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

Abstract

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.