Weight gain: Breastfeeding Hannah has piled on the pounds since becoming a mother to Edwin
Pulling on her size 10, pre-pregnancy skinny jeans less than a fortnight after giving birth last year, Hannah Newman-Evans couldn't contain her delight at regaining her figure so quickly.
Rather than using pregnancy as an excuse to put up her feet and gorge for two, she'd continued to eat healthily and walk up to six miles a day - determined to avoid putting on unnecessary pounds.
In fact, she only gained just over a stone, which was almost all bump.
However, eight months after having her son, Edwin, it's a very different story. She has piled on 16lb, gone up to a size 14-16 and hides her body inside baggy tops and stretchy jeggings.
The cause of this dramatic weight gain? Hannah believes it's down to breastfeeding.
Even though much of the breastfeeding propaganda extols its figure-shrinking virtues - promising it will burn up to 750 calories a day while flattening the stomach by encouraging the uterus to contract - Hannah says: 'I'm as big as I was at nine months pregnant.'
Like Hannah, I also have an eight-month-old baby - but I chose not to breastfeed, much to the derision of several midwives who tried to persuade me that feeding would encourage my body to snap back into shape.
And Hannah, a former marketing manager, who runs a country pub in the New Forest with her husband Malcolm, 35, tells me: 'When I was 12 weeks pregnant, I got a leaflet on breastfeeding from my midwife. Inside, a cartoon depicted a pregnant woman telling her midwife she was unsure whether to breastfeed.
'"Well, you should, because you will get your figure back and your husband will like that!" declared the nurse.
'The message that breastfeeding would help me lose pregnancy pounds was also pushed in the classes I went to with the National Childbirth Trust and La Leche League (a pro-breastfeeding group).
'Even though I chose to breastfeed because I believed it would be best for my son, being slim has always been important to me, so I can't deny this made it even more appealing.'
The average woman gains 22-26lb while pregnant, according to the NHS, and the body lays down around 8lb of fat close to birth in preparation for breastfeeding.
Hannah in her pre-motherhood days when she was slimmer, left. She believes breastfeeding is to blame for her size now
The benefits of nursing for mums are listed everywhere, from ante-natal leaflets to NHS websites. They include reduced risk of developing some types of ovarian and breast cancer, lower risk of hip fractures and diabetes when older - and faster weight loss.
Leading breast-pump manufacturer Medela claims studies show that breastfeeding mums could lose almost double the weight in the first three months compared with those who bottle-feed.
Celebs who've pedalled the 'breastfeeding makes you slim' message include celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, who has worked with Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian, and supermodel Heidi Klum, who was back on the catwalk in a bikini six weeks after baby number four. She credited breastfeeding for her rapid post-natal weight loss.
But is promising that nursing leads to weight loss actually little more than a cynical government strategy to reach breastfeeding targets - by preying on women's insecurities about their post-partum bodies?
Hannah's experience of getting fatter the longer she breastfeeds is certainly not unusual. Her sentiments are echoed by Emily Chilton, 30, a childminder who lives in North London with her husband Mark, an engineer who's also 30.
Used to be a size 8-10: Emily Chilton with her baby Holly, left, and with her husband Mark when she was slimmer
They have three daughters: Leah, nine, Lucy, two, and 3½ month Holly. Their first baby died aged eight months from meningitis.
Emily is about to stop breastfeeding Holly because she's desperate to lose the 1½ st she's gained since giving birth.
'I've always been a size 6-8, and with each of my four pregnancies I continued to eat healthily and remain active in a bid not to pile on weight,' says Emily, a former underwriter for a shipping-insurance company. 'I gained almost 3st during each pregnancy but much of that was fluid retention. The weight melted away after the births but crept on again when I started feeding.
'I only fed Leah for four weeks, so the impact was minimal. With Lucy I breastfed for eight weeks, during which I gained half a stone. Since breastfeeding Holly I've been gaining around 2lb a week, and I now have at least 20lb to lose.
'Although the reason I wanted to breastfeed was the belief that it was best for my children, everything I read about breastfeeding during my last pregnancy included the message that it would help me lose weight. This was endorsed at my NCT class, where there was a huge poster outlining all of the incentives to breastfeed, including weight loss.
'I'm not one of those women who enjoys pregnancy. I hated looking and feeling fat, and pinned a lot of hope on breastfeeding helping me to lose the weight more quickly this time. But the opposite has happened.'
Emily with her daughters: She hoped breastfeeding them would help her lose the baby weight but she's bigger now than she's ever been
So are the maternity mafia guilty of misleading women into breastfeeding, with the promise of getting their figure back, or are new mums to blame by simply eating too much?
Sioned Quirke, a dietician who advises women on nutrition during and after pregnancy and a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, says the problem is that women are only told half the story. 'Essentially it's hype used to make breastfeeding appealing to women who want to get their figures back and might not otherwise breastfeed,' she claims.
'But breastfeeding is a very sedentary activity, women commonly experience ravenous hunger while feeding, and hormone changes can lead them to hang on to pregnancy pounds or gain new ones.
'And many believe that because they're being told their body will burn all these extra calories, it's a licence to eat more.'
Bigger now than then: Emily when she was eight months pregnant
Although Hannah intends to continue breastfeeding her son until he's a year old so he'll get the maximum benefits, she despairs about the impact on her body.
'As someone who's always taken a pride in having a slim figure, it's heartbreaking that my waist is now three inches larger than pre-pregnancy and my dress size is a 14-16,' she says.
