have milk in those first days after birth. And no one would want to starve their newborn, right? A mom might attempt to put the baby to the breast before her milk comes in, but most moms will initially primarily bottle-feed their newborn… Except for a handful of mothers who not only attended my lessons, but also applied principles learned:
I remember that I was introduced to a newly delivered mother at the hospital. She told me that breastfeeding was going well and that she really didn’t need much help. I asked her if she was still using formula. “No, I haven’t used formula at all.” “Not at all, not even once?” was my surprised response. “Yes”, she said, “I attended your classes and learned that I didn’t need to bottle-feed”. I was so thrilled to hear that! Unfortunately, this is an exception to the rule.