When I started nursing my first child nearly nine years ago, I couldn’t turn to my my mother for advice. That’s because she, like many in her generation, had been told by her doctor that she couldn’t make enough breastmilk for her kids to thrive. So, like many of her peers, she stopped nursing and switched to commercial formula.
Instead of relying on the age old wisdom passed down from mother to daughter for generations, I had to do something scary — wade through vitriolic internet forums about breastfeeding on mothering boards. Thankfully, I’m a good researcher, so I could glean useful information even from some of the snarkiest contributors to the Mommy Wars.
The truth is simple enough. My mom’s doctor? Probably wrong. The vast majority of women can successfully breastfeed given the right circumstances.