To think the Government should not be telling me how I am allowed to look after my baby?

[thezoobmeister]

I'm expecting DC2 in a couple of months and signed up for the NHS new pregnancy emails out of interest. I was expecting it to be pretty neutral and focused on health and safety stuff.

But can't believe how 'nanny state' it is! Telling me exactly where the baby is allowed to sleep (in my bed or in my arms are both banned, apparently) and how to get the baby into a routine (er, what if I don't want to?) Most of it is totally subjective and the patronising, preachy tone is what I'd expect from SWMNBN, not the NHS FGS. Example page here

Why is the government spending my money on this shite unwanted advice rather than, say, doing something about the midwives staffing crisis?

I think the advice given here IS evidence based. See NCT evidence based briefings on sleep - says much the same about self soothing etc.

And as someone who was night feeding well past the first year I still agree with the belief that a baby can go without from about 6 months and thrive. I just carried on because I wanted to and so did my children.

The page you linked to looks fairly sensible and inoffensive though. You might have mis-read - it doesn't say your baby can't sleep in your arms, but that you shouldn't fall asleep on a chair/sofa with baby still in your arms.

It's also quite explicit about whether there is strong evidence ('experts know that...'), or inconclusive ('it is possible that...', 'not all experts agree...'), or whether it's more subjective advice or suggestions ('you could try...').

Yes I can see it would come across as slightly patronising language to some, but I guess they're trying to keep it simple to reach a wide audience, not all of whom are highly educated or knowledgeable about childcare/healthcare etc.

Whatever you do OP, don't pick up a copy of Emma's Diary :o

I signed up for these emails and I actually find them useful. There are so many baby books with conflicting information that I got quite upset. I think the information in the NHS emails is rather straightforward by comparison.

I have since ditched all the contented baby wonder whisperer stuff and am following my instinct.

Oh yeah, I hate the 'put baby down when awake' stuff. Haaaaaaa! My DD fell asleep in my arms last night and then slept in her basket for four hours.

OP, YABU, not everyone knows it all, and err, unsubscribe!

I was talking to a young mum about baby foods many moons ago, when mine were babies, when she said something about xyz. My immediate thought was that you don't feed a baby something that is this high in salt.

Elsewhere I read in the news about some mum who fell asleep while craddling her newborn and ended up smothering the baby.

So, no I do not see this advice as an example of the nanny state.

I had my dcs ages ago. Back then we were handed a printed information pack at the time of booking in. The contents of which would almost certainly send the OP combustible with rage. However, we treated our information leaflets as advice. Not diktats. Which is exactly how this Government website should be taken.

Anyone who thinks their money is single-handedly funding public health advice does tend to lose my sympathy very early on, mind.

When I first heard about these emails/texts some months ago I was a bit
but all it is is communicating the same stuff but by a different form of media .

If you don't like it unsubscribe but you will find the same info in leaflets in your health centre/ GP surgery.

YANBU... the list of dos and don'ts may be well-meant but is getting so lengthy that I suspect most people end up ignoring it.

Don't take the advice then. Why does everyone bash the nhs? We're lucky to have it. If you don't like it then go and live in another country

Some bloody good advice on there IMHO. I wish I'd known how much babies could sleep at the newborn stage - we actually used to keep DS awake because I thought he'd wake up more if I didn't.

Also, it makes the very good point that babies are different in their needs. DS absobloodylutely thrived when he had more of a routine. The subsequent two were, and still are, more flexible.

OP - read Gina Ford - then come back and complain

You are completely exaggerating/misrepresenting what this is, OP. Nothing is banned, nothing is obligatory. It is just advice, based on one particular organisation's experience and agenda, just like Gina Ford's book is advice based on hers, or Dr Sears' book is advice based on his. Even on MN you will find advice, not just information. It is extraordinarily difficult to put together any sort of user-friendly document (aimed at people of all education levels) without making suggestions/giving advice.

Otherwise you finish up with something like:

"You may find a routine helpful. Or you may not. Or you might start off by findind a routine helpful and later find it better not to have one. Or alternatively you might want to start off without a routine and develop one later. Or maybe you might never want a routine. Who knows?"

If your gripe is with the content of the advice then that is a different matter. But you only have to read MN to see that there will never be a consensus as to what advice is correct. If you don't like it, don't read it. You aren't a first-time mum so you are perfectly capable of taking what you find helpful and rejecting the rest.

Hmm. I have gone and reread the page and have to admit that you are all right, I am being stunningly unreasonable. And I actually really like the NHS, and am even not a member of the Taxpayers Alliance or anything. Sorry ...

Pandemoniaa I liked "combustible with rage" - sadly, this is an accurate description of me at 7 months pregnant - oh dear

Sleepy thank you for that, reckon I'd need tranquillisers first!

Just wait til you're overdue OP, then the definition of unreasonable gets redefined...

Well done for taking the flaming though. I NCed after my first flaming. And got it deleted.

The page looks pretty useful to me. It's all evidence based. For example:

The risks of bed sharing

The safest place for your baby to sleep for the first six months is in a cot in a room with you. Don't share a bed with your baby if you or your partner:
are smokers (no matter where or when you smoke and even if you never smoke in bed)
have recently drunk alcohol
have taken medication or drugs that make you sleep more heavily
feel very tired
The risks of bed sharing are also increased if your baby:
was premature (born before 37 weeks), or
was of low birth weight (less than 2.5kg or 5.5lb)
There's also a risk that you might roll over in your sleep and suffocate your baby. Or your baby could get caught between the wall and the bed, or roll out of an adult bed and be injured.

Given the current state of knowledge, this is the best advice available. It doesn't say the baby can't sleep in bed with you, but it does say that you shouldn't have the baby in bed with you if you're a smoker, or you've drunk alcohol etc. There are very good, sound, evidence-based reasons for this advice.