by BabyCenter Featured Expert posted in Parenting

By: Dr. Smita Malhotra
As a pediatrician, I had always been taught that breast milk is the best nutrition you can give a newborn. So, I spent many hours counseling women about the benefits of breastfeeding. To me, it seemed like a natural process that a new mother experienced with her child.
Until that is, I had a child myself.
I always knew that life would change when I became a parent, but I didn?t expect it to change me as a pediatrician. The experience of having a child showed me firsthand the struggles that new mothers face -- the greatest being the struggle to breastfeed.
When my daughter was born, I was enamored with this beautiful being who had emerged from me. But when I attempted to breastfeed for the first time, I was surprised to find that it was painful. My daughter would not latch even when I changed positions and switched between breasts. Eventually, she started to cry and so did I. I would like to say that it got better, but it didn?t. After seeing numerous lactation consultants with little success, I decided that I would pump my milk -- only to find that I could not produce enough for the increasing demands of my baby.
It is then that my cycle of guilt began. How could I counsel women about the benefits of breastfeeding when I had not been successful at it myself" Somehow not being able to fulfill what I saw as my first duty as a mother made me feel like I had already failed at being a parent.
Somewhe...