South Australian comedian Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann has spoken about his wife’s struggle with breastfeeding their baby.
He was talking to co-host Jo Stanley on their Gold 104.3 radio show about the “pressure put on new mums when it comes to breastfeeding over bottle feeding”.
“It’s everywhere. All the literature you read, the stuff issued by the government, it all says ‘breastfeed, breastfeed, breastfeed and here are the benefits of breastfeeding’,” Lehmann said. “But what that ignores is the pressure it puts on mothers who are unable to produce the milk and how that makes these mothers feel.”
He said his wife, television producer Kelly Kearney, tried breastfeeding and wasn’t sure it was working until their newborn son Laddie started losing weight.
"Kel tried for days and days and days and wasn't sure if it's working - because you don't know, you've never done it before. After four days, we weighed our son and he'd lost a third of his body weight," Lehmann said.
"And then Kel tried a pump and no milk was coming out so we hadn't fed him for four days. How do you think my wife felt? She's thinking: 'I'm starving my baby'."
Lehmann and Kearney have a son called Laddie Buster Lehmann who was born in July, 2016.
Their experience showed Lehmann how damaging the expectation around breastfeeding can be for new mums, and the babies involved.
He said feeding babies, no matter how it's done, should be the most important thing.
"Just feed your baby - that should be the number one guideline over and above everything else. Feed your baby," he said.
LISTEN: Lehmo talks about his wife's struggle with breast feeding. Post continues below.
His co-host Stanley, who is a mother of one, agreed. She said it's time we stopped judging women for the choices they've made, because breastfeeding can be difficult for many women for a number of different reasons.
"It may be because the baby isn't latching on and not able to feed," she said. "It may be because you're in a great deal of pain and you're not able to feed yourself or the milk isn't being produced. There're lots of different reasons."
Stanley said she wasn't breastfed as a baby and she has not experienced any of the issues - such as allergies or diabetes - that the literature often reference.
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The pair also referenced the story on Tuesaday night's episode of The Project, where one mother, Madeleine Morris, said she "was never embarrassed breastfeeding in public. I was embarrassed pulling out a bottle because of the judgement that goes along with it."
It's pressure that is heartbreaking and unnecessary and, most of all, dangerous.
Top Comments
This is such a disappointing take on Breastfeeding. Not only does it lack insight and factual evidence, but it completely missed the bigger problem. Breastmilk is undoubtedly the healthiest form of nutrition for a newborn. The vast majority of women can produce enough milk to provide for their babies. The usual reason why women stop breastfeeding or give up either by choice or for issues such as wieght loss is perceived lack of supply. When if all women were given the support and education needed surrounding Breastfeeding Australia's Breastfeeding rates would not be so dismally low. All babies are mean't to lose weight in the first 5 day's of life up to 10%. Also all baby's stomach's are about the size of a marble for the first 72 hours of life, so the volume they need is minimal. Yes there are women who have real issue's and who can't breastfeed for medical reasons. But in all my years of practice as a Midwife and now a lactation consultant never have I seen a baby in the first 4 days of life loose 30% percent of its birth weight. The government does need to step up and put alot more funding into Breastfeeding support and education for Women, health professionals and the wider community. But women and their families also need to take ownership of their choices and seek informed education. Simply not saying they stopped as they couldn't make enough, more so because they had no support and/or a misconception of normal newborn behaviour.
The same thing happened to me the hospital I was at had a "baby friendly rating" therefore they couldn't offer formula at the hospital I had no milk was in intensive care for a week and the ward 4 days myself my baby was losing weight they sent us home at 5 pm at night my mum bought formula so we could co feed at home but I still didn't produce milk after 3 weeks of pumping and was getting so sleep deprived that I got post natal depression the best thing I did for my baby was give up breast feeding and go solely to bottle in the end. After I left hospital I was given a survey about how I was treated in relation to breast feeding to make sure I hadn't been given formula or encouraged to bottle feed in hospital as this goes to the hospital's "baby friendly" rating - well to me none of that was baby friendly. I totally agree feed your baby the best way u can!