Miscarriage guidelines - fabulous - but...

"he's constipated"
"he's refusing the bottle"
"he brings up lots of his feed"
"he only takes 2oz x 30 times a day" (I had one of those - eek it was awful went on for months- didn't have a clue what to do with him)

God I could make a list as long as my arm of problems I came across when FFing DS2 (and 3 to a certain extent). EVERY single concern I had was dismissed out of hand by every HV I saw, and I was hardly going to ring SMA and ask whether I should try a different brand of milk as SMA seemed to be making my baby unsettled was I? And ok HV's aren't allowed to promote any brands of formula, but a simple "yes why don't you try another one and see how you get on" (or no - offer him water/rub his tummy etc etc) would have been suffice.

Sorry I forgot - all us mum that have ever bottlefed just picked up a tin of formula, read the instructions and shoved the bottle in the babies mouth and sat there and thought how easy it all was........

imo the side of the pack is screamingly unhelpful, telling you to boil a kettle and leave it for 30 mins etc (without mentioning why).

so i do think, actually, that two sets of info would be good, one for bfing, one for bottle. because there is a huge overlap anyway and bottlefeeding is a faff and imo not enough people know this in advance of labour.

there are ways of making it easier and smarter (and more importantly safer, because if you're running scared of the pack instructions you are left with 'what my mother did' ie making up in advance, which is no longer safest.

haven't read the misc guidelines, though. do they mention ectopic preg and other losses?

as someone who bottlefed, i am not sure what helplines bottle feeders would need? except to make up the feeds safely and to feed on demand/ responsively. ? am i missing something?

not being contentious, just a bit baffled

No HM you're not getting abuse for wanting better BFing support, you're getting abuse for failing to see that bottle feeders need support too - and aren't going to get that from better Breastfeeding support.

I've always thought that number was like what you get on just about every product you buy in the supermarket......would never have thought of ringing it for advice on feeding my baby .

Whereas even without attending antenatal classes with DS1 I knew about the various breastfeedig helplines from the leaflets that were thrust into my hand before I left the hospital.

I didn't have any "help" or "support" whatsoever when I switched to FF with DS2 and 3. Yes I knew a few people that had/were FFing their DC. But they were just as clueless as I was, or told me straight out that "they knew advice had changed but they didn't know how".

i know that the NHS trust where i am provides info about breast and bottle feeding in the ante natal clinics, the bottle feeding leaflet is mainly how to safely make up and prepare feeds.

So would a helpline be ok for breastfeeding support? I think not...

where are you getting abuse?!

yes but before you have a baby you haven't bought any tubs of formula have you??
It is all a mystery.

There is no literature available through the health service that I could find

And nothing in ante-natal classes as I have mentioned

and IME it's not so much before you have your DC, but afterwards.

Go to the HV - I'm FFing now, he's having x numbers of Xoz bottles a day, but doesn't seem settled......., should I try to spread the feeds out and give him more at each feed, try a different milk?

"oh just give it to him when he wants it" (so upwards of 10 times a day I was giving DS3 a 4oz bottle.........)

Also why are you the only one who can decide which groups of people should have support codes put together for them?

I couldn't breastfeed yet I don't object to guidlines for those who do

I have never had a miscarriage and again I don't object

...

it is not microscopic personal experience

Lots and lots of people have this problem

You are being blinkered about it IMO

I don't mean actually SAY it is a faff
but surely if you go through all that palaver anyone with half a brain will think that

sorry I don't know of anyone who's switched to FF from BF'ing who's managed to find advice/support/etc of any description , whereas most people I know have had access to some sort of BFing help - even if it was shit......

It's not just how to make up a bottle, how much, how often, etc etc

Why can't they just tell the truth

Tell people what you have to do to bottle feed

IE
you have to sterilise
it is a mare when you go out and a faff
you have to get up in the night as in my scenario below
it is expensive
etc etc

All at the same time as showing people HOW to actually go about doing the above (ie what equipment to buy, how to sterilise, what to do when out/in the night, how to choose formula...

Having first talked about breastfeeding, hopefully people will think "OMG bottle feeding sounds like a nightmare" and will breast feed

AND - (Added bonus) - those of us who really truly can't breastfeed will have been given the info we need.

Win win situation

(clearly the msg should also be BREASTFEED IF YOU CAN)