FF at a Breastfeeding Support Group

[BabiesEverywhere]

Looking for opinions.

Would it be reasonable to have a couple of FF feeding mums (very nice ladies) at a Breastfeeding support group ?

Would your opinion change if you knew they started to breastfeed and swapped to FF ?

Do you think they would be supportive and give helpful advice to the other new mums or would the fact they swapped to formula lower the rate of other mums trying to establish breastfeeding ?

Thanks

[beautifuldays]

personally don't think it's a good idea. doesn't really give the right impression, sorry!

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

I think it's nicer in every way to be inclusive.
Obviously you don't want to end up with a group where hardly anyone is breastfeeding, but that's not going to happen, is it?

[wildwoman]

I think it should be inclusive, if they weren't pro breast feeding they wouldn't go to the group.

[lissielewzealand]

i dont see why it would be a problem tbh. the fact that the want to join a bf support group suggests that they wouldnt undermine bf-ing and they may have something positive to bring to the group.

[BabiesEverywhere]

QUOTE you don't want to end up with a group where hardly anyone is breastfeeding, but that's not going to happen, is it? UNQUOTE

Sad;y this is slowly happening to our local group. We only have 2 mums who exclusively breastfed to 6 months (my friend and I), nealry all the other mums are early weaners and mix feeders. Two of the mixed feeders have started full time FF (their choice and I'm happy for them) and still attend the group.

Just looking for different opinions, so keep them coming

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

If it was called an "Infant Feeding Group" then it wouldnt matter

I dont think expelling someone because they didnt 'make the grade' of continued b/feeding is very nice.

However, resources for b/feeding are so very limited and sparse that to afford time/tea for those who no longer need support to b/feed is a real luxury that support groups cannot afford.

[belgo]

I remember a thread a while back from a mother wanting to go to a bfing group even though she was ff, because she really wanted to go to a group and that was the only group in her area iirc.
I don't think it would be a problem, just because they ff doesn't mean that they aren't pro-bfing

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

I meant a danger of no-one breastfeeding at all. If you think mix feeding/early weaning counts as not breastfeeding, then it sounds like you're setting the bar a bit high.

[CorrieDale]

Part of the cycle, I'd say. People will drop out as their babies develop and their own needs change. Then others will come along to take their place. Or is it not that kind of group?

[wildwoman]

Yes VVV but ff mums need support too, can you imagine the outcry if there were FF "support" groups? People would be quoting who reccomnedations all over the place.

[imaginaryfriend]

I think that groups where breastfeeding is welcomed and not looked down on as 'weird' regardless of how other mum's are feeding is a good idea.

I went to a lovely mums and babies group when dd was born and at first almost all the mums breastfed so it felt really relaxed / common ground. then a couple of mums started weaning onto FF when the babies were about 3 months old. And then there was a kind of covert 'is she still breastfeeding?' thing going on which eventually led either to the BF mums not coming any more / turning to FF.

It's still not the 'norm' to BF in this country and I think any group that makes it feel 'normal' is a good group. For me that happened with friends (both mums and not mums) who were educated as to why I'd chosen to BF.

[imaginaryfriend]

ww, minority groups get 'support'. Majority groups, it's presumed, don't need it because they are in the majority.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

WW, I dont entirely understand what your point is?

B/feeding is something that takes a huge amount of support and effort. The statistics for mothers who initiate b/feeding arent that great, and then they dwindle to ridiculously low figures. B/feeders are therefore very much in the minority.

FFers have the luxury of £20 per head spent on advertising, glossy brochures and helpline numbers that they can ring - care of formula companies.

Since most mothers end up FFing - they really dont need to seek out folk like them - there are plenty about at every mum and baby group.

[moondog]

Hmm,one would have thought the formula feeders sensitive enough to stay away.

[charliegal]

Is is crazy to think that a bfing group is for women who are bfing?

[DrBunsentheHarpsichordCarrier]

I think it depends on the purpose of the group, if it is to provide a supportive environment for women who are bf with some peer support/professional advice, then I think it is probably appropriate for women to stop going when they are no longer bf, not because they are banned or anything but it doesnt really fit the prupose of the group.
if it is a group for new mums for more general support, then the method of feeding isn't an issue. I suppose bf mums need help to bf and possibly a particulasrly supportive environment, given the barriers to bf.
of course all mothers need support, but not every group can provide support to every mother iyswim

[wildwoman]

I don't mean that bf shouldn't get support, what I meant is that as a "failed" bf'er I still needed the support of a peer group and would have been mortified if I had been excluded in case I was a bad influence to other mothers. I have complete admiration (and huge jealousy) for breast feeding mothers. The advertising you mentioned doesn't count as support in my eyes. I'm not picking a fight honestly.

[imaginaryfriend]

... and why would you need suppport for BF if you're not BF?!

[BabiesEverywhere]

QUOTE If you think mix feeding/early weaning counts as not breastfeeding,UNQUOTE

One breastfed session a day counts as breastfeeding and has health benefits for that baby. The more feeds as breastfed the more benefits.

I failed to put my thoughts down clearly, in my last post. So I'll have another go.

I feel that the group dynamics have altered. So that exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months is considered practically unattainable and that the 'norm' within the group is too mix feed and this tends to reduce the amount and length of breastfeeding per child.

[imaginaryfriend]

ww, then you'd be looking for a 'BF failed' group rather than a FF support group? Wouldn't going to a BF support group make you feel worse?

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

No, thats fine, and I understand your feelings of "failure". Certainly at a new mums group or such like how you feed shouldnt matter. But surely, as Harpsi said - if it was a b/feeding support group - surely you'd want to allow someone else who was still trying to continue b/feeding to take your place? If you werent continuing b/feeding you wouldnt need that kind of support, and if you'd made good friends there - you could arrange to meet outside of the group anyway?

[imaginaryfriend]

BE that's what happened with the group I went to. Worse in a way. The women who were still BF began to be looked down up on by the women who'd 'succeeded' to get their babies on FF.

I have enormous sympathy for people who've tried to BF and it hasn't worked out. That's not the majority though IME.

[wildwoman]

You join the group assumng you will bf, you make friends and bond,when things didn't go to plan you might want to stick around for the general support of mothers experiencing motherhood in general not just bfeeding. I guess all groups are different.