{"id":639269,"date":"2026-09-29T06:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/639269\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T06:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:44:10","slug":"why-i-breastfed-my-fourth-baby-after-bottle-feeding-the-others-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/639269\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Why I breastfed my fourth baby after bottle-feeding the others\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jayne Patterson Roulston was dead set against the idea of breastfeeding her babies because, with a busy equestrian yard to run in Co Donegal<\/a>, she did not want to be stuck indoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the very start I was, \u2018no way, I\u2019m not breastfeeding; I\u2019m not sitting in the house\u2019. I was out 24\/7 with the horses,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Partly due to her commitment to four-legged creatures, \u201cI didn\u2019t even know if I ever wanted children\u201d, says the now mother of four.<\/p>\n

But when, at the age of 36, she married farmer George Roulston, Jayne\u2019s perspective on life changed. \u201cWe met and married inside 18 months because we were that wee bit older and we knew that was what we wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their first son, William, was born six years ago, followed by Jack, who is now nearly four. Both arrived a few weeks in advance of their due dates. The decision to bottle-feed their sons was a combination, she believes, of never seeing herself as a woman who would breastfeed and wanting to avoid being \u201centrapped\u201d by a baby.<\/p>\n

It was only after the premature birth of their third son, Louis, that she thought in hindsight he might have benefited from breastfeeding. He was born with a twist in his gut in Letterkenny hospital at just over 34 weeks, weighing 2.15kg (4lb 12oz). \u201cHe had to go to Dublin and he was in [CHI at] Crumlin in surgery within 24 hours of birth. Thankfully they didn\u2019t have to cut anything out of him. They just had to go in and untwist it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

However, it took a while before his digestive system was able to cope with milk and staff had asked her about breastfeeding. He had to stay in the hospital for nearly five weeks, while his parents were up and down the road from their home outside Lifford every other day. <\/p>\n

After Louis could manage formula feeding and was strong enough to be discharged from Crumlin, he continued to have bad reflux. \u201cHe would throw up bottles around me and I had to get medication for him.\u201d About to turn three in October, he is still small for his age.<\/p>\n

As soon as she became pregnant with her fourth and last baby, she was thinking about breastfeeding. But she told nobody. It was nearly seven months on before she mentioned it to her husband.<\/p>\n

\"JayneJayne Patterson Roulston with her four boys in Co Donegal. Photograph: Joe Dunne <\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks at me and he goes: \u2018Are you feeling well?\u2019 That shows you the extent that I definitely wouldn\u2019t have breastfed the others.\u201d But during this pregnancy she had reflected on how she ate healthily herself and, as this was going to be her last baby, she really wanted to experience breastfeeding. <\/p>\n

Baby Robert arrived early too, and at speed. She was \u201croaring the house down\u201d, waiting an hour for her brother and partner to arrive, via an unexpected road closure, to mind the other children while she and George went to Letterkenny hospital.<\/p>\n

She reckons she was holding the baby in during the 20-minute drive to the hospital, where she was transferred by wheelchair. \u201cOn to a bed and, I think, two pushes and he delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jayne is not going to pretend she found it easy to establish breastfeeding with Robert, who was born at 36 weeks and two days. \u201cMy [milk] supply wouldn\u2019t be massive, so I did have to top up with formula after feeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy nipples were very sensitive. Every time he went on, it was like a vice for me. If I had wanted to give up, I probably could have stopped the first two or three days. But I battled through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breastfeeding rates continue to rise slowly in Ireland, as reflected in comparisons for the last decade, released in advance of National Breastfeeding Week, October 1st-7th. Just more than half, 51.5 per cent, of babies were breastfed at three months in 2025, a 16 per cent increase over 2015\u2019s figure of 35.4 per cent. Some 65.8 per cent of mothers initiated breastfeeding after birth, up two per cent over the previous six years.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Parenting triplets: \u2018We were in shock. We didn\u2019t know what to do \u2013 smiling, crying, laughing\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

However, considering that the HSE recommends aiming for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, the fact that only 34.6 per cent of newborns were fed solely breastmilk during their stay in hospital seems low, especially compared with corresponding rates of 54 per cent in the UK and 74 per cent in Spain. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to give the context on this,\u201d says HSE national breastfeeding co-ordinator Laura McHugh. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of medical complexity around some of the maternity cases.\u201d Rates of induction and birth by Caesarean section have increased, she points out, while preterm and sick babies may need alternative nutrition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there\u2019s maternal choice. So, it\u2019s multifactorial why some babies will receive formula in hospital.\u201d At three months, 36 per cent of babies were exclusively breastfed in 2025, which is an increase of almost 10 per cent since 2015.<\/p>\n

McHugh believes these figures reflect how breastfeeding is becoming more popular and that, due to increased investment, there are better supports available, both in the hospital and within the community. All midwives and public health nurses are trained to support mothers with breastfeeding. They are backed by 60 specialist infant feeding staff. There are also nearly 250 support groups listed on mychild.ie. (see mychild.ie\/breastfeeding<\/a>, where women are encouraged to report their experience, good or bad, of infant feeding care and support, through a continuing online survey to inform the HSE).<\/p>\n

