To think the 'information' the midwife gave me is almost propaganda?

[ethelfleda]

Recently had 24 week appointment. This is our first. Midwife asked if I had thought about feeding yet. I said I plan on breastfeeding. I say 'plan' because (as with everything else baby related) I am trying to keep an open mind as from what I hear, things don't always go according to plan! So I will try hard to breastfeed but I won't beat myself up if it doesn't work out for us.
She handed me a 20 odd page pamphlet thing and said it contained useful information on caring for a new born.

I started to read it today thinking it would be basic NHS info on how to feed, wind and change your baby etc. It was actually 20 odd pages of info telling me basically that if i don't breastfeed, my baby is more likely to develop cancer (as am I) as well as be admitted to hospital in their first year of life etc etc among other very scary statistics.
The language used was shocking IMO! And seemingly designed to make women who don't/can't breastfeed feel awful! Has anyone else had this information handed to them and thought it was way over the top??

BF for my child was not beneficial to their growth and development.

There are children for who this is the case and all I am saying is that there should be a line on the posters and booklets to say "not always" and HCPs should be trained not to tut and judge mothers who are giving a bottle. (BF consultant tutted at me in baby clinic and rolled her eyes as she walked past)

I also think that thought should be given to having those posters up in baby clinic areas (i.e. After the baby is born) because they dint help when you are siting there in floods of tears with a child with a life changing condition and your milk running down your top as they cry and you are not allowed to feed them that milk. Seeing a poster saying breast is Best here's the 101 conditions your child is at more risk of as well as the life changing one that you gave them ... well, it's not v helpful.

No need for all those links batteries. I think MyChild is not feeling great as it is.

Propaganda doesn't mean "lies"
It means "biased or misleading information to promote a cause"
So it is entirely fitting to call these type of books propaganda because they are biased

I haven't read the one the OP is talking about but in the ones I was given, they are obviously and deliberately conflating causation and correlation, which is definitely misleading

The trouble is that it is impossible to be positive about bf on Mumsnet without being lambasted for being unsupportive.

It seems to me that we have somehow to get ourselves to a position where it is absolutely OK to say that you don't want to bf for whatever reason and for those women not to feel got at, while simultaneously support is being offered to women who want to but are finding it difficult. Evidence from other countries shows us that the overwhelming majority of women who want to bf can if offered the right support. But even just reading Mumsnet there are plenty of women who think they can't because they have duff information.

Batteries. If only my child was cows milk intolerant my life would be piss easy. Those links aren't really relevant to my situation - but thank you. Perhaps someone else might find them useful.

Stupid pamphlets are not going to help more women breastfeed. Breastfeeding is really hard in the beginning and if you don't find an experienced person to support you, you're likely to give up. I don't think there's many of them around. I remember taking dc3 to baby weighing clinic and there was a new mum who was upset and struggling with breastfeeding and they just told her to go to the weekly breastfeeding support clinic in the local hospital which was about a 20 minute drive not including parking etc. She may not have had transport and it's hard getting anywhere with a newborn. Shouldn't the health visitors at the baby clinic been able to support her? If the NHS cares that much, they should make more help available where mothers can access it.
I have three dcs, two of whom were mixed fed. IMO a happy mum makes a happy baby and that's the most important.

At least reading threads about this on MN new Mums can see that BF isn't always a walk in the park.
They can read that some people managed it without a hitch and then there's the people that found it incredibly hard, and those that found it impossible.

The people that BF without a hitch often find it very difficult to understand the problems others have. A friend of mine was completely baffled that it didn't work out for me because they found it easy.

Bertrand. I actually have had a lightbulb moment readin your post.

The talk is framed around mothers who dont want to BF for whatever reason

I wanted to BF. DESPERATELY. I had gallons of milk. I was not allowed to give that milk to my baby.

We should reframe the words we use (is that the right phrase?) and stop talking about mothers who aren't breast feeding in terms of "mothers who don't want to breast feed for whatever reason" as tha is making it a choice of the mother, which it isn't always.

"No need for all those links batteries. sad I think MyChild is not feeling great as it is." Why not? This thread is about the NHS allegedly mindlessly pushing BF and as it stands the NHS provide plenty of information on FF on their websites. I thought that's good to know.

Mychildcouldnotbreaatfeed I had some shit experiences around birth and bf as well as other stuff like having to move a few weeks before dc was born as my ll wanted to sell the flat my home. I had a mildish version of PND and little support. In the kindest possible way, I would try and seek counselling support (I did and it helped) to enable you to let go of the challenging experience and move forward in a more positive way.

Oh I buggered up my quotes. Sorry.

