I’ve been living in Finland for over five years now, supporting incredible families as they navigate their parenting journey. One of my most popular services is my breastfeeding support visits in Helsinki and Espoo. Thanks to these visits, I can share with you the common breastfeeding myths I still encounter.
#1 “You don’t have milk, so you need donated milk or formula”
I would be rich if I had a Euro for every time a family called me saying the hospital told them they needed to give extra milk or formula because they didn’t have milk right after birth.
The truth is, no one has milk immediately after birth!
NO ONE
Our bodies produce colostrum before milk, and it can take 3 to 5 days, or even up to a week, for the milk to come in. This is entirely normal.
Saying you need donated milk or formula can be discouraging. It implies your body isn’t producing enough milk for your baby. Additionally, introducing extra feedings and bottles can decrease breast stimulation, leading to reduced production of colostrum and milk. This can waste precious hours needed to establish a good milk supply.
And, something that I have observed here is that also no one explains what the parents need to do to stimulate the breast while the baby is not latching!
#2 “The suction is strong, there is no problem with the tongue”
Unless your baby is evaluated by an ENT doctor or an IBCLC in the hospital, disregard any comments about the tongue, tongue ties, or mouth issues.
While I cannot diagnose ankyloglossia, I am trained to recognize tongue ties and movement limitation produced by them. Evaluating a tongue tie requires more than feeling a strong suction when a finger is placed in the baby’s mouth. You must observe how the tongue functions inside the mouth. And assess the potential issues a tie may cause by seeing the big picture.
#3 “You have inverted nipples, you need a nipple shield”
Repeat after me: Babies don’t suck from the nipple.
Once again, for the ones at the back: babies don’t suck from the nipple.
They need to latch onto the nipple and a significant portion of the areola to feed effectively and to avoid causing pain to the mother.
I’m often conflicted when I hear this assertion, as it’s commonly said when it isn’t true. Suggesting that a birthing person needs a nipple shield just because their nipples “aren’t suitable” for feeding can be very discouraging.
Small or flat nipples do not usually hinder successful breastfeeding. True inverted nipples are also quite rare. If you suspect you have inverted nipples, I would suggest to contact a lactation consultant (you can book me here) even from pregnancy, because there are some things doable from early times.
Inverted nipple image from this great article by Milkology I recommend this reading!
#4 “Pain in normal in the first weeks or month”
Pain when breastfeeding is NEVER OK. It’s not normal. And yes, you probably are hearing dozens of friends saying: “oh, I was in so much pain but then it went away” or “I was bleeding and had open cracks but then it magically changed and all was good”.
What is happening there then?
Please don’t missunderstand me: I am not saying your friends are lying to you! They probably were in pain, but they didn’t know that was not ok nor normal.
Most of these cases of pain are related with a poor latch caused by a variety of reasons. What happens is that we are born and build for breastfeeding. So the babies either grow very fast and improve tongue mobility and latching, or they create their own adaptations to increase the perfection of their breast latch.
If someone from your medical healthcare is saying you the contrary: this is not a professional with updated breastfeeding information.
#5 You don’t need extra labs after birth
If you have a history of hormonal issues or experienced gestational diabetes, it can be beneficial to have labs done after birth, as these conditions can affect breastfeeding/chestfeeding.
You might need to be persistent with your neuvola nurse. If they don’t listen or prescribe the labs, book a consultation with your general practitioner to have them done.
#6 “You need to breastfeed your baby every 3 hours”
Breastfeeding/chestfeeding is based on demand. And yes, we have a “safety” indication in a newborn, which says that usually babies breast-/chest-feed every 3 hours tops. During the first night after birth babies can do longer stretches, but after that, they are designed to feed often.
Very often.
Just have your baby on your lap (skin to skin contact increases oxytocin which regulates the milk ejection reflex and supply) and latch frequently, forgetting about the clock. Also, there is no need to time the feeds. Very often in hospitals in Helsinki & Espoo they recommend to families to feed 10 or 15 minutes per breast. Newborns don’t work like that.
Take a deep breath and relax during your first weeks nursing. If you are still experiencing long feeds after sixth or seventh week, then it’s a good idea to book a lactation visit so we can review if other factors are impacting on your journey and we can put some tools to work and fix that.
#7 Prescribing the milk inhibitor medication once breastfeeding is established
If you decide to stop breast-/chest-feeding at any point of your journey, making an informed decision and knowing all potential consequences (I will add: have a plan in place for that.) You don’t need to take any medication to stop your milk if your journey already started weeks or months ago.
This is a very common mistake that happens in Finnish healthcare. This medication only works when breastfeeding has not started. Otherwise, you don’t need it.
BUT you need a plan to stop breastfeeding. Book a consultation with me, because I’m actually an expert on providing weaning plans physically and mentally safe for you.
#8 “All is good, why do you want to change things?”
This is very confusing for breast-/chest-feeding folks here in Finland. When attending a consultation with a nurse or a doctor, many of us as foreigners have faced the situation. It could be miscommunication or discrimination, but it happens.
You go to the consultation and explain that you are frustrated due to the need to give extra formula, tiredness from breastfeeding, or difficulty understanding what is happening.
And the only answer you get is a shoulder shrug and the sentence: “but everything is fine; the baby is growing, so why change?”
You are the parent of that baby, and you are allowed to make decisions. Changing your breast- or chest-feeding or lactation options is one of them. And you don’t need to justify yourself.
#9 You need to start introducing solids at 4 months
Unless there’s a medical condition, the science says that the Finnish neuvola recommendation of starting solids at 4 months gives no benefits for you or your baby.
Also, there’s a very silly recommendation here in Finland to spoon-feed babies one bite or spoon at a time. Let me tell you something: once a baby is interested in foods, it’s almost impossibleto feed them only one bite of something new. They want to try and experiment!
Contact a science-based nutritionist if you have questions about introducing solids to your baby, book a remote visit with me if you need basic orientation on how to mix the lactation with solids, but always remember we need to wait for the signs of readiness in babies.
#10 Wean your baby for a full night of sleep
Finnish neuvola system can be a bit too extreme when it comes to babies sleeping through the night. Therefore, you might get the outdated recommendation of weaning a baby for a full night of sleep.
Weaning a baby may or may not help with babies waking up at night, but it is important to avoid judgment. Sleep is a neuronal process that takes up to 5 years to fully develop. This doesn’t mean that what you are experiencing today will be the same for the next 5 years.
You can do a partial weaning, reduce feedings, etc. There’s no real need to be dramatic. Questions about weaning or creating a weaning plan are excellent reasons to book an online session with me.
Getting Ready for Breastfeeding… is worth the investment!
Will you always get bad breast-/chest-feeding advice if you live in Helsinki, Espoo or Finland in general?
I am not saying that. I’ve worked with loving and updated healthcare professionals, teaming up with them to provide a more complete support to the families.
But, what is very, very important is that, when you face the moment after birth to start breastfeeding you understand the basics very well. You need to know your options and have them very clear, because believe me: you don’t want to feel questioned or in doubt in those early postpartum times.
I offer a course for that! It’s called “Getting ready for Breastfeeding”. The next session in Helsinki will be on 18 May 2024. But you can also access the course online and get it on demand! Contact me for more information.