To think mothers should not be offered a financial incentive to breastfeed their babies?

[brasty]

This is based on a pilot study being reported on the news. I don't think we should be paying new mothers to breast feed. Instead we should be looking at proper support. New mothers used to not be discharged from hospital until breastfeeding was established.

It's not just pure luck. Sometimes it's bloody hard work. Both mine started in SCBU being tube fed, I had to express and then work very hard to move over to direct breastfeeding after that. It wasn't luck that we ended up breastfeeding.

Nope - not just pure luck.
We struggled for the first two weeks but luckily it eventually clicked. After a lot of stress, sleepless nights and loads of support from the NHS.

I'd say it's an element of luck. You have the milk supply issue, potential tongue tie, allsorts. Yep breastfeeding is hard work regardless of additional problems, but not everyone gets dealt the same hand to begin with.

It's interesting to see tho that a lot of people who have continued through difficulties have done so with NHS or specialised support. Surely that in itself shows that nationwide support is needed so that everyone can access it?

Surely a mixture of luck, support and work? A friend breastfed. When I talked to her about pain, she said - oh it hurts a bit for the first few weeks, but not after that. She was lucky.

Can you tell me where I was lucky?

Of course there is a small amount of 'luck' involved. But a hell of a lot of hard work and determination as well. Don't take that away from those of us that have worked at it being a success (that could, obviously... I understand that some women who couldn't that it was through lack of trying)
And yes, agree that support should be available to everyone across the country.

That should say wasn't through lack of trying... bloody phone!

I think BF is incredibly hard work - there's no way I'd take that away from someone who managed to get it going but I would say the luck element could come from if there were any physiological issues that affected whether baby could latch, for example.

The odd thing about this is that breastfeeding already does save families money. Formula inst cheap and once they hit 3 months its a good £30 a month.

If women arent turned by the above fact i dont know how an extra £200 or whatever would. Also how do you prove it? Will women have to proven their lactating?

I am a breastfeeding advocate but this doesnt make sense.

Yes I’m curious to understand how breastfeeding can cause PND? Surely it’s more the stress and disappointment when it goes wrong that can contribute to PND. That doesn’t mean that women should be put off even trying to b/f though surely? PND has a Myriad of complex factors that will be different for every woman. It’s a fact that b/f releases hormones that help you bond to baby and feel calm and happy thus may well ellviate some symptoms of pnd. That sure was my experience anyway.

Iwanttobe8stoneagain Yes, lucky to be born with a set of functioning breasts, perhaps. However your post is very dismissive of those who have tried to breastfeed, struggled and eventually over came those struggles through effort and determination. I really had to grit my teeth throuh the pain in the early weeks, I wouldn't have called it luck that I managed to continue.

So a small element of luck that my DS1 only had a very minor lip and tongue tie, and I managed to find a way to latch him successfully after doing some research and trial and error. I suppose also luck in the sense that I could produce milk at all.

Didn't seem very lucky when they were in SCBU, I was worrying about their health whilst trying to get milk supply going by hand expressing 2 hourly. I don't know what I would have done if someone had said to me at that point that breastfeeding was pure luck.

To those asking - donor milk and milk banks are an alternative to formula for women who can’t BF and should be invested in so that it can be safely handled and pasteurized. Brazil has made quite a success of this with fewer financial resources than the UK.

Excluding women who can’t BF or adamantly don’t want to, I cannot understand how a scheme that successfully increases BF rates among women willing to try could be criticized. It’s a social good.

@LouHotel to claim the incentive women had to fill out and sign a form, then get that countersigned by their midwife or HV. I suppose if the midwife/HV had doubts about whether there was breastfeeding happening then they wouldn't sign the form.

It's a combination of things; luck, the support you were able to access, how determined you were to succeed.

Just seen another poster who said the incentive should be free nursing bra's, nipple cream and shields for women in deprived areas...that to me would be effective with additional support.

It is ironic that breastfeeding and reusuable nappies is seen as middle class when both are the less expensive options. Same issues with healthy food.

Just seen another poster who said the incentive should be free nursing bra's, nipple cream and shields for women in deprived areas.

I don't think that would make a button of difference in areas were bf is far from the cultural norm. Cold hard cash tends to be more effective than most things and it clearly had some influence in this study.

I'm bottle feeding and it wouldn't bother me if breastfeeding mums were given financial incentive.

It wouldn't have changed things for me though. With DS1 I was suffering with horrendous PND and eventually made the decision to preserve my mental health as my expectations etc were contributing to it.

DS2 had surgery after birth and was in NICU for a long time, lots of which was nil by mouth. I'll be honest and say that I couldn't face pumping in a side room in the middle of the night, away from my baby and not knowing if he would survive.

Assassinated we have similar situation to you. Baby was in scbu but cup fed until she latched. Reasons I managed b/f in the end

1. Immense support from dh (keeping charts, reminding me to express etc)
2. Some serious determination. I have never needed so much determination as in that week. I’d rather run 50 marathons I think so yes I do consider that an achievement on my part.
3. Pure luck that a lacto consultant came round and saw I was hand expressing still 4 days post birth and offered me use of hosp grade pump. That woman saved my breastfeeding hopes I think as it got my supply established. I do wonder what would have happened if She hadn’t happened upon me. Sadly there were only 3 pumps in the whole hosp.

All Women most definitely need more practical support across the board but this is a specific scheme to get people to consider it as an option who ordinarily never would. I think we should invest in both areas.

@pop24

I'm surprised there weren't more pumps. When DS2 was in NICU there were pumps everywhere, including in the accomodation for parents.

The SCBU I was in had limited pumps too, so I had to wait sometimes or traipse over to transitional care to see if I could borrow theirs. Great fun whilst recovering from a c section. But pure luck still no doubt.

Rockandroll I do find it bizarre (but smallish rural hosp?)I had midwives grabbing my boobs to get the milk out yet not one of them bothered to suggest or show me a pump and then after a few days it was taken off me. Luckily by that time dd had started to get the hang. This is the sort of shit that shouldn’t be happening but honestly no one really bothered to help me establish (apart from my saviour lady) despite saying I couldn’t go home until dd latched and my consultant asked which formula brand I was going to chose for them to feed dd!? Serious mixed messages. Luckily Dd was not really poorly though, just a bit early.

Don't have time to read the thread but I completely agree. Most new mothers want to breastfeed and stop because there isn't enough support and help with latch and positing etc. They'd be better spending the money helping these new mums.

Perhaps they could invest some of this money in more pumps. In NICU 1 I think there was enough? Small hospital. Was able to pimp in NICU at NICU 1 and 2 and had a pump in hospital accommodation. When we moved to the CHILDREN'S hospital there were 2 pumps. You could take them cot side or use the room but it was still only two on the PICU of a large children's hospital.

9 years ago I was BFing my son in a deprived area. The area had one of the lowest rates in the country. I had moved there, and had lived with my mum who had BF both me and my sister and was surrounded by people who BF, so it was normal to me.
I would go to baby groups where I would be sneered at for breastfeeding, I heard comments like "my boobs are for my boyfriend", "I never tried it, I couldn't be bothered with all the faffing". These are the people this schemes are aimed at. Not those who tried and couldn't do it for whatever reasons.
The PCT back then we're throwing money at the situation, they created Hello-style magazines to promote it. I sat in a 4 hour course before I gave birth to learn how to do it, which only two other people attended.
If this scheme helps these people to give it a shot, I don't see the problem.