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??

grump not sure but it has to do with how educate the mother is the more educated the more likely she will bf.

"There is little research into why women on low incomes are less likely to breastfeed. Factors may include social stigma, a need to return to work, and the permanent sexualisation of breasts."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/24/class-baby-breastfed-life-chances-inequality

It seems to be the same in the US but not in scandinavia where almost all mothers bf.

www.thedailybeast.com/why-poor-mothers-dont-breastfeed

In the uk ethnic minority mums are also more likely to bf again probably due to social context.

Honestly think that if your mother, sister and best friend bf you will bf too, if they don't / didn't and you have never seen women bf as part of their normal routine you are much less likely to bf for 6 months.

I made the decision very early to FF and I would again with my next.
I've got a thriving two year old whose running around crazily to Peppa pig this am 😂

However I was very lucky and the leaflet I received incorporated both, bf and ff in it. To be fair I didn't read the gumpf about bf as I knew I wasn't so not sure of the content but the booklet seemed to have equal amount of information about both.

I always presumed (as everyone with past experience had told me) that Bf would be pushed on me, my decision was never questioned and I was encouraged that baby being fed was best and it didn't matter which way it was. This was massively refreshing for me. It annoys me when either one is pushed upon you, as ultimately I'm a grown adult whose made my decision based on my personal choice, not a child who needs to be berated for the decision I've made.

I have zero regrets, in the grand scheme of life no one cares how you feed your little one, once he was a toddler not one person has asked how he was fed and they never will, and ultimately no one cares! All this pressure is put upon women when it comes to feeding when give it a 6 months - 1 year no one will ever ask.

I am also educated, I went to university and am in an incredibly successful profession.

Couldn't agree more cansu

coddiwomple I suspect you're right. I doubt handing out that info will have as much of an impact on BF figures are more post natal support would. But then I am new to all of this and so cannot speak from experience.
And with regards to the PND side of things - am already trying to drum in to myself what you have said. And have DH on standby should I need encouragement to ask for help. I think the PND thing is why I am trying to be as relaxed as poss and keep an open mind. I'm hoping it will keep things more relaxed

*Honestly think that if your mother, sister and best friend bf you will bf too, if they don't / didn't and you have never seen women bf as part of their normal routine you are much less likely to bf for 6 months."

That's the impression I get too - after all who wants to argue with their own mother about not wanting to give formula when that is what they were brought up on themselves?

Also yes BFing doesn't always work but there ARE mums who never even try to breastfeed (like the one next to me in the postnatal ward whose baby kept vomiting up formula all day. She told me on day two that she was kind of thinking of maybe trying breastfeeding after all... but she never did.) So clearly it's not just about mums trying and not being able to BF for various reasons.

Mohunter I imagine you're right and there may be women that don't even attempt it. So I can completely understand the need for normalizing BF and encouraging women to try it. I just wish they would maybe try a more positive approach.

"I am also educated, I went to university and am in an incredibly successful profession." Obvs not all women who have gone to uni will bf but on a population level women who are better educated are more likely to bf and for longer.

"I always presumed (as everyone with past experience had told me) that Bf would be pushed on me,"
Did you also bear in mind that formula marketing is being pushed on us not just whilst we expect a baby but all the time. in the UK ff has been the norm for the last 50 years or so.

BF promotion is nothing in comparison with how the formula industry is pushing their products on us.

I never felt that formula was pushed on me. Until I had to go and buy that first box it hadn't even been on my radar.

Honestly think that if your mother, sister and best friend bf you will bf too, if they don't / didn't and you have never seen women bf as part of their normal routine you are much less likely to bf for 6 months."

My mom is very anti-breastfeeding. She didn't BF me or my sister yet we both breast fed our own children. My Aunt and my Nan (my mom's sister their mom) were also against BF and were quite critical of the decision me and my sister made to BF. It was very bizarre. Both our aunt and Nan has tried to breast feed but not succeeded and so they were very negative about it and we're almost trying to set us up to fail and couldn't understand why we'd ever choose to BF and put our babies at risk when we can just give formula. My Nan in particular made little digs about it most time I saw her so I ended up withdrawing from her for a good while after baby was born because she was knocking my confidence.

Thankfully though I was part of a friendship circle though of 6 and all my 5 friends had breast fed their babies so I had great support and encouragement from them.

I'm due baby number 2 in about three weeks and fully prepared to face negativity again from my mom and her side of the family when I breast feed this one too....

Take that to pals. Should be given out to mums as one sided and not good for a mum whos ff to read. Its about time both ff and bf pros of both were given. In this country theres not much between them re health difference. Hv midwife should support mums decision give support if asked.

OP you have to do what's right for you.
I had no trouble BF and loved it - it was so easy. When both DC went on to formula at about 4/5 months (I had to go back to work, and expressing didn't work for me), it was a right PITA with the sterilising etc. At no point did I feel that formula was second best - it was simply another stage.
Stick to your guns!

