Breast milk is the best thing for your baby...

[Starwhisperer]

Please hear me out on this one.

I know that advertising regulations are in line with the WHO advice that breast milk is the best thing for a baby until at least 6 months of age.

My issue is with the specifics in what we see and read as soon to be and new mothers.

I combi fed my first child for 18m as my supply never seemed to be where I needed it to be. The first 2 months were a hellish cycle of pumping and formula milk. I firmly believe the failure to feed as I'd wanted led to my PND. I met other mothers struggling at the time who felt the same way and there has been research done which has confirmed this.

Everytime I formula fed my baby there in front of me was the message "breast milk is the best thing for your baby". Am I being unreasonable to think that this would do more harm than good. I know it made me feel rotten. I'd have thought that by the time a mother is preparing and giving formula feeds it's generally too late to be converted to the idea of BFing. The message is either going to women entirely happy with their decision to FF or women like me who see it as a kick in the teeth because they tried their hardest and didn't get the hang of it.

I feel that instead more effort should be put in before birth to get the facts out there, all i had was ony little leaflet with no opportunity promoted to ask aboit tjings in more detail. Perhaps a blanket ban on formula advertising. They use babies as close to 6m as possible for the pictures which does far more in the way of promoting FF than a little message promoting BF on a box.

Perhaps I'm getting my knickers in a twist over nothing bit I feel the formula manufacturers are doing way more harm than good here.

For me it was knowing breast is best and that I wasn't able to give my baby what was best. It was tremendous guilt. I'm not sure making women feel guilty is the best approach, especially several weeks after giving birth when it's a bit late to change anyone's mind

Formula companies only put on the minimum amount of wording on breastfeeding that they are legally obliged to do. They don't care about mothers or babies they care about profits. The only reason there are legal obligations in the first place is because of previous unethical behaviour by the formula companies. If they had their way, I'd imagine there would be no mention of breastfeeding at all.

Yes it's shit but making a real effort to help breastfeeding mothers would hurt their profits so they won't do it.

gammaraystar

Sorry you fail at being a decent human being. Not everyone can breastfeed, whatever way a baby can get what they need is best for them.

"Breast is not the best for your baby - unless you are giving birth and raising a baby in an environment with no access to clean water or a steady supply of formula." I'm sorry, that's complete rubbish.
"There are no studies with a definitive link to formula babies Vs breastfeed babies." This doesn't make sense. " (It would be unethical for a start)." Why? If neither option is 'better' than the other, why would studies comparing respective outcomes be unethical?

The vast majority of women can breastfeed. This idea that women who can't are being shamed is unfair. The real issue is whether those women who wanted to BF and were unsuccessful had access to the right information in a format they could access easily.

I think formula advertising should be universally banned and they shouldn't have to put breast is best on their packaging.
Tbh it's a shame they cannot be forced I to making contributions into prenatal breastfeeding advice.
I feel that what they have to do at the moment had no benefit at all.

OP, I agree that slapping such messages on the side of formula tubs is just paying lip-service to the idea in order to jump through the legal hoops, and smacks of 'locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.'

@Starwhisperer there are so many people who buy formula before they’ve even had their baby ‘just incase’. Having formula in the cupboard makes it easier to fall back on when times are tough. It’s a reminder from the companies that you should know that breast is best and it can sway a new mother.
I do think the formula manufacturers are scum mind. Their product is amazing and life saving but they’re only interested in making money (hence follow on formula).

Agree sayyouwill also I totally agree OP these conglomerates should be legally required to financially support breastfeeding support and education. A breastfeeding tax!

Names for premier babies NICUs are more and more moving towards breast milk as much as possible - they use EBM (either the mother's own or donor milk) down their NG tube if the baby is too small to nurse. It has been proven, among other things, to reduce the rate of NEC which is life-threatening. So BM is best for them!

gammaraystar

Everyone should feed their baby how the feel is best for them and their child BUT BREAST IS NOT ALWAYS BEST! Will people start looking at individual circumstances before saying this rhetoric??
My baby was born extremely prematurely & got my expressed breast milk for the first month of his life through and NG tube. I'm lucky, expressing was easy but then I ended up with an infection in one nipple. Then he lost so much weight and he was so ill. Fed by bottle after that on extra calorie formula milk and extra calorie supplements. Getting bigger by the day. Wonder where he'd be if I'd carried on with the expressed milk, probably back in hospital on a tube or being fed by a PEG. I know lots of people who breast feed too, no judgement from me, their babies are happy and healthy, as are the bottle fed babies I know).
And for what it's worth the lovely breastfeeding Co-ordinator in NICU told me it doesn't matter how you feed you baby, it only matters that it does get food.

namesnames

I'm not stepping into the debate apart from to say Breastmilk IS the best thing for premature babies. It can be pumped and given to the baby if they can't suck. Colostrum is extremely advantageous to premature babies. I was only discussing this exact point with a consultant paediatrician this morning.

Sayyouwill... I take that point but again think more support for mothers is more beneficial than trying to guilt them into continuing to feed.

The only women that message will have an effect on is the women already feeling rubbish about not Bfing who've likely already gone beyond the realms of sanity trying to make it work.

