Guest blog: 'Breast is Best' - has breastfeeding been oversold?

[KateMumsnet]

Prof Joan B Wolf is the author of 'Breast Is Best?', which argues that mothers are being pressured to breastfeed for reasons that aren't, in fact, based on good evidence.

In our guest blog debate, she explains why she thinks that the science behind the 'breast is best' health claims might be fundamentally flawed. On the same page Anna Burbidge, Chair of the La Leche League, responds to some of her arguments.

Do read both, and let us know what you think. Is breastfeeding being promoted as part of "an ideology of total motherhood that stipulates that a mother can and should eliminate any risk to her children, regardless of how small or likely the risk or what the cost is to her own wellbeing in the process"? Or do you feel that, far from breastfeeding being an orthodoxy, society still feels awkward and uncomfortable about it? If you blog, don't forget to post your URLs here.

We know the breastfeeding/formula feeding thing is a hugely emotive subject on MN, as in real life, so please do remember that Mumsnet supports parents' personal choices on this issue - we're all about making lives easier. Please be kind and respectful towards those whose views or experiences differ from your own.

We need to eradicate this 'guilt' that surrounds formula feeding. I don't get it, you should only feel guilt for something that you feel you shouldn't be doing. If you are completely at peace with your choice then you shouldn't feel guilty, if you believe that formula feeding is best for your baby and you family then really what does it matter what other people think, you know you are doing the right thing for you/them.

For those saying how hard it is to bf when you have a toddler, statistically, you are unlikely to HAVE a toddler, if said toddler was bf long term.

Having said that, I had a baby and toddler and had to prioritise that's all. I had less frequent showers, DH often had to cook after long working days, we ate microwave meals. I can't say it was easy, but it is possible. Millions of women do it.

Why is breastfeeding seen as a 'sacrifice'? is it a sacrifice too far? Surely becoming a parent means you are sacrificing anyway, not that I would use 'sacrifice' to describe parenting. How about people had more realistic expectations when it came to bringing a whole new person into the world? Sorry, but if breastfeeding is seen as a scarifice maybe people should re-think the whole idea of having children because they are going to need to be fed one way or another for many many years. Why is breastfeeding a 'scarifice' but preparing a safe bottle of formula and taking the time to feed it to a baby isn't?

Dueling I agree. I have breastfed for a total of 4 years now, and I don't view it as a sacrifice. It is something I have been very happy to do, I view it as time well spent.

And I've been able to afford a lovely holiday rather than spending lots of money on formula - hardly a sacrifice!

I have nged a newborn and had a toddler. On two of those occasions the toddler was still feeding! So ifed both sometimes, I used asking that I could feed in. I am very good at doing things with one hand. I used a baby swing if I really needed to put the baby down.

Dpe works crazy hours and does evenings and nights so am often on my own for 24-30hrs. I use the slow cooker or dp would make a meal that I could reheat or I did easy dinners is pasta with ham and peas and a sauce of blue cheese melted with a bit of cream.

I have five children and I guess I just muddled along, my youngest is now two and life is much easier!

I have fed for over nine yrs, I font see it as sacrifice and I miss it at times, but equally am enjoying that life has moved on!

Breastfeeding's often blamed for the hard work of mothering when really it makes the job easier once you've got the hang of it.

Your life changes forever when you have children and the time you spend breastfeeding is a splash in the ocean compared to the years of child care related tasks to come!

I agree with everything detoxlatte said.

I BF my first DC to 4 months and my second to 6 months. After that, they had formula. I was more than happy to move on to bottles at that time (which I did not find a faff at all).

Some of the stances I read on here make me feel like a shit mother - like I am selfish that I stopped at 4/6 months and I should have continued on well into toddler hood. Like I have chosen to feed my babies with something that will harm them. I actually don't believe that but when you read posts that imply you are not as committed to your baby, it is very hurtful (and not true).

I am happy enough with what I did for me and my babies but some attitudes on here are so judgmental and accusing in tone that I can really understand why a lot of posters feel 'got at' and are made to feel like second class mothers. When they complain about it - they are being 'defensive'.

I feel all that as someone who DID breast feed!

I don't know anyone who gave up because it was 'too much work'. Everyone I know who gave up, including me, did so because they were in agony. Agony. Every single feed. Sobbing at every feed.

Wrong latch, tt, whatever the reason. Fucking agony.

As a midwife I can only echo those who say the lack of support is the problem. We promote the fuck out of bf, to the extent that women are visibly scared to tell me they are formula feeding for fear of my reaction (which makes me so sad every time) but the post natal support is shocking. How can we support bf mums (or any others!?) with the staffing level on wards as it is, and a post natal visit on day 1,5 and 10 if you are lucky?

Which is why we need better and more breastfeeding help in this country.
I say that as someone who had a fairly easy breastfeeding journey despite having to pump for 10 days while my son was in special care.

I don't think it is just the burden of midwives though.

Our culture and society is just not geared up for breastfeeding.

The organisations that try to be by providing a 'private breastfeeding room' really aren't helping the image (though I understand that they may help 'some' individuals to continue).

And the media images of 'the perfect mother' plus the years and years of formula propaganda (did you know formula companies have been involved in designing maternity hospitals and ensure that the 'baby's room is far, far away from the mother?) really doesn't help.

