Challenges

I was talking to a friend yesterday who is a maternity nurse, working with new moms on the postpartum unit of a local hospital. She was telling me about her experiences helping moms feed their babies. She told me about a patient who didn’t want to breastfeed because of some emotional discomfort she felt about using her breasts to feed her baby. It turns out that this woman had conflicting feelings because of modesty issues. The idea of breastfeeding for her was completely out of the question, as she was uncomfortable looking at her own breasts.

I’ve certainly encountered women with similar feelings in the past and have learned to ask a lot of questions before assuming I know the right way to help her overcome this issue. Most of the time, simply providing information about the benefits of breastfeeding is ineffective in these circumstances. I’ve found that validation and reassurance work to help her feel as comfortable and supported as possible works best.

As health care providers, we are comfortable in this setting, and yet, we have to remember that our patients may not be as comfortable talking about their bodies, having us look at them, touch them, and work with them. Respecting each woman’s comfort level with her body is crucial to helping her have the feeding experience that she wants. I wonder about other moms out there who have had similar issues with modesty, if they overcame those feelings and how it worked for them. I hope you’ll use the forum to share your story.