'Mother-in-law is trying to stop me breastfeeding so she can feed baby instead'

03 May 2024 , 08:36

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She has always expressed her desire to breastfeed (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/Westend61)

One mum has been left stunned after her mother-in-law tried to tell her to only formula feed her baby, so she can feed her instead.

The mum-to-be has expressed her desire to exclusively breastfeed once her baby has arrived, but claimed she's been told by her mother-in-law she "needs to have a bottle and formula", as she has said how much she wants to feed her new grandchild herself.

Not wanting to cause any family tension, the mum has been left worried her mother-in-law is trying to "take over" as the baby's mother instead - and asked if she's being unreasonable to stand her ground and exclusively breastfeed.

She took to Mumsnet to get some advice from others. In an anonymous post, she said: "I plan to exclusively breastfeed and have had this plan since before my husband and I conceived. My mother-in-law came over today when my husband was at work and told me that I need to have a bottle and formula."

The mum claimed her mother-in-law "desperately" wants to feed her baby once she's born, but stated she "wants to breastfeed" and said she's always wanted to. The post added: "I have friends that exclusively formula-feed and that's totally fine, they have medical reasons for not breastfeeding, and I appreciate that some people don't want to or can't breastfeed.

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"I feel like MIL wants to take over my role as my baby's mother. Am I being unreasonable?" The post concluded. Many mums were quick to chime in with their thoughts and urged the mum to stand her ground and put some boundaries in place.

One Mumsnet user wrote: "Your baby, your rules. She can't stop you from breastfeeding but you do need to shut down her expectations now - just tell her that you plan to exclusively breastfeed for as long as possible and don't enter into any discussion about it," while another said: "Of course, you are not being unreasonable. You plan to breastfeed and leave it at that. Be quite firm with her. Also, get your husband to support you. At some point you can express some milk to freeze and save for when you are going out; she can feed the baby then."

Niamh Kirk