Am I selfish or a bad mum for not wanting to breastfeed?

I never breastfed without it sounding bad i just wanted my body back and not only that it meant my partner could help a bit more during nights and it wasn’t just always me the only people who tried to almost pressure me about it was the health visitor who came before baby was born and then the doctor who did our 6 week check up but i knew it wasn’t for me and i just didn’t want to x

Have you thought about expressing? I didn’t want to breastfeed so have exclusively expressed for nearly 11 months for my baby. She’s only had a couple formula bottles at the very beginning and now my freezer is full of frozen milk I am stopping pumping and feeding her from the freezer now. Expressing is a huge commitment and bloody hard work but 100% worth it.

You do what’s best for you, your opinion is the only one that matters, baby will be happy loved and fed either way, I Breastfed the first 4 days of my boys life but it was a strain on me so I stopped and went to formula and he’s completely fine and never really got sick and hardly does now and he is completely healthy and going on 4 years old

I decided to breastfeed because of the great benefits for mum and baby, it might be hard at times! BUT I can assure you there is nothing more sweet than bonding with your baby while you nurse them, it’s so special you can’t understand it without trying. The beginning is so hard for some people especially not knowing if everything is going like supposed to, but trust your body it’s meant to feed your babies 🫶🏼 I would totally support breastfeeding but at the end of the day it’s everyone’s own choice 🙏🏽

It's your body and your choice so no that doesn't make you a bad Mum at all. You do what's best for. I really struggled breastfeeding and my lg only slept an hour at a time and cried a lot as she was hungry. I found the hospital not very helpful and expected me to get on with it. As a first time Mum I had no clue on breast feeding. I was so shattered I couldn't think straight. It wasn't till I got home and the midwife came out. She said about trying formula as it's a fed baby that is more important it doesn't matter how they are fed. It's what's best for you and the baby. I felt so guilty for bottle feeding but formula is what was needed. I noticed later on, my lg sticks her tongue out when drinking her milk so I think she never latched properly so couldn't get enough milk. I think there is so much pressure from society to breast feed.

I attempted to breastfeed and then express but ended up formula feeding after a matter of days, the toll it was taking on my body/well-bejng wasn’t worth it. Midwife said to me as long as you have a fed baby it doesn’t matter how you do it as I had felt some guilt initially not being able to

My whole pregnancy I said I wouldn’t breastfeed but now I want to breastfeed for as long as possible, the bond is incomparable🥹 you may also change your mind once you meet the little one! Maybe you could try it out first so you 100% know it’s not for you or you could also try combo feeding! Ultimately it is your choice🤍

Why not just not put pressure on yourself to make a decision? Buy bottle feeding bits, and when baby is here you can try breastfeeding if you want to or bottle feed. I am hosting a free online event in a couple of weeks with 26 experts covering lots of topics from pregnancy through to your baby's first year. If you would like to get your free ticket, you can here https://thechildcarenavigator.com/bump-to-1stbirthday-summit211853

It is completely up to you, as others have said it's your body and your choice. You shouldn't feel bad about your decision either way and shouldn't have to justify it! Your baby will be happy and loved however you feed them. I wanted to just breastfeed and ended up combi feeding (started off more breastfeeding probably 80:20, then around 50:50 and very gradually weaned off and increased formula) formula and breastfeeding which worked for us for 8.5 months. Breastfeeding had lots of ups and downs for me and I wouldn't mentally have been able to do it full time or to pump full time. If there's a next time for me, I would want to combi feed breast and formula, or combi feed expressed and formula, or just formula.

i exclusively breastfed my first for 3 months and i hated it, but i felt so much pressure to breastfeed. i felt so much happier when i gave her formula. i tried to breastfeed my 2nd because i thought its what’s best, but it just wasn’t working out for us and damaged me so much mentally and emotionally. with my third, i knew from the get go i would absolutely not breastfeed and was sure i wouldn’t even consider it - he was born and it just felt natural to me to try, i absolutely hated it 😂 and was glad i got the physical confirmation that i did not want too. but not putting pressure on myself to stick one way or the other helped a lot. i felt really relaxed about trying to breastfeed when he was born, because i knew i truly would go with how I FELT, not anyone else’s opinions. i experienced the guilt, but my children are so healthy and thrived off formula. fed is best. they need a happy and healthy mama! 💕💕

I plan to nurse my baby after birth, if she latches. Once we’re out of the hospital it’s formula feeds only. I have a long list of reasons why I chose formula and coming to that decision gave me so much relief. And while I can understand you feeling guilty, in the grand scheme of things, breastfeeding/how you feed your baby will only be a small part of your parenting journey.

Don't feel like that it's totally fine and normal of you don't want too I have 5 kids now pregnant with 6th and out of all of them only 5 and 6 will have been breast feed it's whatever you feel comfy with you are not a bad mother for not wanting 🤗🤗

Nah, you’re not a bad mum, I breastfed my daughter and will my second, but I understand why people don’t want to. It’s just the first of many choices you’ll have to make. Some people home cook their kids food, some buy pre made or get takeaway. Some kids have loads of screen time, some have none. Just do you and don’t worry about what other people are doing or what they think.

Not at all. Babies thrive on formula, my LG did. And I only felt that bond with her once we stopped trying to force breastfeeding. It wasn’t a good experience for us and I wish I hadn’t tried tbh. But my experience is not your experience, and my journey is not your journey. I guarantee you can’t look at a single one of your adult friends and guess who was formula fed and who was breastfed. A happy mum is most important, however you choose to feed.