Yup. I mix feed 8 week old DD, after finding BFing exclusively more painful than labour. At least now my nipples have a chance to recover. I really could have done without the stress/guilt of formula when trying to reach the decision about what was best for us. A friend is also up at silly intervals to pump, I think out of comparable guilt. The message on both sides needs to change imo.

This is going completely off track though with the breast vs formula debate which was not what i was trting to get at. I probably should have put a better title on this.

What is it you wanted to discuss though oP? The reality is a label shouldn't damage you to the point you say it being there caused PND. The issue is much wider than that surely?

my daughter couldn't have breast or formula / bottle or ng tube.
She has been fed artificial nutrition through a central line in to the main vein of her heart which in turn causes liver failure , sepsis amongst other things.
When I stopped caring about what anyone was doing with their child or the whole breast fed/ formula debate.

I was formula fed and a health 26 year old I think the whole thing is silly people should just do what they want fed is best :(

@Starwhisperer oh I completely agree!
On the one hand, it’s the formula company doing ‘their bit’ to support breastfeeding though so they don’t care whether they make you feel guilty or not, they just want your money.
Having more support readily available before Baby should definitely happen, however it doesn’t take much for mothers to research things online for themselves and find out the difficulties and challenges etc, just look on mn!
I don’t know where you live but I had great support (after birth) with feeding. There were classes, support workers, specialists who came out to see me etc, however no one even asked me before birth how I intended to feed.

Iv fed both ways for different children. And I believe breath milk does offer more benefits than formula. Bf is very very hard in today's society. Even when u have support. Your still seen as weird bf discreetly in public, families can be very negative and unsupportive. People don't realise bf babies tend to feed more etc.

Parenthood is one big guilt trip - using right nappies, when to wean etc.

Support needs to be a heck of a lot better for breast feeding mums.

I would read Amy Brown's book breastfeeding uncovered for a really in depth discussion of these issues and to find out more about the situation in the UK. In summary, it's not too late as relactation is a thing, whereby you can go back to exclusive breastfeeding even after giving formula. Your milk suppy will often struggle if not fully feeding for the period your breasts are laying down tissue as the cycle of demand for milk production and breasts producing it is disrupted by feeds away from the breast.
There was a bill passing through parliament to improve the situation with the advertising loopholes here (the only reason follow on milk exists) but due the General election it fell.

Guilt about not BFing caused my ONE, the wording on the formula made me feel like rubbish everytime I fed my baby.
I wanted to ask if I was being unreasonable in saying that this wording on the packaging has very little benefit as really it's too late to convert anyone over to the idea of BF when they're already FF, but that is does have downsides to more vulnerable women which can cause far more harm to a baby and if this is the case should we not look at other ways to promote BFing without just guilt tripping women who haven't for whatever reason.

I absolutely believe that breast is best. Yet, I'm inclined to think that the slogan has done it's job and is now more counterproductive than actually helpful.

I don't think there's a mother in the land that hasn't got the message that the NHS thinks breastfeeding is beneficial and would like you to do it.

Our biggest problem is mothers who'd like to breast feed who are unable to establish it for whatever reason. And these mothers are at the most risk for PND. Actually I'm inclined to think that it's borderline irresponsible of the NHS to promote BF so aggressively yet do so little to practically support it.

Our society isn't well set up for breastfeeding, what with 2 week paternity leaves (if you're lucky), lack of community/family expertise, general lack of help around the house. Add in woeful NHS support and ultimately women are being set up to fail. Barking 'breast is best' in their face just makes them feel shit about themselves.

So ultimately, I agree. And I don't think blaming the evilz formula companies is particularly helpful. It's right that they're tightly regulated and we keep tight control of what they can and can't do from a marketing pov. But the product is pretty damn important and there's a limit to how much we can tie their hands.

There are much bigger questions to answer around if we truly think breastfeeding is important, how do we adequately support mothers if so and the need to be sensitive in the messages we give to fragile, hormonal mothers who are only trying to do the best for their families.

I agree with you OP and it got to me also. It's a tin of formula, the second best food for babies not a packet of fags. Fair enough breastmilk is better but we don't write on white bread that wholemeal is better do we?

Sadly it isn't about babies it is about the foul attitude that we seem to have to new mums generally. I am so glad that phase of my life is behind me.

gybegirl yes colostrum is good, yes breast milk is good but it isn't always best. If I'd only fed my son breast milk he would most likely have died, and that is no exaggeration! He needed, and still needs extra calories which breast milk can not give him. So he's on formula, the second main ingredient of which is sugar, I feel great everytime I give him his milk becauae this is keeping him alive. This is medically prescribed milk. Consultants and Doctor agree breast milk is no good - in this instance. I'm not entering into a debate on breast vs bottle (each has its positives and negatives imo) but the rhetoric of breast is best is not always correct! Even for Prem babies!
Sorry to de-rail your thread OP. And FWIW o agree with you, the advertising on formula should stop. If I choose to buy alcohol & crisps I can do so without a label on these items reminding me evian and celery are better, why can't I be trusted to choose what is best for my baby?

But you see it as guilt tripping. Other people are not even seeing it, or just seeing it as legally obliged wording. As a previous poster said, it's really no more pointless/ emotive than the labels telling you not to drink more than X units or not to smoke etc