I bought into the convincing narrative. As I wrote last year:

Committed to extended breastfeeding, I gave birth to both of my children at a BFHI accredited hospital with a nursery, and rooming in seemed like torture the first time around, about five-and-a-half years ago. (No joke, sleep-deprivation is a known interrogation technique.) The birth was traumatic, ending in a painful yet skillfully-executed forceps delivery that left me emotionally drained and with a second degree tear and stitches. No doubt I was in love with my daughter, but being forced to have her in my room 24/7 after barely sleeping for days was crazy-making. No doubt I love my husband, but those first two nights he corroborated the theory that dads are less attuned to babies’ cries than moms. Deliriously hopping in and out of bed all night to comfort and nurse a crying newborn all while cringing at the stinging of stitches was excruciating.

…Experiences like mine, of trying to overcome breastfeeding obstacles despite anxiety, pain, exhaustion, and excessive and sometimes harmful weight loss [link to fedisbest.org article] in a newborn, aren’t uncommon. But because moms are told in no uncertain terms that breastfeeding leads to better outcomes, and because moms are supposed to make sacrifices, we believe we need to experience insurmountable obstacles before we “give up.”

Read more at Forbes.com.