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There are many reasons a woman may choose not to breastfeed. Although there are only a few instances when a woman physically cannot breast feed such as trauma which has injured the milk ducts, or hormonal and glandular deficiency or other medical reasons, a woman should not be made to feel bad because she isn’t breastfeeding. It doesn’t mean she’s a bad mother, or that she doesn’t want to do right by her child. What it does mean is that for one reason or another she has chosen not to nurse her infant. The following are some common reasons why a mother may choose not to breastfeed her baby, and often more than one factor influences a woman’s final decision not to breastfeed.
1. Time constraints. Some mothers have jobs or other children and nursing is a time-intensive process. Others simply don’t want to be tied down, for whatever reason. Some women may have only six weeks leave from work and don’t want to start something that they cannot continue with due to the intense dedication it takes to express milk, work and still breastfeed.
2. Embarrassment. Some women feel that it would be indecent to nurse in front of someone else, or that their body secretions are yucky or nasty. Others are simply not comfortable with their anatomy as a food source.
3. Sexual hang-ups and fears. Some individuals think that if they offer their breasts to their infant as a means of nourishment that their breasts can no longer be sexy, either to themselves or their significant other.
4. Nervousness. This can be because the mother doesn’t feel she has big enough breasts, or will produce enough milk. She may have a fear of failure, that she won’t provide enough nourishment for her baby. Others may find it too complicated to worry about when a bottle seems so easy. Some women also may suffer from post-partum depression which can cloud their view of the entire process of motherhood.
5. Family Influence. Oftentimes a husband doesn’t want his wife to nurse, because he feels that his wife’s breast should be reserved for their sexuality. A mother or grandmother may have bottle fed all her children and press that her babies did just fine without breastmilk. Some new mothers yield to the advice of their family when faced with the pressures of new motherhood.
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