I gave birth to my third daughter in July. Breastfeeding caused immense pain with my first two babies, so I went into my third delivery/postpartum experience fully expecting to exclusively pump for her, like I had for my other daughters. During my first night with my daughter, I was in tears because breastfeeding was painful, and I just hated it. The night shift nurse happened to come in while I was crying, and I explained what was going on. The next morning, Bri came in and introduced herself as the lactation nurse. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread as I had seen lactation nurses and consultants in the past with no improvement in pain. I started tearing up when Bri asked me how I was doing and when I said I was fine, she gently said she spoke to the night shift nurse and knew I was struggling. She told me that the most important thing was my mental health and she was there to support me- whatever route I went with for feeding my daughter. I’ve never had someone be such an advocate for my mental health when it came to breastfeeding. It was a contributing factor to my postpartum depression in the past, so to have a healthcare professional, especially one who focuses on breastfeeding, say that it mattered how breastfeeding impacted me was so uplifting. She told me that she’d be there for every feed if I needed help but continued to remind me that how I was feeling mattered too. She fully supported me; however, I chose to feed my daughter. Because of her support, both with the actual breastfeeding and mental support, I was able to breastfeed without pain for the first time. I am now able to breastfeed my daughter 8 weeks later, and it’s because of Bri’s kindness and support. She showed me ways to help get a pain-free latch and offered encouragement at every feed.

With my first two children, I felt like the lactation nurses were in and out of the room. I was a room number on their list of rounds, and when I told them that breastfeeding was painful, they told me to try a different hold and that, eventually, we’d get it. Not only did Bri come to each feeding to offer education and techniques to try, but she reminded me that I was also a human being and not just a vehicle to feed my baby. It was so kind and truly made the difference between me being able to breastfeed and having to pump and bottle feed. She checked on us when my daughter was sent to the NICU, and even though she has to have bottles for a couple of days, she is able to breastfeed now, and it is pain-free for me.

I truly believe that because of Bri, my third child is my first to successfully breastfeed. She is an invaluable member of the Mother & Baby floor and I will be forever grateful to her.