10 Potential Challenges Faced by Breastfeeding Mums:

1. Pain from Breasts Engorgement. Come along with me and imagine  what this feels like. Think of having heavy bricks sitting on top of your chest. How does that make you feel? Now imagine your chest being so sensitive to touch that merely touching it to put on a shirt hurts. Ouch! Exactly!  That’s what it feels like when breasts are engorged with milk.  The breast is heavy, hard, and very sensitive to touch. This engorgement can hurt so badly that putting on clothes can really become a task.  So if a breastfeeding mum is  nursing a baby while feeling like this, can you imagine the excitement! If a breastfeeding mum has to pump which applies suction to the already sore nipples and pressure on the breast, how much fun is she having? Yep, a painful experience that is experienced by breastfeeding mothers and a challenge to endure through. Yet Breastfeeding mums do because They ARE Rock Stars!
2. Sore and Cracked Nipples. One of the first signs that the milk is coming in is the tenderness of the nipples.  This is a symptom that some ladies experience during their monthly menstruation cycles, however, the pain is magnified. Not only is the pain magnified, but a hungry child, often trying to figure out how to extract the food is aggressively sucking on it or a breast pump is tugging on it. This can lead to the nipples cracking, and bleeding, and in extreme cases becoming infected. Mums often have to apply nipple cream or breast milk to help soothe the pain. However, the symptoms can become so severe that some mums have to stop nursing/pumping to heal their bodies and give it time recover. All in all, the soreness, the cracking and scabbing are part of  the process but the body eventually adjusts overtime. But what a challenging experience to press on through, especially considering how often babies eat, not even mentioning the effects compounded during cluster feeding sessions. Yet, breastfeeding mums literally suffer through the pain in order to get to the other side when the body becomes accustomed to it. Another reminder that mums rock!  
3. Painful Contractions During Breastfeeding. What they don’t tell mums  when they talk about breastfeeding is that it will cause painful contractions. Yes, it is true. After giving birth and enduring the contractions that eventually results in the birth of a child, the fun continues during the breastfeeding sessions. This happens because breastfeeding causes the release of the hormone oxytocin, the same hormone released by the body during labor and delivery. So even after giving birth, and while still in recovery, breastfeeding causes the uterus to contract and yes, it is a painful contraction as the uterus is in the phase of returning to its pre-baby size, bringing on the pain AGAIN, and the bad memories of labor and delivery.  Yes, yes, yes, definitely a challenge to fight through. However,  while working through the negative side effects,  oxytocin helps mum’s uterus return to its pre-baby size, and helps to reduce mum’s chances of postpartum hemorrhaging. Oxytocin is also linked to decreased stress, blood pressure and anxiety for mum.  So, as you can see, this shows the strong willpower of breastfeeding mums. Go Mums!
4. Troubles with the Baby Latching onto the Nipple. Latching can be a huge part of the breastfeeding journey.  Some infants do not know how to properly latch or suck to extract the milk. This can lead to both mum and baby being frustrated and to baby crying all the time during attempted feeding sessions. As you can imagine, it could result in a very challenging and stressful situation.  However, mums often seek help from a lactation professional as they power through this challenging phase.
5. The Lack of Desire to Breastfeed from the Baby. From the outside looking in,  the breastfeeding process seems easy and like it’s intuitive for both mum and baby. But, it is definitely not always the case. Some babies come out and they lack the desire and energy to drink milk or latch to their mums. Even when assisted, they struggle to stay awake long enough to eat and thus may not gain the proper amount of weight. Also, some babies may lose the desire to drink milk directly from mum’s breast if  fed from a bottle initially.  Not that anything is wrong with bottle feedings, however, some babies become accustomed to it and refuse/reject and lose interest in mum’s nipple. Not only can this be discouraging but it can be demoralizing to mums who looked forward to their breastfeeding journey. To fight through this challenge,  mums seek professional help from lactation professionals and may  have to incorporate tools such as nipple shields in order to continue their journey. 
6. Mastitis or Inflammation of the Breast.  Mastitis is a challenging issue that some mums have to suffer through. It is associated with breast pain, redness, fever, and swelling and is linked to blocked milk ducts and or infection. Fortunately, it is  treatable and mums can overcome this challenge by contacting their health care providers for medication or other forms of treatment. In addition, self-care is among the top treatment as you can imagine, meaning mums may have to take a break from breastfeeding to allow their bodies time to recover.  
7. Medications/Treatments. Mums sometimes have other conditions that require the use of certain medications/treatments that may not be approved for them to take while breastfeeding. Without any other alternatives, mums may have to stop their breastfeeding journeys while some may not even be able to begin their journeys at all.  Fortunately, mums in these situations can use resources including the use of donor milk to continue their breastfeeding journeys. 
8. Allergic Reactions.  Allergies can be another challenge as mums could eat foods that may result in an allergic response in the baby.  To combat this challenge, breastfeeding mums often have to monitor their diets closely and eliminate/reintroduce the items one by one in order to figure out the source of the problem. This requires a lot of attention to detail, patience and perseverance. Again, Mums are Awesome!
9. Exhaustion. In the early weeks after birth, newborns function on a 24 hr clock. That means that mums also have to function on a 24 hr clock. Typically, babies will feed every 2-3 hrs which for breastfeeding mums means that they are on call every 2-3 hours either pumping milk for baby, feeding the baby directly from the breast or doing both, (feeding the baby and then pumping the milk from the breast). After each session, mums usually still have to take additional time to store the pumped milk and wash all the pump parts and get them ready for the next session. In between all this, mums also  have to make sure that they are eating enough calories and drinking enough water. Needless to say, it is a lot and can be very, very, exhausting. Also, let’s not forget that mums are expected to do this while their bodies are still in recovery/healing mode. This means, some of this is done while mum is in pain. It is also done, while mum is trying to figure out all the changes that are going on with her body, and taking care of her lady parts from vaginal birth or her c-section cut. Again…..it is a lot and can be way more than some women are able to handle without the proper help and support.
10. A support system. Having a good support system is so important especially in motherhood when things can take so many twists and turns.  Having someone to call and ask questions or someone who can prepare you ahead of time, with stories and advice and someone who can help you work through issues as they arise is an absolute must have. For new mums still experiencing everything that comes with #9 while recovering and breastfeeding it can be a night and day difference. Mums definitely need a good support system and help in so many forms. Without it, it can be very challenging and can negatively impact their breastfeeding journeys.