Unable to breastfeed my baby due to cancer, I was made to feel like a failure | Naama Carlin

No one should feel unsupported and inferior about the way they feed their child

My aggressive breast cancer diagnosis at 29 weeks pregnant came as a shock. It had major implications: I needed chemotherapy right away, with a strong possibility that my delivery would be brought forward by an induction and/or surgery.

I was also given the upsetting news that - due to the toxicity of the chemotherapy - I wouldn't be able to breastfeed. This was my first pregnancy, and although healthy (until cancer), it had an unexpected psychological toll. Breastfeeding was a milestone I looked forward to; an opportunity to hopefully step back some of the emotional distance that grew between me and the foetus in my swelling womb.