Maddy Barrett said she wanted to feel 'empowered' to make informed decisions after becoming a mother, but instead was overwhelmed by the variation in advice from different healthcare professionals on how to get her newborn daughter to latch.
Despite the volume of advice, Ms Barrett said she left hospital with 'no feeding plan or ongoing support with breastfeeding.' In the weeks that followed, her daughter began to lose weight because she was not receiving enough milk from breastfeeding alone. Emotionally exhausted and sleep-deprived, she was placed on a 'triple feeding' plan — breastfeeding, pumping and formula feeding — which she said 'absolutely broke me.'
'I was up around the clock, trying to pump every three hours to establish and protect my supply,' Ms Barrett said. 'My daughter was often unsettled and unhappy throughout the process, and I felt like our entire lives revolved around feeding.'
Her experience mirrors that of several other women who reported inconsistent advice from care providers after giving birth, according to interviews cited in the report.
A 2024 review published in the Journal of Midwifery evaluated five commonly used Australian antenatal care guidelines across domains including scope, stakeholder involvement and clarity. All five guidelines scored low, and the authors found inconsistencies in their recommendations for childbirth and early parenting.
Nicole Highet, executive director of the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE), said getting conflicting advice could increase a new parent's distress and worsen their mental health. 'It undermines their confidence,' she said.
The article includes a list of support services for perinatal mental health, including PANDA, Sands, the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby helpline, Lifeline, MensLine Australia and Beyond Blue.