The Baroness takes on La Leche League

thanks Cavemum I posted without realising I had not reached the end of the thread. That makes sense.

I can't read the letter either here or on Twitter. If I enlarge the page it becomes too blurred, but otherwise the print's too small for my rapidly aging eyes. I'm sure it's great, her letters usually are.

Cave

more flowers for you Cave so glad you have found a therapist to help you process this.

Cavemum

It is painful and often bloody hard work, as anyone reading on MN on the subject for ten minutes would very quickly surmise. It's emotionally devastating to women who struggle or have to give up and experience circumstances beyond their control. It's part of what makes this nonsense from LLL so ruddy offensive and insensitive.

I think pointing out to charities that they are straying from their remit, as outlined in their charitable purposes, is something we should be doing more often.

Well done Emma!

While others have also clarified that we are not discussing feeding via tube strapped to a nipple but drug induced feeding (with an combination of drugs that a transwoman is already taking, who knows which of those drugs become available in the fluid they are producing PLUS what effect the combination of these drugs will have on the infant.)

I might also point out that would a male feeding by tube (and again, if there is no medical reason for this being better for the infant, why do it?) not require some specialist assistance? Would their needs match with other bfing mother's needs enough not to derail any sessions?

This is a splendid letter.

I'm not hard core LLL (hard to reconcile being a full time working mother with their principles) but this stance is the nail in the coffin for me and I will stop my membership.

Flowers for you CaveMum

@CaveMum sending support. You have done a fantastic job. There is no need to feel guilty. But I think many find CBT is helpful. I hope you find some closure with this regardless. You sound like a brilliant mum to me.

@Corona that sounds like LLL fulfilling their brief and I completely understand the gratitude and loyalty. I feel similar to people and organisations that have pulled me out of holes. Just to say though, that organisations are only as good as their people. I have also worked for amazing organisations that went bad due to change in senior management, modernising, change for change sake etc. Every organisation needs scrutiny. Amnesty International recently being another case in point.

Regarding the medication referred to in the Baroness’ letter (the anti-emetic) the drug she is talking about is Domperidone. It used to be available to buy over the counter and was a very useful anti-sickness drug. There is also some evidence it may help increase milk supply and so was prescribed off label to some women, especially mums of premature babies to help their milk come in ahead of when it would have done normally. However, the MHRA reviewed concerns about Domperidone a few years ago and because of a link with heart problems it was removed from being able to be bought and its use is much more restricted. If I prescribe it now I get a big warning pop up to say about the risks and that it should only be used for max 3-4 days.
There isn’t concern about the drug being excreted in breast milk. The BNF (UK drugs manual) reports that “amounts too small to be significant.”
However, given the change in prescribing guidance and the lack of robust evidence for efficacy many GPs, myself included, no longer prescribe Domperidone to help Mums lactate. The evidence (as LLL will know) is that there are a number of much better, non pharmacological ways to increase milk supply and this is what I discuss with my patients. This is what LLL should be doing too, focussing on ways to support women through difficult breastfeeding issues.
DOI: Mum to ex-premature baby who took Domperidone to increase milk supply before guidance changed. I actually don’t think it was very helpful and the support I had from NICU nurses was much more important.

Corona, it sounds like you’ve had the experience of LLL consultants on the ground, doing amazing work with mothers... it seems that a lot of former LLL consultants have spoken out against this new policy. I suspect it’s head office and social media managers tying themselves up in woke knots, in the same way other organisations dealing in women’s health no longer dare say “woman” on their website.

Yes! If they want to support transwomen then they MUST re-write their mission statement.

Otherwise they are misleading everyone who accesses their help!

That takes away everyone's abilty to give informed consent, to attend any meetings that will be mixed sex knowing they will/may be doing so!

If/when they do that then there will be an immedate need for women to start another similar group that supports women, only women, real women. With a mission statement identical to the LLLs current one!

Corona they're not saying they'll support transwomen breastfeeding for the benefit of babies (why do transwomen want to breastfeed?), they're saying they'll support this because:

'the world is moving on' and it is extending help to be as 'inclusive' as possible

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8997405/Breastfeeding-charity-sparks-outrage-allowing-men-identify-female-attend-meetings.html

This is in opposition to the charity's mission which is:

“Our Mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.”

I am well past the breastfeeding years now – so I am not on top of the latest trends – but in my time the one story I came across of a man breastfeeding was to do with an adopted baby withdrawing from drug dependency iirc. It was done with a supplemental feeding tube taped to the nipple - and it was seen as a way to soothe a traumatised baby and to help it attach to its new caregivers.

Remembering the formidable, intelligent women who run the groups – my instinct on this is to trust the LLL to be able to work with the scientific and medical knowledge - with compassion to the circumstances of the individual - and of course safeguarding of the child. If I hear otherwise from inside the organisation - I may change my view - but they have my trust on these matters above external voices nit picking at wording in pamphlets.

@MichelleofzeResistance you have put that more eloquently than I ever could

My female body produced milk itself when my young instinctively started to suckle.. with no outside input what so ever.. To feed my mammal young..

I’ve been following this debacle story since I saw the other thread where the lady was essentially thrown out of the Facebook group for not agreeing. The more I read comments like this the more frustrated I’m becoming.

I guess I also have a lot of loyalty to LLL because they were the ones who dug me out of a deep hole. They had an amazing non-judgemental attitude.

Welcomed me (and pulled out the thick books to research) - when other breastfeeding counsellors came across as slightly peeved that their standard advice wasn’t helping me.

@HecatesCats said it better than me