5 breastfeeding myths that all postpartum doulas should know about
By Antonia Anderson
If you work with newborn mothers, either as a postpartum doula or in some other way, you probably get lots of questions about breastfeeding. These days, there’s so much bad advice flying around that some of the things you hear make you want to cry — or howl with laughter!
But please don’t do either of those things; a dramatic emotional response can just add to a tired new mother’s confusion and overwhelm. Instead, stay professional and calm, and reassure her by providing evidence-based information.
Let's dive into our first myth.
Myth #1: “My breasts are too small to make milk”
Sometimes new parents worry that their bodies won’t be able to make milk because they’re not built like a fertility goddess. Happily, the shape and size of breasts does not determine breastmilk production in the least!
Breasts are made of different kinds of tissue. Glandular tissue produces breastmilk while the fatty protective tissue determines breast size. There’s no correlation between breast size and the capacity to produce milk.
Myth #2: “My breasts are empty!”
Did you know that lactating breasts are never truly empty? This can be very reassuring to share with a worried new mum who thinks her breasts will run out of milk.
Lactating breasts are making milk all the time, even while a mother is breastfeeding her baby. If a baby still seems hungry after a feed, the breastfeeding parent can put the baby back to the breast, and more milk will be available. No need to wait for the breasts to “fill up”.
In fact, waiting longer between feeds signals the breasts to make less milk, not more. When a baby drinks more frequently, the breasts make more milk.
Myth #3: “When they’re old enough to ask for it, they’re too old for breastmilk”
What does this statement even mean? There is no correlation between speech development and weaning. This nonsense belief seems to be rooted in the patriarchal idea that breasts are inherently sexual (they are not).
Did you know that babies “ask” for breastmilk long before they can speak? They use cues to communicate their needs. For example, you might notice a newborn baby grunting, mouthing their hands or nuzzling into the mother’s breast.
In an ideal world, a parent would feel supported to breastfeed their baby as long as they both want. In fact, the World Health Organisation recommends that babies continue to receive breastmilk until the age of two, which is past the age at which most children begin to form words.
Myth #4: “Low breastmilk supply is common”
Most mothers can make plenty of milk with the right support. It is very rare for a mother to be genuinely unable to produce breastmilk.
Unfortunately, many mothers are told that they might have low supply, or they believe that their bodies are somehow incapable of producing enough milk.
Breastfeeding works on the “supply and demand” principle. The more a mother breastfeeds her baby, the more milk her breasts will make.
Reassure your clients that the best way to know if your baby is getting enough milk is to check how many wet nappies the baby is producing. After all, what goes in must come out. Babies over 5 days old generally produce at least 5 heavily wet disposable nappies (or 6-8 very wet cloth ones) in a 24 hour period. If the baby’s output is consistently within that range, the mother’s milk supply is exactly as it should be.
Myth #5: “You should feed for a certain amount of time on each side”
This (terrible) advice to feed babies for a set time has an interesting origin. During industrialisation, there was a big push to make everything run to a schedule and be predictable. It was an ideological shift rather than one based on evidence.
Since then, there has been a lot of research showing that timing feedings isn’t beneficial.
Unfortunately, this harmful advice is still being shared. When new parents are told to time or space feeds, it can really undermine their breastfeeding goals. Yet many parents are still told to feed their babies for ten minutes on each side, every three hours, or some similar schedule.
So, how long should a normal breastfeed last?
Well, all babies are different! Some babies might need to feed for five minutes, others might take twenty.
The bottom line is, babies should be fed based on their cues, rather than the clock.
About Antonia
Antonia is a breastfeeding support specialist, educator and content creator at Newborn Mothers. She has spent hundreds of hours counselling mothers and helping them reach their breastfeeding goals. She also ran a small business in Canberra, providing postpartum support to new parents and their families.
With a Certificate IV in Breastfeeding Education and several years of experience supporting breastfeeding parents in her local community, Antonia provides Newborn Mothers students with a strong foundation in lactation knowledge and the skills to support new parents in diverse settings.
Antonia teaches the module on breastfeeding in our Postpartum Education and Care Professional training.
Find more from Antonia on the Newborn Mothers podcast and blog:
Curious about the Breastfeeding Module in the Postpartum Education and Care Professional training? Download the curriculum here.
