"I wasn't prepared for my own determination to persevere..."

"The thing that surprised me most as a first time mum was breast-feeding. I’d heard stories about it being painful at first, but I wasn’t prepared for the acute pain of cracked nipples. And I wasn’t prepared for my determination to persevere with it. I’m still not sure whether my determination came from an innate maternal instinct or from a pressure to ‘do the right thing’. I was given a lot of ‘breast feeding support’ by midwives and health visitors which meant being told in a firm, gentle way, that my baby would be stupid and obese if I gave it formula. I also experienced pressure to give my baby formula from those close to me who had chosen that route. I can now look back and realise that either way would have been absolutely fine, but at the time the decision seemed monumental. I am pleased that I struggled on with it, (whilst supplementing with bottles because I was worried about my daughter’s weight gain) partly because I now know that I can do it if I choose to with any more babies I might have, and the claims that it is cheap, easy, and bonding turn out to be true. But there is another part of me that wonders why I struggled, in pain, for 8 weeks." (Hermione, London)