Why are breastfeeding rates so low in the UK?

[Olivebrach]

So related to the news about the Royal College of Midwives changing their policy saying mothers have the right to formula feed and the stigma around formula needs to change ect..

I get it that for people that breastfeeding doesnt work out for/isnt easy, they shouldnt be made to feel like a failure. And the 'breast is best' mantra can be upsetting if that is what you desire to do but it doesnt work out.

But considering the breastfeeding rates are so low in the UK (1 in 200 babies are breastfed at the age of 1). The "mantra" and policy atm currently isnt working to up bf rates..? Clearly more people are formula feeding.

So in your opinion..
what should be done to increase breastfeeding?
And why do so few women end up breastfeeding?

AIBU to think the rates need to improve?

leahjack
There are other big factors which come into play. In developed countries mothers who breastfeed may be more likely to be concerned about their child’s diet and what they are eating and bring them up with a healthy lifestyle. They may well be better off with more access to gardens, open spaces and sports activities for their children plus the money and resources to produce a healthy diet.

Sorry but this is incorrect- it is a basic requirement of peer-reviewed research for studies to be adjusted by environment and social class - all of the key research into bf has taken account of the "big factors" you mention. There is absolutely no question and total consensus scientifically that breast milk is better for babies than formula, for a whole host of reasons. Of course being bf doesn't mean a child won't get diabetes or be obese or whatever but it does reduce the risk.

I never understand why people say things like if you lined up a class of children you'd never be able to pick out which were bf and ff, it's a nonsense point. You can't tell by looking at a child whether it has fewer ear infections than the next child, or a higher IQ, or that they are less likely to develop diabetes in later life. Just because you can't see the effect doesn't mean it's not there.

Sorry but there is no way any research can cover environment acquarately. You can't predict the next 18 years or even class which is insulting.

The fact is the impact bfing has is so tiny many other factors will completely swamp it. Bfing is not going to lessen your risk of obesity if you eat pies and don't get exercise. You will get fat regardless,even if you bathe in the stuff. And as for intelligence sorry but if you don't read to your child,don't talk to it regularly, give few early play opportunities,stick it in front of screens all day or don't provide adequate sleep breast milk will not stop that child struggling at school. Children across all classes are obese and struggle at school through life style not because they weren't breast fed longer than a week or two.

And seriously the benefits aren't there at school. They're not hidden,they're just not there. Intelligence and doing well at school is down to genes and a whole host of other things breast milk can't adjust. And as for this epidemic of ear infections in primary schools who are these kids? I've worked in primary schools my whole working life and can remember hardly any kids off with an ear infection. Given how the maj have had formula at some point that kind of doesn't match up to your scaremongering picture.

As a mother of teens now I can pretty much guarantee that others like me are not worrying about how much their dc were breast fed but about how much sleep,fruit/veg,exercise and screen free time they're getting and how much revision they are doing.

So enough with this guilt tripping over inflation. It doesn't work. Breast feeding is one of many desirable parenting choices and every mother has the right to formula feed guilt and pressure free as stated by midwives.

My dd is the most academically able in her class - FACT! - if you want to be so aggressive about it. She's fit and healthy, sporty and strong.

I end for 2 weeks when my being re- hospitalised, doped up on morphine and intravenous antibiotics meant something had to give for me to recover. The hospital refused to help me mixed feed so I gave up bf. It haunts me even today as she prepares for secondary school.
I felt at the time so wracked with guilt that I had ruined her life chances. What a fool I was to waste so much energy on grief. How shit was my postnatal care that they were "all or nothing " about bf. Had they helped me, I would have been bf as long as A piece of string. Who's the failure?

I think focusing on the nutritional benefits of bf is never going to be helpful really. Not many people are interested in what happens at a population level, and it just encourages sweeping generalizations based on anecdote “all the bf babies I know are much more prone to colds than the ff ones” and so on.

For me, it is all about choice. If I had a magic wand, I would somehow make it that as near to every woman as possible fed their baby the way the wanted to because they made a proper, free choice to do it that way.

Some women choose to ff. Absolutely fine. Some women choose to bf. Absolutely fine. But a lot of women, as illustrated on here want to bf but it doesn’t work for them. Research from other countries shows that, while there are some women and babies who can’t or shouldn’t: bf, it is quite a small %. In my Utopia, that % would be identified quickly so that nobody has a heartbreaking, fruitless struggle, and they can get on, with proper support if they want and need it, with enjoying their baby knowing that in their case, Nature screwed up, and thank heavens for formula. And then there would be a focus on the “want to but it’s not working” group. I don’t know what the best approach would be - I would start by finding out what the Scandinavian countries do. Getting the best possible advice and standardizing it so that all new mothers know that your milk doesn’t come in until day 3, for example. (That’s just the first example that came to mind- I am horrified that so many HCPs seem not to know this). And the current obsession with expressing early. I’d knock that on the head too. Hard enough feeding a baby without having to feed a machine as well.......

Every mother feeding the way she wants to. In My Glorious Reign that’s what would happen.

Never thought I'd say this but I agree with @BertrandRussell

Me too!😂

@BertrandRussell you are so right. The trouble is if your friends/mum/ auntie think of ff as 'normal' and bf as 'difficult' then the odds are stacked against successful bf. One of the reasons I chose to bf dd1 was that I didn't want her to have my struggles with weight. And none of my kids have weight issues. In fact my db and myself are the only generation to have been ff and the only generation to have weight issues in 4 generations. If you track the rise in obesity it correlates pretty neatly with the rise in ff postwar. There are all kinds of mechanisms in there, biological, psychological, and now the evolving science of gut health. So now we have whole communities where the skills of breastfeeding are pretty much lost for 3 generations of women, and having to be re-learnt and re-normalised.

