Why Breastfeeding Grief and Trauma Matter

You did not fail.

No woman 'fails' to breastfeed.

They are failed by a system that fails to support them, both during breastfeeding and when they cannot.

And that is what we are going to change.

A startlingly large number of women who want to breastfeed have to stop before they are ready, leaving them feeling a range of negative emotions, including grief, anger, guilt, shame and frustration, and often blaming themselves. But in a society that places little value on breastfeeding and mothers' feelings, their painful stories are often swept under the carpet to the detriment of women's mental health and experience of new motherhood.

Professor Amy Brown has researched what breastfeeding really means to women, how they can feel when things don't go according to plan and importantly, how we can change things for the next generation of women. Her findings make fascinating reading for anyone with personal experience of breastfeeding difficulties, those who support mothers to make infant feeding decisions that are right for them, or those who simply want to be part of changing the conversation.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Helped me understand the emotions my wife was going through during her breastfeeding journey' - 5 Star Review on Amazon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'There are very few books that address the mental health and emotional turmoil that can come with a challenging breastfeeding experience. Professor Brown demonstrates clearly that there is clearly a problem that traditional breastfeeding prep is lacking. Preparing mothers for the common feelings of overwhelm and negative thoughts in postpartum must be addressed before we can turn this ship around - relaxation skills aren't enough and are insulting to the women who are experiencing so much psychological distress in early postpartum.' - 5 Star Review on Amazon

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