Mother feared she was failing her baby after months of conflicting postpartum advice

Maddy Barrett wanted to feel empowered to make informed decisions as a first-time mother. Instead, conflicting advice about breastfeeding left her frightened that she was doing something wrong.

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What I found incredibly confusing was the huge variation in advice and approaches from different healthcare professionals.

During the first 24 hours after giving birth, nurses, lactation consultants and midwives offered different advice on how to help her newborn daughter latch. Barrett left hospital without a feeding plan or continuing breastfeeding support. In the following weeks, her daughter began losing weight because breastfeeding alone was not providing enough milk.

Nurses then put Barrett on a “triple feeding” plan: breastfeeding, pumping and formula-feeding her daughter. The routine left her emotionally exhausted and sleep-deprived. She pumped every three hours to establish and protect her milk supply, while her daughter often remained unsettled. Barrett said her family’s entire life seemed to revolve around feeding.

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It absolutely broke me.

Several other women told ABC they had received inconsistent advice from care providers after giving birth. A 2024 independent review of five antenatal-care guidelines used in Australia found inconsistencies across recommendations for childbirth and early parenting. The guidelines scored low across six areas, including clarity, applicability and editorial independence.

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It undermines their confidence because they have got no reference point as a new parent.

Nicole Highet, executive director of the Centre of Perinatal Excellence, said conflicting advice can undermine new parents’ confidence and increase stress and anxiety. Parents may also delay seeking help because they fear being judged. She said practitioners sometimes provide personal or anecdotal advice, while guidelines are reviewed every five years.

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The overwhelm of information, all of these things together make it an extremely stressful and vulnerable time for parents when it comes to mental health.