“I didn’t want to let go of the dream”: Exploring women’s personal stories of how their low milk supply was discovered

Problem

Low milk supply is the most common reason women give for stopping breastfeeding early and yet there is a lack of understanding about these women’s experiences.

Background

Most women plan to breastfeed but many experience challenges such as low milk production, leading them to seek help and support.

Aim

To explore women’s personal stories of how their low supply was discovered.

Methods

Inductive template analysis was used to analyse free-text online survey responses of women from the United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Findings

384 women responded to the open-ended survey item between October 2021 and January 2022. We identified three themes: (i) Events and observations: From ‘risk factors’ to ‘failure of breast changes’ to ‘my baby was so unhappy’, (ii) Seeking support and taking action: ‘I tried everything’ and (iii) A rollercoaster of emotion: ‘I didn’t want to let go of the dream’.

Discussion

Our findings emphasise women’s need to feel heard and understood and their quest to find answers. The rollercoaster of emotions they experienced largely stemmed from a gap between the expectations and reality of breastfeeding. Some participants described accepting a different feeding journey.

Conclusion

Findings underscore the need for quality and accessible psychosocial support for women experiencing low milk supply, in addition to the provision of evidence-based advice.