Are hospital breast feeding classes sufficient?

Sarah1916

I plan to breastfeed hopefully. I am booked into the free breastfeeding class in the Coombe. I was wondering if anyone has experience of this class and could let me know how useful they found it. Would people suggest I go private on top of this class? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

Cash_Q

Sarah1916 wrote:

I plan to breastfeed hopefully. I am booked into the free breastfeeding class in the Coombe. I was wondering if anyone has experience of this class and could let me know how useful they found it. Would people suggest I go private on top of this class? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

I didn't find it great to be honest. I completed 5 parent education classes with the Coombe, this was one of the 5 classes and they lumped in an extra 30 or so people for this class compared to our usual group of about 15/20. It's in a big hall and hard to hear. One of the lactation consultants takes details of those who need to make an individual appointment with them, which turned out to be nearly everyone there so it delayed the start of the talk and then made it further difficult to hear things as she kept taking people's details down at the back of the room throughout the talk. Reasons to need this additional appointment might be an underlying health condition, previous failed attempts at breast feeding, previous breast surgery and more. I got an appointment as I have an underactive thyroid, and it wasn't much good either but they did show me how to harvest some colostrum.

The talk itself didn't actually explain much about things that affect supply, cluster feeding, foremilk/hindmilk, over supply etc, these are things I heard through the grapevine after I gave up on breastfeeding. My thyroid, pre eclampsia, early delivery, c section and sleepy baby all affected my supply.

The talk was mostly about getting a good latch and different holds to try, but my baby had an excellent latch from the start there was just nothing there for her and as she kept losing weight I had to supplement her feeds with formula and that of course affected my supply too. I lasted 3 weeks of breastfeeding and I gave up.

I expected breastfeeding to just happen, thought it would be the most natural thing in the world, so I didn't do enough research, I wish I had. If I had known more about it I probably would have persevered but I just felt like it wasn't happening. I don't regret stopping as it was the right decision for us at the time but I do think if I'd known more about it I maybe wouldn't have felt the need to stop.

Sorry for the long rambling reply but that's why I didn't really find that particular talk good. La Leche League and Ciudiu offer support and it's worth contacting your local group while pregnant so you can get advice in advance. Other women's experience will shine a light on potential problems so you can be better prepared on how to manage and get through them

Nellywelly

I found it helpful but I would also recommend getting.in touch with a lactation consultant. They will be a huge support to you after delivery as there is very little support in the hospital after the birth.

jlm29

I can’t speak for that particular class, I’m not in Dublin. Before I had my first child, I did the hosp antenatal classes which did cover feeding, but I went and did a half day, preparation for breastfeeding class in cork with a private lactation consultant, and it was probably one of the best investments I’ve ever made in anything child related.
It’s great to have the “lessons” in small groups, there’s very practical tips and info, and it also gave me a contact for after I had baby if I needed it.
Would highly recommend finding something similar in Dublin!

scarepanda

I found the class I did with my hospital useful in terms of introducing some info I hadn't come across, but tbh, there so many scenario's of what can happen, issues you/baby may have that it's hard to give full and proper info before baby arrives.

Its probably a good idea to have a lactation consultant lined up that you can call for advice and help after baby arrives and you have a better idea how everything is going.

catrionanic

I think the more preparation you can do the better, particularly in regards to knowing what is normal newborn breastfed behaviour and what to do and who to contact if there at issues. Knowledge is power. So I would go along to the class anyway (I went to the Holles St one which was quite good), but I would really recommend doing some more stuff too. If you can drop along to one of your local Cuidiú groups, that would be really helpful. You'll learn a lot there, and will know who to contact if you have any problems once baby is here. A private lactation consultant coming out to the house is also so so so so useful at the start. It would set you back around €120 (although you can often claim this back on your health insurance), but they so often are the difference between a long and happy BF journey and a very short one.

Some midwives are brilliant and some are useless. Most just do not have enough time to give you the help that you need at the start. Public health nurses often do not have enough training. So unfortunately you will probably find that you have to do the reading and learning in advance by yourself, and seek help from other sources when your time comes.

It is so so worth it though. The more you know about what to expect, the more confident you will feel. It sounds like you're very motivated too, which is often half the battle.

