It’s Ok to Not Be Able to Feed Your Baby!

By Ujwala Abhiram | Updated: 16/12/2021

Hello, new mums!

I’m the mother of a two-and-a-half-month-old son. I started producing surplus milk shortly after giving delivery, which I had to pump every 2 hours. Seeing it, all of my concerns about whether or not I would be able to feed my baby vanished. However, there is a catch! After a month, my milk supply began to dwindle, so I went to my family doctor, who sent me to a lactation consultant, and I began taking a tablet twice a day to increase my supply.

Apart from that, I’ve been following specific age-old recipes for a good milk supply since the time of birth. The tablets did not work for me, so I began taking granules that should be mixed with milk and eaten twice daily. Finally, none of these ways worked for me, and as a result of using them all, my body became overly heated, resulting in blisters. My doctor then affirmed that a mother’s natural propensity to make less milk can occur in some situations, and that it’s fine to accept this and go forward.

Now, the mother in me could not accept this tendency, so I continued to take all of my medications in order to feed my baby milk. I began to believe that I had failed as a mother because I couldn’t feed my child. Just a few days ago, I realised that being a true mother means being able to comprehend my baby’s requirements and feeding him according to those needs, even if it means making your child have formula milk.

The point to make here is that when I tried to force my infant to consume solely my feed, he began to lose weight. He’s now a healthy infant with the appropriate height and weight. Mothers who are unable to feed their children directly, please don’t be worried. Certain things are beyond our control, and the most essential thing for us is to stay healthy and be capable to care for our child at all times. The most crucial thing to consider is overall development and wellbeing of your baby. I’m not pushing anyone to switch to formula feeding, but if you have to, here’s how to get started. It’s perfectly acceptable if it’s appropriate for your child!

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