And I still maintain, yes, I get that in general BF is. Best, but the publications should have a line in them to say something to the effect of "but not always".

Perhaps a note added that it's also best on a population level but that individuals should discuss with their healthcare provider. A woman on toxic medications for a serious illness would need specific healthcare advice, for example. Breastfeeding not only would not be right for her but would be dangerous to her and her baby.

I shouldn't really be posting I hate getting sucked in to these debates and I did breastfeed. I just wanted to see if the claxon was still working for a certain poster or two and I was right.

I am sure people are able to Google for themselves batteries.

I'm going to say that I shouldn't have used the word 'propaganda' here. Clearly I was being a little over the top. FWIW I did mean the definition of it being biased rather than untrue.

tabymoomoo they should absolutely give information in the form of booklets and leaflets etc but they need to think more about how the information is present and (as others have said) be a little more balanced with their view.

Batteries I already thanked you for the links and explained they aren't relevant to me but they might be useful for someone else?

"BF for my child was not beneficial to their growth and development."

As a breastfeeding new mother, I was told this too -- by an NHS paediatrician, of all people. She advised me that formula feeding would sort out DD's mild jaundice and help her put on weight more quickly. Thank god I knew better than to listen to her. There is an awful lot of propaganda going the other way, and we absolutely need to keep informing society about the benefits of breastfeeding so that women can make informed and well-supported choices, which is sadly not always the case now (for example the growth charts don't fit the typical weight gain of breastfed babies, leading many new mothers to mistakenly feel that their breastfed baby isn't thriving).

There is so much research to show that breast is best. It would be criminal not to make pregnant women aware of the benefits of breastfeeding and to give them info about the protective effects of breastfeeding.

This is exactly the issue. It is NOT protecting. It's reducing by a very small percentage a number of risks. MASSIVE difference and one such propaganda ignores.

People make choices for their children every day. If we adhered to every single advice that evidences that doing so will increase our children well-being, we would all be perfect parents, except that this is probably an oxymoron because the pressure of being a perfect parent is such that our anxiety levels are likely to have a balancing negative effect.

I admire mums who breastfeed in the same way I admire those who bother to talk to their kids as they walk with them to the park, or those who remain calm even when their kids are being brats, mums to take their kids to the library, cook every meal from scratch, go to length to pick the best schools for them etc... but I would never dare to say to any who don't are failing to protect their kids.

Batteries. I've had counselling provided by the children's hospital that my child attends.

missEiza
I have seen examples of this sort of half-hearted attempt at support by the NHS
My local GP has posters up everywhere offering support and drop in clinics for BF - but only if you live in one very specific ward of the borough
It's the ward which has a very large council estate so I can see what they are trying to do, but I've also seen someone who lived within catchment for the GP but not within the wars boundaries (but obviously very close to it) turned away in tears because she didn't have the right address to get support from them and was instead told to go to another clinic in 3 days time.
No explanation as to what she was supposed to do for the 3 days with a baby that couldn't feed
Absolutely absurd and shortsighted

have not rtt, but propaganda involves lies, or half truths at best.
The leaflet is research based facts, BUT it's anyones opinion on how skilful it is in being " invitational " , rather than hectoring.

"We should reframe the words we use (is that the right phrase?) and stop talking about mothers who aren't breast feeding in terms of "mothers who don't want to breast feed for whatever reason" as tha is making it a choice of the mother, which it isn't always."

I have to get ready for work now but one last post. The whole notion of choice was pushed by the formula industry, not the NHS.

NotMyPenguin - I'm sorry that the paed gave you bad advice, but in my specific case I can assure you that BF would not have been in any way beneficial to my child.

The trouble is that it is impossible to be positive about bf on Mumsnet without being lambasted for being unsupportive.
That's because of the use of emotional wording. The 'you are failing to protect your children when you don't breastfeed' is only going to sparkle a sense of defensiveness.

By the way, I CHOSE not to breasfeed my kids. When the midwife at birth told me that it was such a pity because I had the perfect breast for breastfeeding, I didn't take offence, smiled but said it was my decision. I have no regrets whatsoever. Thankfully, I've never felt judged but then I'm naturally assertive and confident, so not vulnerable to people trying to make me feel bad.

"We should reframe the words we use (is that the right phrase?) and stop talking about mothers who aren't breast feeding in terms of "mothers who don't want to breast feed for whatever reason" as tha is making it a choice of the mother, which it isn't always."

"Women who don't want to bf or who can't, for medical reasons" Would that do?

Batteries. I had no choice. None. Nothing to do with formula companies. I had no choice.

And I do, I have to say, wonder about stealth marketing. Formula is big business.