Breast pumping

I highly recommend that all new moms own or rent a breast pump or learn to hand express breast milk. Breast pumps are primarily marketed toward working moms, but as a full time mom I have found many health reasons why pumping milk is useful. My baby had a very difficult birth and on our first day home from the hospital she went into para traumatic shock, her vital signs were weak,  syringe feeding breast milk partly contributed to us being able to bring her back and prevent her from needing to be admitted to the hospital. When my baby was about four weeks old I got Mastitis, with this type of infection where it is important that you continue to feed baby from the infected breast or express the milk in order to get the infection out of your system. I found that it was far too painful to breast feed from that breast so I would pump the breast instead because the pump could be turned down to a lower pressure, while baby's sucking can not. Another way my breast pump has been useful is in making sure my baby gets enough to eat. As a result of her difficult labor she had tubes put in her throat immediately after birth, this caused her to have trouble with her eating habits. There have been many days were she refuses to eat (despite continual chiropractics) on those days we syringe feed her to be sure she gets enough milk. 

I also know many moms get sick of breast feeding, it is very taxing and clearly shows mother that she is no longer an individual. I encourage those mothers not to transfer there babies on to formula, how about pumping milk and freezing it instead. You can use the frozen milk to give yourself all the breaks you need and Dad and participate in feeding baby. If your leaky breast is a factor in your desire to stop breast feeding try to remember that eventually that goes away.