Poll Results on Birth, Nursing, and Motherhood

With mother's day coming up, I thought I'd poll via Facebook and What to Expect fellow new moms who gave birth around the same time as me (Dec-Feb) to see what their take on the whole shabang is so far. I asked for them to describe the following 4 things in ONE WORD. Results were really fun for me to go through; most I could relate to, but some were pretty surprising. So without further ado...

For birth experience, my personal answer to this one was "empowering", which got classified under the "wonderful" category. A couple of interesting responses were: excruciating (obviously in the "painful" group, and I would have to agree!!), terrifying & traumatizing (in the "scary" group), blessed / perfect / amazing (in the "wonderful" group), and in the "other" group: hazy, unexpected, textbook, crazy, worth it, underwhelming, surreal, interesting, and disappointing.

For the start of breastfeeding, my personal response was frustrating (in the "tough" category). Two of the "painful" responses were horrendous and bloody - yikes! The most responses got grouped in the "tough" category, as I expected, and some were: impossible, challenging, heart-wrenching, heartbreaking, exhausting, stressful, and difficult. Of the "good" group, two lovely responses were natural and amazing.

With 63% responding that the start of breastfeeding was either tough or painful (probably both for many, as it was for me!), it's no wonder so many women give up. There really needs to be an increase in lactation support, ideally covered 100% by health insurance. I know I would have loved in-home support, but wasn't willing to pay the $200-$300 per visit that my midwife told me it would cost. Luckily Kenzo and I hung in there and everything resolved itself eventually!

For the breastfeeding now question, my personal response was surreal (in the "other" group). I was really sad to see what a high percentage responded that they are not breastfeeding - most were formula feeding but a few were pumping. But I talked about this in another post - I don't judge any mom about this whether it was her choice or not. I'm just sorry if it wasn't a choice and she wanted to breastfeed and couldn't for whatever reason. That's really heartbreaking! On the more positive side, many moms described breastfeeding now as special, incredible, bonding, convenient, and beautiful - all of which I 100% agree with!

My personal response about motherhood was awesome, obviously in the "great" group. Other responses in this group were fulfilling, bliss, relaxing & calming (really??), joyous, and rewarding. Some of the "tough" responses were sleepless, juggling, and frustrating. Some "others" were surreal, humbling, and indescribable.

About the future, my response was exciting which was actually the #1 response overall! Many moms also responded with bright, to which I wanted to respond singing "I gotta wear shades" ^_^ The "negative" responses weren't so bad, for example "too close" and "sleepless.

So there you have it!

If you want to add your responses to my poll, or have a reaction to any of my results, just comment below!