CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More parents are becoming anxious about breastfeeding and are seeking out assistance, according to Laura Benton, a lactation consultant with Atrium Health.
What You Need To Know
- Parents are more anxious about breastfeeding because of the baby formula shortage
- A lactation consultant in Charlotte is seeing more parents because of it
- A mom says the difficulty of breastfeeding is not talked about a lot
Benton said she is seeing a big increase in parents coming in who are really committed to making breastfeeding work after witnessing a baby formula shortage.
Sarah Butterbaugh is one of the moms who has been coming in more often for breastfeeding assistance. Butterbaugh and her husband Sean have two daughters — a 3 year old and a 7-month-old.
"[It's] pretty busy, obviously chaotic," Butterbaugh said.
Butterbaugh says when she had her first daughter during the pandemic, she and her husband had recently moved and she didn't have the resources lined up to continue breastfeeding past five months.
"There's just so much that I think is not talked about. Like, [babies] come out with this sucking reflex, so you think they come out ready to do it perfectly and it's not," Butterbaugh said. "It's painful emotionally and physically."
Now, with her second born, Butterbaugh has a lactation consultant, which she has visited several times. She says her goal is to make it a year with breastfeeding this time around.
Butterbaugh says she doesn't mind supplementing her breast milk with formula if she has to, but the formula shortage has become more motivation to keep breastfeeding.
"I did definitely feel more pressure to continue to breastfeed and to do it well because of it, and to keep my supply up and get a stockpile and all those very stressful things," Butterbaugh said. "It's a wonderful thing to be able to do, but it's also so much pressure to continue to do it well."