Does anyone know or can recommend any lactation consultants in Bern? Preferably English speaking but we can make do with German. I had a midwife come by after I gave birth and we tried several times to get baby to feed properly at my breast but it hasn't worked. Just wondering if someone more specialized might help? Baby is now 1 month old and I am a slave to the double electric pump...

My wife had also a lot of difficulty the first 5 weeks. Pumping, using bottles, washing. It was awful.

But keep trying, after 5-6 weeks it all started to work, and we didn't need the bottle and the pump anymore.

Have you tried the plastic nipple shields, these seemed to work for us and my wife did not need to use them anymore afterwards.

Our midwife was very good, and was able to get the baby to latch on. Does the baby not latch on when the midwife comes over.

Justbeingme, thanks for sharing your input. I tried the nipple shields yes, they worked only marginally. The midwife tried many times and sometimes baby would feed a little but often not at all. I've used up all my appointments quota that are covered by insurance, but I'm willing to try again and pay for it myself if it means I can stop pumping day and night.

I was glued to the sofa for days and days. Feeding her, fighting her, soothing her... my breasts were red with scratches because she refused so strongly and it got to the point where as soon as she was in a position to breastfeed she would wail. If I manage to get her latched on, her face would turn sour as if I gave her a lemon and she would push me away. She screamed so strongly that I felt as if I was torturing her. I knew she was hungry but she would suck once or twice and go on strike, closing her eyes and going to sleep because it required less effort to starve. If I kept at it for another 10 mins or so, she might suck for about 5 mins and fall asleep and wake again in 15 mins hungry and the whole ordeal began all over again. I once did not get up from the sofa at all for over 2 hours repeating this process over and over. It was so stressful that I eventually reached the end of my nerves and gave her the bottle.

It has been over a week since she was last at my breast, but I think I might be ready to try again. I'm afraid of what will happen if I did it on my own though.

I just checked with Mrs. G.
Go to www.stillen.ch and look for the addresses of IBCLC in the Bern area.

A quick search shows 2 who speak English. Good luck.