Agree with @bertrand, that is the real problem. I think that’s all she’s actually been trying to say the whole time though

Agree with missmay

@ missymayhemsmum I think the general post war diet and lifestyle changes is probably to blame. When my mum grew up there was still rationing, then a whole world of new (unhealthy) convenience foods and sugary treats was opened up, coupled with more sedentary lifestyles. However I agree that the newish research about gut microbiomes is very interesting. I still can’t believe that some people have poo transplants!

Post natal wards are shit in my experience.
I gave birth in the mlu and had a lovely first night there in peace and quiet and dark, every few hours a mw woke me gently and helped me feed dd.
Then she had an “inconclusive” blood result due to my rh-neg so we had to go to the post natal ward for a night to wait for re-testing. It was bright and noisy and hellish night and day. MWs were rushed off their feet women were in pain and babies just needed fed. I was the only one left that ward bf-ing and if I’d not had the first night in the mlu I’m not sure I would have either.

“If you track the rise in obesity it correlates pretty neatly with the rise in ff postwar.

Correlation is not causation. More available food, more processed food, a more sedentary lifestyle, more leisure time.....there are loads of other possible factors too.

Apparently the number of stork nests correlates really well with the birth rate

Oh, I do hope that’s true, SPB!

I met a few mums in hospital who were disgusted by the idea of bf. it was ‘dirty’ to put their breasts in their child’s mouth.

One of these girls got highly indignant and disgusted by being given a leaflet on preventing cot death and screwed it up without reading.

The children at hours old were already at a disadvantage just by the chance of their birth.

Hang on I'll just go off and google find a peer reviewed study for you.
It was given to us in our stats class as a warning about spurious associations

Here you go, it's quite recent. Must be good

Actually this says the confounder is the size of the country. Can't say I've read the detail :o

bertrand there was a thread on here a while ago that went along the lines of 'let's get rid of 'breast is best' and put together a Top Tips for successful breastfeeding' for new mums who want to feed.

The main points were:

• colostrum until Day 3/4/5 then milk comes in (the more you feed, the sooner it will come)
• wet and dirty nappies rather than weight gain
• feed as often as possible, no schedule (babies have tiny stomachs)
• co-sleep safely, it stimulates milk production
• try different positions including lying down
• feed often at night, boosts milk production
• latch baby as if he/she is eating a burger, bottom of the nipple first, wide open mouth

Ok so I'm coming at it from a different culture but in France nearly everyone goes back to work at 13 weeks. And while attitudes are changing it's really hard to work full time and breastfeed.

From reading MN before having DS, I thought BF was going to be really difficult and was prepared for a lot of pain and discomfort. I was very surprised when it actually turned out to be fairly easy, and not at all painful after the first couple of weeks.

I think a lot of FFs feel judged but I've never ever heard anyone (other than the odd post on MN) berate women for choosing to FF. I do think people's guilt makes them presume judgement when actually most people don't really care. Similarly I've never felt judged for BF, whether in public or at home - it was my choice, and better for both me and my baby than FF.

However, I do agree with a PP's suggestion that BF in the US is more widespread despite most women having pitifully short maternity leaves because they encourage expressing early on. My sister is a paediatrician, and she encouraged me to express and introduce a bottle as soon as DS could latch without fussing (which took 2 weeks). We gave him a bottle of expressed milk most days so that he didn't forget how to suck from a bottle, and it gave me the freedom to get out and about, have half a night's sleep, and generally have some alone time. I went back to work at 9 months and DH took over on shared parental leave - I feed DS morning and evening, and express a couple of times during the day. I'm lucky that I can just take my laptop and phone to the first aid room usually and carry on working whilst expressing, but have occasionally had to express in less-than-ideal conditions such as on the train or in the loo in other offices. For us, though, it's worth it, as DS gets the health benefits of breast milk and it remains a really convenient way to feed him when I'm not at work. Perhaps the NHS could encourage expressing, and could lend people pumps (maybe a deposit system?).

AHedgehog-I honestly think that reading Mumsnet before getting pregnant must be the most effective contraceptive ever invented.........

BertrandRussell Brighton. I even had one person tell me I should have asked for drugs to produce milk! Why on earth would I make up how I felt about not being able to breast feed my baby due to such a massive push on breast feeding?!?!

It was the general pushing of breastfeeding and how you could just do it if you tried. When that is everywhere you go it can make you feel a failure and pretty shit about yourself when you are already feeling vulnerable. People don't actually have to say things to you all the time for you to feel a failure at something.

Out of my friends I was the only one bottle feeding. FF was not the norm.

Perhaps the NHS could encourage expressing, and could lend people pumps (maybe a deposit system?).

Because expressing can fuck up your breastfeeding.

If introduced to early it can lead to over or undersupply issues. It can interfere with the biofeedback where looking at your baby stimulates more milk. Your baby will more effectively control and regulate supply.

Some people can’t express. Which leads them to think they have no milk. Around 6 weeks your supply regulates and you can go from expressing 2 bottles a day to not being able to get any out.

Expressing in addition to breastfeeding, especially early on creates twice the work for a tired mum.

I am pleased that giving a bottle a day so your baby didn’t “forget” how to suck from a bottle, but it doesn't work for everyone. I had one who took bottles with no issue until 12 weeks, then point blank refused to accept a bottle ever again. It was not in my control.

My second i didn’t bother with bottles until she was 6 months. It took a week until she took one, then 3 days for her to refuse the breast completely.

Mix feeding is great if it works. But it can end bf prematurely. I don’t think it should be advised from the off, only if a mum wants to for her own reasons.