Batteries...never seen any formule advertising pushed on me. (Wish id had a bit as could have been more informed). Bf yes loads but once i made to decision my hv was excellent and supported me even setting up my sterlizer, pre prep machine. I decided to ff my dd in the end and best decision for me ever. Dd is bright, vvvv smily, healthy, very social and into everything at the moment. No difference between her and the couple of bf babies. She sleeps better than the bf babies but that might just be her.

Do what works best for you and frankly it doesnt matter wgich method. By your right re the leaflet. Has no place to give in mums at this point.

I think it's good to have an open mind. I think the nhs has only beng catching up,on trying to get people to consider BF in the past twenty years. When I had my first over twenty years ago I bought bottles etc as everyone I knew had fed their babies that way. It was only when a midwife suggested I try I though uh oh I'll have a go. It was the easiest thing I have ever done.

I'm old enough to be part of the regular mammogram screening process in the UK. I have noticed that friends of mine who are childless, seem at greater risk of breast cancer. I think that is backed up statistically as well in the UK.
I do think it is a bit like anti alcohol and anti smoking literature. There was a huge outcry against it in the 80s and 90s and plenty of stories about people who lived to an old age and still smoked. Gradually education filtered through and the number of people smoking and drinking to excess has dropped dramatically.
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.
I remember interviews with mothers who claimed that if they were not allowed to smoke while pregnant it would give them mental health issues and that smoking relaxes them. You don't hear that so much now.
I do think it is right to make pregnant women aware of the facts. It is not propaganda but World Health guidance to safeguard mothers and infants.

The propaganda for ff is insidious. As a child we had pretend bottles to feed dolls with. It's all we ever saw. Naturally I'd assumed that's what id do with a real baby! You never ever saw anyone breast feed. Ever.

FF wasnt pushed on me, like @sparklingbrook said it wasn't until I bought a box I became aware of it, just like the rest of the baby products around it. I never had thought about nappies or wipes either leading up to pregnancy either! And wasn't aware of the minefield of different brands and own brands!

My choice of formula was based upon what my local supplied in case we ran out middle of the night or needed some ASAP.

I'm not passionate about bf or ff, baby being fed either way is good as far as I'm concerned. I agree more information being positive about both but not being pushing would be great as peoples experiences seem to be negative.

There is so much pressure having a newborn that feeding just shouldn't be one of those.

The propaganda for ff is insidious

Yes, even with the advertising ban.

@londonrach my HV was ace as well and we had nothing but positive experiences, I know she would have been the same had I BF as she was one of those if you are happy baby is happy.

I've missed all the ff advertising clearly?!

I do think it is a bit like anti alcohol and anti smoking literature. There was a huge outcry against it in the 80s and 90s and plenty of stories about people who lived to an old age and still smoked. Gradually education filtered through
So...a baby receiving formula, is a bit like the choice of smoking cigarettes, or drinking to excess?! Really ??

Trying to find my copy, my Dh has helpfully tidied it somewhere. It may be worth saying that I'm pretty sure this leaflet isn't produced anymore. And it's at least 6/7 years old. (One of the tiny babies on the front is in school now.)

I had the opposite experience, was desperate to bf, had a raging viral infection when he was 7 weeks. Was told by doctor to ff, then he started losing weight, was told to ff, every HV "just switch him to formula". I was let down because not a single one of them would actually examine my baby, other than weighing him, a cursory glance "he doesn't look dehydrated" (he wasn't) and the "well he's dropped x amount of centiles now, he's not following his line" . He was tongue tied. It took till 19 weeks to have it diagnosed and divided. He's 8 months and I'm still bf. He has a bottle of formula every night before bed. It's about the quality of support that you get either way.

I was all set to breast feed.

It was impossible for my child to thrive on breast milk and attitudes like are being discussed here and the attitudes of midwives and HCPs who didn't read my notes contributed to my massive PND.

I used to be sitting waiting for appointments in tears. With tutting from MW as she walked past and saw me with a bottle and posters all around screaming (as I saw it) you are a shit mother mAnd I used to believe my child was going to be unable to fulfil their full potential due to my having given them the condition that meant they were medically not able to BF.

There needs to be some recognition that the aggressive and insensitive pushing of BF CAN contribute to making SOME mothers feel terrible.

Part of the problem as I see it is that bf isn't the automatic default practice. If it was, there wouldn't be any need to research the best options. The best option is to bf with plenty of support. As other pps have said, the real problem is the lack of expert support for bf problems.

Worrying will not help your milk supply. I sympathise with your anxiety - I worried constantly about feeding my DC. However, there are countries where no-one worries about being unable to bf, because almost all mums bf. It's very unlikely that you won't be successful. With hindsight I'd have been better to read about the possible problems and what to do about them before I had my first baby. My advice is to do three things;

Have confidence - there's no reason to think it won't work,

Get in touch with a la leche league adviser who will recommend reading materials and be prepared to help you if you need it,

Switch your energies from the NHS leaflet to lessening your anxiety by meditating - there are online guides - it's free, quick and easy - buying a magnesium spray for use at night - magnesium is absorbed more easily through your skin than by taking supplements and having as healthy a lifestyle as you can manage for your circumstances.

Best wishes.