'Although all my main meals are healthy, I wasn't prepared for the ravenous hunger that means I get through three or four packets of biscuits a week, or for being tied to the armchair for up to five hours a day feeding my son.'
Heather Neil, an NCT breastfeeding counsellor, concedes: 'There is no guarantee that breastfeeding will lead to weight loss.'
But she adds: 'Several studies show that, generally, breastfeeding women get back to their pre-pregnancy weight more quickly than women who don't or who breastfeed for a short time.'
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is equally defensive. 'We don't advocate our midwives using weight loss as an incentive to get women to breastfeed - the focus is on the health benefits to mum and baby,' says Janet Fyle, RCM’s professional policy adviser.
Sioned Quirke says more needs to be done to warn women that while breastfeeding burns calories, other factors mean they'll want to eat loads more too.
EARLY ADVICE
Breastfeeding should begin within one hour
of birth, according to World Health Organisation guidelines
'Because the hunger that comes with breastfeeding can be all-consuming, many mums use it as an excuse to eat more,' she explains. 'Their calorie intake is then too high and they gain weight.
'Lack of routine and sleep can also contribute to overeating. Then there's the hormone prolactin, released by the pituitary gland during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which triggers milk production and encourages the body to lay down 5-10 lb of fat in preparation.
'Some research suggests that if you have a higher level of prolactin, it can suppress your metabolism and lead to the development of obesity.
'Generally, breastfeeding burns around 500 calories a day, the equivalent of a shop-bought sandwich and a small packet of crisps. But that doesn’t mean you should be eating that to compensate. Ask yourself: "Am I overweight?" If the answer's yes, you don't need the extra calories.
'Women who are breastfeeding should improve the quality of the food and snacks they already eat, rather than increasing the amount.
'Snack on yogurt or fruit, not biscuits and cake. And keep your fluids up, as many mums are often so busy that they forget to drink and then mistake raging thirst for hunger.'
Craved fatty foods: Lauren, with son Harry, piled on the pounds when breastfeeding as she was always hungry and didn't watch what she ate
These are rules Lauren Woodward bitterly regrets not following. She stopped breastfeeding her second child five months ago and estimates she now has 3st to lose before she can ditch her size 16-18 clothes and return to the size 12-14 she was immediately after giving birth.
'We're sold this myth that we'll lose weight while breastfeeding, so it's a bit of a shock to find yourself putting on the pounds,' says Lauren, 28, who lives near Lowestoft, Suffolk, with her husband Jonathan, 38, a company director, and their sons Charles, five, and Harry, two.
'Most women think the danger time for gaining weight is during pregnancy, not afterwards.
'I was a size 12 before I had kids, and wore size 12 non-maternity clothes during both pregnancies. When I was expecting Charles, I only gained just over a stone and weighed less after I'd given birth than before I got pregnant.
'But that changed when I started breastfeeding. I actually stopped when I discovered I was three months pregnant with Harry. But by then I'd gained around half a stone and didn't get the chance to lose it.'
Lauren breastfed because she believed it was best for her babies, but the idea of it helping her slim down was a big draw, too - sold to her at ante-natal classes and reinforced by her local breastfeeding support team.
Feels misled: Lauren was told she would snap back into shape after childbirth of she breastfed
'While I was feeding both times, support workers made comments such as: "Oh, you're breastfeeding so you'll soon be back to your pre-pregnancy weight."
'While pregnant with Harry I gained almost a stone more than I had with Charles. Most of that fell away within weeks of giving birth. But then I gained more than 2st while breastfeeding.
'I'd assumed that breastfeeding would burn so many calories that I wouldn't need to worry about what I ate. And my midwife told me I'd ping back into shape if I was breastfeeding - but didn't warn me about the insatiable hunger.
'I bitterly regret thinking that I didn't need to eat sensibly. I used it as an excuse to eat man-size portions, take-aways and cake.
'I fed Harry till last December when he was 29 months, and stopped mainly because of my weight. But my body has got used to eating fatty foods and take-aways so they are what I find myself craving. It's going to take a long time to get back to sensible eating habits.'
Emily Chilton also wishes there was more honesty about the impact of breastfeeding on a woman's body, and says she feels cheated.
'If the experts told you that just because you burn extra calories while feeding it won’t necessarily translate into weight loss, maybe I wouldn't feel that my weight gain is so disastrous.
'Breast might be best for baby, but I'm a big believer that mums still matter, too, and I feel no shame for wanting to be a bit selfish and have my body back. After all, a happy mum equals happy children.'
And Sioned Quirke says: 'Instead of offering false hope in thinly veiled marketing messages, women deserve a more realistic picture of breastfeeding.
Breast is best for baby: But mothers shouldn't see if as a quick fix for weightloss if they don't also consider their diet
'They need to be prepared for the tiredness, hunger and hormones that can mean they hang on to 5-10 lb of excess weight while feeding, and they should be armed with advice on how to eat for energy while also squeezing exercise in around their baby.
'It's the same simple equation - eat too much and you will get fat. Breastfeeding doesn't have a magic ability to cancel out excess calories or pounds gained, despite how some of the propaganda is worded.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2642045/The-great-myth-breastfeeding-weightloss-New-mothers-told-breastfeeding-shift-post-pregnancy-tum-In-fact-did-OPPOSITE-women.html#ixzz339D3bi8G
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