by Hadassah Ryan

Created on: April 03, 2009

In the months leading up to her second child's birth, Laura both eagerly anticipated the chance to breastfeed, and fought off anxieties about the prospect. In many ways, she would experience this baby as a first time mother. Her son, born two and a half years earlier, had been unable to nurse due to significant birth defects. Instead, she had pumped breast milk for eighteen months so that it could be piped into his feeding tube. Ultrasound was now reporting a healthy baby girl on the way and Laura was planning to breastfeed.

Laura had very few strong breastfeeding influences in her life. Her own mother had breastfed for only a short amount of time many years earlier. The few breastfeeding mothers she had known growing up; perhaps an aunt or two, had not breastfed openly around Laura. As the oldest of her siblings, she was the first to bring grandchildren to the family. But somehow over the years, the tower of her belief that breastfeeding was the optimum way to feed her babies had been built, brick by brick.

Would it work this time? Laura tried to think positively. Her philosophy had always been that if one dwelled on negatives, negative results would follow.

On a sunny, warm Tuesday in the month of August, Laura gave birth to a beautiful, robust baby girl. The midwives encouraged her to begin breastfeeding as soon as she could sit up. A young, inexperienced midwife student oversaw the first attempts Laura made with her daughter. It was awkward; it felt strange. The feel of the breast pump flanges did nothing to prepare her for the reality of the strong gums of a newborn, nor did her copious reading.

While she knew that any pain meant the child was not latching correctly, Laura had no idea how to solve the problem. Her primary midwife called and visited frequently, but by weeks end, Laura was in severe pain and dreaded each breastfeeding attempt.

She didn't give up however. The midwife encouraged Laura to hang on for at least two weeks, promising that things would take a turn for the better by that point. It was solid advice that proved to be highly valuable for Laura and her newborn daughter.

What made the difference? Why did Laura succeed with her daughter, while her son failed to experience the joys of a strong nursing relationship? Here are a few crucial criteria to consider when approaching your second try at nursing.

Get Rid of the Guilt

While every medical professional insisted that Laura's son was not physically capable of nursing, Laura was still convinced

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