\u201cAll public health nurses have lactation public health nurses on their team. So if the midwife or the public health nurse needs to refer you on, there is a pathway now in every part of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as reported recently in this newspaper<\/a>, there has been stalling on the filling of five, fully funded extra lactation consultant jobs, which brings to 11 the total number of vacant posts. \u201cWe have about six posts in the community that are going through the recruitment process and we will always be looking to build more capacity around infant feeding post holders,\u201d McHugh says. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly some areas of the country that we would like to have more staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JayneJayne Patterson Roulston and her son Robert with lactation consultanat Mary McFeely. Photograph: Joe Dunne <\/p>\n

However, the majority of mothers will not need to see a lactation consultant, who is trained to help babies with complex conditions, she says. Postnatal hubs, of which there are nine open around the country and a further four in development, have been \u201ca fantastic addition\u201d to resources for any mother having issues in the first six weeks, she adds.<\/p>\n

Public health nurse (PHN) Mary McFeely is the only community lactation consultant for Co Donegal, where about 1,600 babies are born each year. Donegal traditionally would have had one of the lowest breastfeeding rates \u201cbut we\u2019re really increasing and improving, and it\u2019s all to do with support\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

North Cork and South Tipperary have the lowest breastfeeding rates at 43 per cent and 49.7 per cent respectively, as recorded at the first PHN visit. The highest rates are found in Dublin South West (81.7 per cent) followed closely by D\u00fan Laoghaire at 80.7 per cent. <\/p>\n

McFeely is based in a Letterkenny health centre and tries to get mothers, who are referred by their PHNs, to come to her. However, \u201cif somebody is on day three post Caesarean section with no transport, of course I will do home visits\u201d. <\/p>\n

She believes fear is one of the biggest obstacles to breastfeeding because mothers know it\u2019s hard at the outset. \u201cThey\u2019re afraid to try in case they don\u2019t get help, or in case there\u2019s no support. If word gets out there that there\u2019s support groups and there\u2019s education classes, then more people are going to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary McFeely was a great help to Jayne Patterson Roulston and Robert. Photograph: Joe Dunne <\/p>\n

Pain or a perceived lack of milk supply are further stumbling blocks. Mothers need reassurance that what they are experiencing is normal.<\/p>\n

McFeely says her \u201cforte\u201d is treating damaged nipples. She is one of a few lactation consultants who have been trained in low-level laser therapy, which is used for wound healing and reducing inflammation. \u201cIt\u2019s been a game changer for mothers who have damaged and sore nipples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very few mothers and babies can\u2019t breastfeed, she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a natural instinct but it does not come naturally to everyone. I can\u2019t stress how important support is.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing Jayne notes about postnatal support is that as she had Robert on a Saturday morning, the midwife responsible for lactation support in the hospital seemed to be off over the weekend. He had jaundice and was started on formula in the hospital. Jayne believes it was only for the fact that Robert had to be kept in the hospital until the following Friday, that she ended up receiving plenty of breastfeeding assistance there.<\/p>\n

Once Robert was home, the PHN was out several times and was \u201cbrilliant\u201d. After about a week Jayne felt he was not latching properly and her nipples were sore. The PHN arranged for McFeely to ring Jayne, who was then invited to attend the weekly infant feeding group in a local clinic two days later, as it would be a quicker way to see her in person rather than waiting for an appointment slot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big help,\u201d says Jayne, who continued to attend the group every couple of weeks and found it invaluable to be able to ask anything of McFeely and other mothers.<\/p>\n

Robert had silent reflux. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t throwing up much, but he was having a lot of pain for the first eight weeks. I knew that he wasn\u2019t right.\u201d After Jayne found a lactose-free formula that suited him for top-up feeding, and she cut lactose out of her own diet too, \u201che changed completely\u201d.<\/p>\n

Despite the initial challenges, Jayne is glad she decided to breastfeed Robert. It made her slow down and her time sitting with him on her breast, particularly in the evenings after the other boys were in bed, has been precious. He was four months old before she bought a breast pump. \u201cI could be anywhere with the pumps on; I would flitter about and be outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had great support from her father, who lives beside the livery yard, which is half an hour from her own home. \u201cMy dad\u2019s nearly 80, and he\u2019s very good to me, because he makes dinners and all during the day for us. He would keep an eye on the wains if I needed him to. He adores them.\u201d<\/p>\n

One year on, Jayne still likes to sit down at night with Robert on her breast. \u201cI did enjoy it more than I thought I would,\u201d she says. \u201cAt the start, I thought if I did one week or I got to six weeks, or got to three months, I\u2019d have been doing great \u2013 and I would have been. So, I surprised myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would she say to expectant mothers contemplating breastfeeding?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re any way thinking that you would like to, try it. If you\u2019ve tried it, and you know it\u2019s definitely not for you, well, you won\u2019t look back and think, \u2018I should have tried it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jayne Patterson Roulston was dead set against the idea of breastfeeding her babies because, with a busy equestrian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[44746,1485,631,103,2120,61,60,1786,11760],"class_list":["post-639269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-children-s-health-ireland-chi-at-crumlin","tag-donegal","tag-for-you","tag-health","tag-hse","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-parenting","tag-parents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}