Stefanie Preissner: Don’t bother judging mums about baby formula, we’re hard enough on ourselves, thanks

"​Whoever invented the saying, ‘There’s no use crying over spilt milk’ had never tried to use a portable, hands-free pump while having a low supply." Photo: Getty

Stefanie Preissner

The thing they don’t tell you about breast pumps is that if you wear them lying down on the dentist’s chair, the force of gravity will cause your milk to flow the wrong way and drip on the floor. The other thing they don’t tell you is that 20ml of milk, approximately an egg-cup full, is enough to cause a dentist’s assistant to stumble and drop a whole sterile tray.

Whoever invented the saying, ‘There’s no use crying over spilt milk’ had never tried to use a portable hands-free pump while having a low supply. I have a condition called insufficient glandular tissue. I don’t have enough milk-producing tissue to make enough milk to exclusively breastfeed — for me, it’s caused by hormonal issues and a history of malnutrition. No matter how many pieces of unsolicited advice I try, it is physically, anatomically and biologically impossible for me to create the volume of milk BZ needs.