Best of luck to you! I'm currently feeding my second child and it is just a joy!

detoxkid

Im not in Dublin but I did go to the hospital breastfeeding class before my first. I also went to a cuidiu meeting before I had her. The midwives were helpful when she was born. Breastfeeding worked out for me. I'd say try out the public services first, you might be ok but have researched a private lactation consultant in case you need it after baby arrives.

bee06

The lactation consultant who did the class I went to said the class is like your driving theory test. You still need driving lessons to actually drive. I was lucky and had no issues at the start but there was so much I didn’t know that I do after 15 months. I did a lot of research after. Kellymom is a great website. Make use of the lactation consultant when you are in the hospital and contact a private lactation consultant who is registered with the IBCLC sooner rather than later if you are having problems. Not all PHN’s and GP’s are knowledgable on breastfeeding so don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion.

The start is intense even with no issues but after the initial few weeks of cluster feeding it gets easier.

bovril

As said above, I'd go along to the class but it's also worth reading more and heading to a local breastfeeding group while you're still pregnant just so you know where it is etc. I attended that class in the Coombe 4.5 years ago so the format may have changed in that time. I brought my OH with me for support and another pair of ears. He used this class as the antenatal one to attend for work.

It's really important to read up on what to expect in the first few weeks. What cluster feeding is and why it's totally normal. It's also worth learning what to expect is not normal with regard pain etc. I read the whole Breastfeeding thread that is stickied at the top of the newborn & toddlers forum. It took weeks but I gained a lot of info from it. I also read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

If you're on Facebook there are groups you can join for the month you are due your baby.

I'm now currently feeding my 3rd baby and I can honestly say it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Info, perseverance and asking for help from the right people sooner rather than later helped me along. I'm still friends with women I met at my local breastfeeding group 4 years ago. They're a good way to get support and meet women in the same boat. Best of luck with it.

cyning

I would keep money and get an IBCLC after baby comes. Breastfeeding is a skill and needs to be learned and sometimes that extra support is worth its weight in gold. I was so so lucky with my first two that the nurse in my GPs was an IBCLC. Everyone in there was so supportive and the PHN run group was amazing: at the time there was no Cuidiú here, and LLL didn’t suit. I breastfed both successfully because of the support after giving birth, and the reassurance of what was normal. Best of luck with it

Sarah1916

Thanks everyone.
I think I will go to the Coombe class and then keep my money to have a nurse come out to the house in the weeks after the baby is born.

I have also sent an email to my local Ciudiu centre to see if there is anything they would recommend.

seamus

Nellywelly wrote: »

I found it helpful but I would also recommend getting.in touch with a lactation consultant. They will be a huge support to you after delivery as there is very little support in the hospital after the birth.

Be prepared for this OP.

Our experience on both children was that the entire way through pregnancy, everyone is all about breast-this, breast-that. Midwives and doctors are basically banned from talking about bottlefeeding by the HSE.

Once the baby is here though, most of the nurses on the ward have too much to do and will start pushing the bottle, "Oh, they're not feeding enough, you're going to have to give a bottle". Whatever flimsy reason they can use to push bottlefeeding, they will use it.

If you have someone who has breastfed before or knows a lot about it and can help you out in the stressful hours immediately after birth, you will find them a massive relief.

You might also find a gem of a nurse in there who will have or take the time to help you out, but be prepared for a massive swing in nurses' attitudes to breastfeeding once the child is born.

Metroid diorteM

YouTube had some good videos of breastfeeding that helped us in the early days

scarepanda

I think this depends on the hospital tbh. Certainly the hospital I'm going to didn't try to push formula onto me, and at one stage they would have been in their right as my supply hadn't come in and baby was starving. In the middle of it all i took a notion that she wasn't to be given formula and they came back with a solution for her to be topped up with donor milk. Certainly the nurses are ran off their feet. I found most just pick up baby, grab your boob and latch baby on themselves. I found the lactation consultant in the hospital worse than useless. A request was put in on Sunday morning for her to come visit me, she didn't show up till lunchtime Tuesday. Anyways, the only reason I left the hospital nursing was because of an absolute gem of a midwife that I had on the Wednesday and Thursday and she is the sole reason I was able to nurse for 2 years.

Gatica

Cash_Q wrote: »

I expected breastfeeding to just happen, thought it would be the most natural thing in the world, so I didn't do enough research, I wish I had. If I had known more about it I probably would have persevered but I just felt like it wasn't happening.

This was my attitude on my first, I thought it would just work... We had a terrible time starting feeding, baby was jaundinced and just wanted to sleep, we had to top up to clear her jaundice but also I needed to pump to increase supply. I'm trying to find a lactation consultant in Galway now so we have some better support in place the second time around.