It is oversold, but unfortunetly, still this country does nothing to help women or help them continue.
I ff my babies, but i really tried hard with dc4 as i wanted to give my baby the right start & atleast try my best.
Not only was i not a natural at it, but i just couldn't get the latch right. I got help once, just once the whole 2 days i was in hospital. When i come home i tried for a few more days, but i was in absolute agony and had to send my dm out for nipple shields
Kept asking the local mw to get me some help...on a sunday i was sent a male mw, i don't mind a male mw, infact i had one for dc2s birth, but i'm not comfortable with them touching my breasts. So he gave me a phone number and said for me to visit mw on the monday.
By this time my baby was a wk old and i was worried she wasn't getting enough, and with no help i gave up and went onto formula.

I felt like a failure at the time, especially what with all the advertisements about breast being best and the constant rif raf & leaflets & posters in the docs surgery.

The gov wants mothers to bf, but where is the pratical help and what about mothers that can't breast feed, are their feelings considered when harassing new mums?

I genuinely struggle to see how anybody could think there is a better alternative than breastfeeding...
Everything that happens in the creation of life, from conception to birth to breastfeeding is perfectly designed by nature!

Unfortunately, it is the arrogance of mankind to assume we can improve on something which is already perfect!

Choosing (and I know that sometimes there isn't a choice) to give your baby formula (made from the breast milk of another species!) just seems totally insane to me.

Apart from the obvious benefits to the baby, breastfeeding works for the mother too in so many ways... naturally encouraging the body back to it's original form, acting as a natural contraceptive to give the body time to recover before conceiving again. Nature has it all covered!

Ah for the days of natural levels of infant mortality. Nature's got it covered all right, my baby would naturally have died.

Ok, I have to tread carefully on that one.... Lets just say in that instance that natures design works better for the species as a whole than it does for the individual and I am truly thankful that we have (and use) the medical knowledge to prevent such a tragedy!

But when it comes to breastfeeding I think as much as we possibly can we should put our trust in nature.

If it's been 'oversold' why do we have such a ridiculously low BF rate in the UK? The majority of babies here don't get any breastmilk.

"The majority of babies here don't get any breastmilk"

They all get some breastmilk, but weirdly some people prefer to give their baby breastmilk from an animal rather than their own?!

Applauds Wolf and MN for organising this -waaaaay overdue.

I bf for 6 weeks but loathed it,no biggie as far as I am concerned.

The data is tiny and I'm utterly sick and tired of the stat twisting,over inflating of figures and scaremongering you see(only on here I'm afraid).

There are sooooo many parenting ideals eg restricting screen time,avoiding nurseries,providing 5 a day,providing a huge diet of books,hearing your kids read daily,providing regular proper exercise,giving boundaries,eating together as a family,organic food,avoiding sugar which is as addictive as cocaine apparently,being a good role model,providing plenty of sleep,avoid sweeteners,transfer fats and other assorted crap - yada, yada.

Some of these I have managed but don't feel the need to push down the throats of other mothers. Just about every other parenting ideal has far more reliable data,more scary figures and a far bigger impact on the health and well being of babies and children yet none are treated with the same hysteria.

Soooo Ms Wolf please do keep it up as I firmly believe that the bfing crusade is counter productive.If attention was switched to the need of support instead of ridiculous scare mongering then just maybe rates would rise however really it ain't the end of the world if they don't.

Bf may be normal but so are many other parenting choices.You pick,you choose.Motherhood is a marathon not a sprint and I hate this view that if you make the wrong choice on this first parenting decision you have screwed up your child's entire life. Worst still if you keep it into perspective and simply couldn't give a stuff you have isoooos or a chip on your shoulder- it's utterly ridiculous and no other parenting choice is treated in the same way even though most have a far,far bigger impact.

It's hard to argue about the health benefits of colostrum. That's a few days feeding. It can even be hand expressed and syringed into the babies mouth. Yet most babies don't even get that. So how is it 'oversold'?

Oh and you can add restricting red meat/ going veggie to that list too(risk of heart attacks are cut by third if you're veggie or something along those lines).

Lets make mums feel crap for not raising their kids veggie after all a veggie diet will have a far bigger long term impact on a child's long term health than a few months of formula(which is actually a far healthier food than most designer toddler snacks).

The anti formula crusade is just utterly ridiculous.

Narked. I thought it was 80% of mums who attempted to breast feed so the maj must get colostrum.

Lets just say in that instance that natures design works better for the species as a whole than it does for the individual

But the choice of how to feed our babies is made at the individual level (and thank goodness for that). Each mother knows the details of her family circumstances best. It is extraordinarily arrogant to imagine that you know better with your notions of some natural ideal.

At the individual level breast is not always best.

Exactly Holey I do many parenting ideals.I knew my dc would be eating very little red meat or crap but plenty of fruit and veg,would get plenty of exercise,an outdoor life rich in literacy.......So they had a few months of formula(and a happy mummy not sobbing in pain or resentment),breast feeding didn't work out - big deal.

Sooooo not an issue or anybody else's business to judge.We can all judge and believe you me there are far,far bigger things to judge a parent on than not breast feeding.

I'm sorry but very few women 'prefer' ff. It's expensive and can be dangerous. The vast majority of women want to bf. Stop producing posters to hang in hospitals and invest in staff.