to be absolutely freaking fuming about breastfeeding vouchers! !!!

[harriet247]

Cannot put into words how annoyed I am,have just switched on the news to be told that the government are considering offering breastfeeding vouchers to new mums.
160 quid in shopping vouchers for the first 6 weeks of the babys life and 200 if you go up to 6 months.
Im a ftm and I had crippling horrible guilt that I couldn't breastfeed. I really wanted to but my milk didnt turn up until 9 days after my baby was born. I think was something to do with 44 hour labour which ended in an emc a few weeks before my due date.
I am just furious, furious that women are being treated like foolish little ladies who need a cash incentive to feed their babies in the way the powers that be say is best.

Why is that forty?

Can they diagnose ASD and LD at 6 months?

(Genuine question forty)

"Im not rude, Im frustrated.

Mainly by you who has been making up facts and assumptions."

please, re-read what I have written.
I have not made up facts and made assumptions.

Your degree work may have shown that women in deprived areas are less likely to attempt to breastfeed but there are a multitude of reasons why that is the case and it's not just the poorness (financially).

Giving people a financial incentive may help a little but there are several other reasons why breastfeeding is not considered which would also effect deprived women.

You have taken something I posted and twisted it around making it into a much bigger deal than you should have because you seem to just want to have an argument with me.

In my opinion the reasons women fail to even attempt breastfeeding is not just financial.

that is all I am saying. I am not making assumptions, I know that there are women out there who do not want to breastfeed because they think it is disgusting, because they think formula is just as good, because they think their child won't sleep, their tits will get saggy and their husband's won't be involved enough. A multitude of reasons.

Women in deprived areas are more likely to have a child younger, or even be a teen. Women who are in deprived areas are less likely to have a partner. Women in deprived areas a less likely to have a strong family unit (because of divided families, exactly the reason above products of their own environment). Women in deprived areas are less likely to have a mother who breastfeeds them. Women in deprived areas are less likely to know the good that can come from breast feeding.

So yes, there a few factors as to why they may not breastfeed.

-Having a baby young

• Not having the support of a partner/husband

-No strong family support unit -Not having a mum who breastfed -Of anyone around them who did -Less likely to know about the health benefits of breast feeding

All of those more likely in deprived areas.

Its an absolute fact, women in deprived areas are less like to breast feeding.

Yes the reasons are many, but it boils down to deprivation.

I understand what chibi and mrsjay are saying about it being a small study.

However, the way the press have twisted it is disgraceful IMO. Implying that women ( especially those from poorer back grounds) will only do "what is best for their child" if they are paid to do so. When the reality is much more to do with support and knowledge.

I think a better use of resources would be to have a qualified breast feeding supporter or nurse on the post natal ward, as well as the women that come round handing out formula/bottles for those that need it. I'd prefer the money to fund that than this voucher scheme.

I would have appreciated that when I was on the ward after having DS1. It took a while for my milk to come in and I needed more support than the unsympathetic cow of a nurse coming round honking my boob and declaring that I wasn't making enough milk for DS at frequent intervals ('did I want to put him on formula yet?'). I got better support when I was discharged and ebf for 15 months.

I didnt get the impression that they implied that at all.

enormouse did you read the thread? Or the article?

Its not for those who already want to breastfeed. There ARE support workers out there for those struggling to breastfeed (whether there are enough or not).

Im putting the following in bold not (not to be rude Idiot) but because people keep missing this-

The voucher to encourage those to attempt to breastfeed when they ordinarily had no intention of even trying

Oops sorry I didnt. My mistake. Ill RTFT.

"How many of the health issues like stomach bugs are caused by the fact it's not well publicised on how to make up formula"

It's printed on the back of EVERY tin of formula.

It's on every formula website.

It's on the NHS Choices website.

Women don't make up formula correctly for a whole host of reasons, one of which is that it's time consuming to do it as directed on the tin.

Totally bloody agree with you. Heard it on radio this morning and thought I was hearing things. Mothers don't need to be bribed with cash to bf their babies. Making cuts everywhere else and people are struggling financially and government are going to possibly do this. ridiculous

Why?

When I BFed my boys, I watched other mothers get free baby milk.

MyLovelyBoy what is it you agree with?

How would you increase breast feeding rates?

Katie is talking about this on the news at the moment

Actually I think it's great they are encouraging it!! Such a low percentage of women do it in the UK and if a monitory incentive will tip the balance the other way, fantastic!! Especially good if the money is targeted at deprived families.

It's sad you couldn't BF by the way but hey ho, that's life.

OH I don't agree with the vouchers. Mums don't need cash bribes to breast feed. They do because they want to. Hope that makes more sense.

I bf my first for 10 weeks. I hated bfing with a passion.
With my next 4 DC I was adamant that I wasn't going to bf and no amount of pressure from my midwife was going to change my mind.
We could have done with £200 of vouchers back then.
I would then have had the dilemma of whether to bf, get the vouchers but absolutely hate the first few weeks of my nb's life or ff, miss out on the vouchers, but feel a lot happier.

Yes it makes perfect sense. Although you ate wrong.

Just read a little upthread, about who the vouchers are actually for (not people like your mum, or mine). And why those people could do with vouchers incentive.

audilover has it occurred to you that different babies are...well..different? You might not have hated BFing with the others?

Another one who wishes the government would put the money into proper bf support.

With both my 2, the nurses on the postnatal ward showed no interest in spending time with new mums helping them to bf. They were v quick to dole out the formula.

I saw countless HVs over a 6 month period about ds1's inability to stay latched on for more than a few seconds and the response was always to give him a bottle. It was only when I went to my GP that tongue tie was diagnosed. Then there was a 2 month wait on the NHS to have it snipped, luckily we could afford to have it done privately asap.

I'm surprised I bf at all with so little support.

Right then: Mothers are different!

Some mothers read all the info and make an informed choice. Others don't.
Some mothers care what other people think of their feeding choice. Others don't.
Some mothers have added up the costs of FF v. BF in advance. Others haven't.
Some mothers would change their feeding choice given an incentive. Others wouldn't change it for anything.

Clearly vouchers would be totally irrelevant to a lot of mothers. But they might be relevant to some...maybe especially those who would be using vouchers to buy FF in any case...

IceBeing I'm lucky to be able to say that DC1 was a very easy baby to bf. I had none of the problems that get mentioned on MN. She took to bfing straight away and there were no problems. I still hated it so I dread to think how I would have felt if I had tried to feed my other 4 and had difficulties.

SpottedDick that sucks, that really is heart breaking. They totally let you down. Im currently trying to get into a degree so I can train to be HV for all the reasons you just said, and more. I want to be one of the rare HV that actually listen, and help.

However, while they let you down money wont make the HV give you the correct advice - correct training will.

The vouchers are for a different reason entirely.

However going back to your first point, it really angers me that you had to pay to go private to get the TT sorted. A child could get very ill with TT, unable to take milk is very very detrimental, yet they expect you to wait months. Absolutely ridiculous.

I would rather see the money, which would be spent on these silly vouchers go to a better cause. ie. baby unit at a hospital, hospice, etc etc. Its a load of old shite.

I think there needs to be a whole shift in the way we view formula and breastfeeding. Alongside better training.

Personally I don't think a voucher scheme does anything other than put more pressure on people who feel like they are already being pressurised.

I definitely wouldn't want to be one of the midwives working with these women who are already so against even trying in the first place. imagine having to do the whole 'ok, I know you have said you don't want to but what if I gave you this voucher - would you try then?' thing.

Midwives already get accused of being part of 'the breastfeeding mafia' and the 'breastapo'.

Totally the wrong approach IMO.