Separating mothers and babies in the first hours and days after birth, neglecting to nurture them with the care, privacy, encouragement, and support needed to establish breastfeeding, plus running feedings by the clock, is destroying the likelihood of breastfeeding for countless numbers. Another major factor wreaking havoc with this precious link between mother and newborn are the drugs many babies have in their systems from their mother's labor. These drugs make them sleepy or inhibit their sensory motor skills, greatly affecting their ability to suckle.

There are actually two components to breastfeeding: the milk itself, and what happens in the process of an infant suckling at its mother's breast. A mother can express or pump her milk and let someone else give it to her baby; and then let her baby suckle for milk as well as comfort when they are together. It is also possible for mother to feed her baby someone else's milk or formula - and to still give her baby the benefits of being held with its body snuggled into hers.

The percentage of women giving birth at home or in a birth center (both in and out of a hospital) who both choose to breastfeed and succeed at it, is much, much higher than the average, close to 100%. But they represent a tiny fraction of all mothers and babies in North America, no more than 7 to 10%. Women who give birth with the support of a midwife rarely encounter problems with breastfeeding. Midwives respect breastfeeding as an intrinsic part of the birthing experience, and understand the need for privacy both in labor and in establishing good breastfeeding.

References:

Suzanne Arms, The Immaculate Deception II
Kathleen Huggins, The Nursing Mother's Companion
Gale Pryor, Nursing Mother, Working Mother

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