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.

Well then have I disproved your point? I don't think so.

Fwiw lost in all this I actually support the idea in the OP (I think)

OH - I live in a poor area with an 85% initiation of breastfeeding rate. It's as high as it is because it's a predominantly non-English area. Mostly African and Caribbean, but also South Asian. Black and Asian mothers around here mostly mixed feed, but they generally continue to breastfeed for much longer than white uk born women. The mothers at the school gate who are not breastfeeding are almost all white working class. It's such a strong strong pattern. So when I hear 'women will do what's best for their families' I wonder what it is about white working class families that makes breastfeeding wrong for these women AND their children (because this is how feeding choices are discussed - 'choosing what works best for you AND YOUR FAMILY).

There really is such a strong antipathy towards breastfeeding in some social groups. Antipathy and a deep, deep mistrust.

NB - I bf exclusively for about 3 months - I had to go on to mixed feeding because dd had additional calorie needs. This was a serious medical condition and not just a whim of mine.

I am quite pro breastfeeding, but I don't think that the problem lies with women.

Also I don't think that it is the biggest cause of inequality in our society, and therefore not the first thing to address.

Ideally, I would spent the money on more midwives/nurses in maternity units to ensure that mother's got a proper rest while in hospital and didn't go home completely knackered.

"Well then have I disproved your point? I dont think so." Well no, I dont think anyone has disproved my point. Thats my point.

I agree there mini.

Mamabear you WERE very unlucky as outright lactation failure (ie simply no milk is made) such as you describe IS rare. It is only 1 or 2% of women. But 1 or 2% of women is not 0%, and people should understand that it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that they will meet more than one person in their lifetime, who experiences this.

BELIEVING you can't make enough milk when in fact you can (with appropriate support) is VASTLY more common sadly, and this muddies the waters for people whose understanding of breastfeeding is limited. maybe that's why the questioning and disbelief? Insensitive but maybe they thought they could help you? I'm sure no one was sneering at you...

I would be really interested in reading your research OHForDucks. Genuinely.

Mim - I don't think anybody is arguing that it is the only or most important aspect of inequality that needs addressing. :-)

Mini, yes, ethnic minorities are much more likely to breastfeed than the white working class . There are some studies which break down the stats into fairly detailed segments. Tip-top among the initiators are mums of Chinese origin - something like 96 per cent.

I think we live in a society where people are taxed to try and change behaviours (drinking, smoking, using carrier bags etc). It's potentially a good thing that mothers are now going to be incentivised to breast feed. Not every mother can do it, but if they can they do have a duty to try because over the long term it can benefit their child.

That is why there should be better support. Im not even ttc yet, but I have already found a lactation support group in my area so that I can get support from the very beginning. I will have to pay for it, why couldn't this money be used to help fund that? It makes me feel like people think I would have tried harder if there was something in it for me. Support and education are more important than bribes.

That's interesting Tiktok. Maybe the many extra millions of IQ points (from prolonged breastfeeding) over the whole Chinese population is why they now appear to be succeeding in world domination........ As a population they're cleverer than us!

I'm amazed by how the West African mums round my way break all the 'rules' on breastfeeding. Mixed feed from birth, but still breastfeed for most of the first year and beyond.

Funny you should say that FI im going to have to dig it out soon, if Im lucky enough to get an interview into the degrees Ive applied for I need to brush up on what Ive previously learnt.

As far as Im aware, the UK has one of the worst, if not the worst breastfeeding rates.

I have heard that, too, Ducks, but Rep of Ireland has lower stats, as does France and Italy. Not sure of the others. US is lower, too.

Yes I just Googled too and got the 2005 stats.

I wonder what those stats would be now?

The thing is, sweded for example has an almost 100% breastfeeding rate. However their whole upbringing is so very very different. Children are very much in the bosom of the home (pun not intended) even when they are teens. They dont seek advice and companionship in their peers, but their parents. They dont go out drinking in parks, they learn how a good family function.

Because of that, teen pregnancy is incredibly low, divided families are low, the support is there, its the norm to grow up safe, find a partner, marry, have a baby and breastfeed it. The mothers also tend to be SAHM or at the very least have a much longer maternity leave time. So theres less pressure to wean or pass the baby in elsewhere.

I actually think this scheme could help raise bf rates amongst certain groups. I've worked with young mums and low income mums and sometimes the pressure to not breastfeed is really quite strong. Even when bf is going well. If they could say to their family/friends "I'm doing it for the money" then some of that pressure to bottle-feed may lessen. In some groups and areas it is seen as "weird" to bf and overcoming that can be hard for new mums.

latest breast feeding rates start off well, but 24% breast feeding at 6 weeks.

• Breastfeeding was most common among mothers who were: aged 30 or over, from minority ethnic groups, left education aged over 18, in managerial and professional occupations and living in the least deprived areas.

Plus this, which is what Ive been saying all along.

See I am against the idea of this because I think that without other, complementary interventions, it's just setting more women up to fail.

It might encourage some to try. But then what? It won't help them continue, it won't support them to succeed, it won't create the cultural environment where they can succeed. Unless along with the vouchers, they are going to to make available proper breastfeeding support. Real support, not lip-service.

There is breastfeeding support, I can see a breast feeding support worker any day of the week where I am.

They are there, theres also the LLL which you can reach on the phone, or theres the HV.

Also, why wont it create an environment where they can succeed?

Not everyone needs support, I just stick my babies on and the rest is history. Its about getting mothers to start in the first place, not all of them will automatically fail. What a negative way of viewing it.

Ice please answer this if you do not mind. If you lined up 30 eight year olds in a row and even spent the day or even a week with them. Are you honestly telling me you would be able to tell which ones were bottle or breast fed. Absolutely no way.

30 isnt a significant enough number.

But there IS a significant difference between breast and bottle fed children, people even. You need a lot to test and see any significant difference.

No one can tell just by looking at a child.

Mylovelyboy you know, this is something that has been proved. Dont you?