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?

Breast feeding is so low because formula feeding is so easy .

In my experience, part of the reason for women quitting or not wanting to breastfeed is the stigma and bile people get for needing and wanting help and the lack of family and community support and open conversations about dealing with the difficulties of it beyond 'power through' or 'just give up'. It's easier to ask people if they want to feed a baby a bottle than to ask for support breastfeeding.

I remember when my youngest was a baby there was a local trial to help with breastfeeding rates, it involved on-going support from medical professionals and vouchers for supplies like breast pumps -- and the things said about the women who were part of that trial were horrible. I literally read women discussing how because they hand expressed into milk bags that any other women who could benefit from more hands-on practical and financial help were just doing it for money & didn't really care enough about breastfeeding or their babies to just do it themselves. It was heartbreaking to read and I really couldn't blame any woman, especially those struggling, from feeling like if they're going to shite for it, they might as well make life easier for themselves.

I think more practical help and help within the community would help, but I think larger shifts would require changes in my families and workplaces that would be far tricker.

I also think that there needs to be balance between an ideal and reality risk management. I breastfed all my kids to at least 18 months, I had great support from my spouse to do that and flexible work and it was still really hard in sometimes, women balancing their own medical needs (with many medications unsuitable to be used by breastfeeding women) and life needs do need to be considered just as much as the breastfeeding rates. Yeah, it would be nice if it was easier for many women for many reasons, but just improving the breastfeeding rates won't be either a sign or a solution to any of those issues.

Because they don't tell you how hard it actually is.
They don't tell you nobody is going to help you in hospital.
They dismiss you quickly in hospital if you do have problems.
They don't tell you that you will have to give up your life for 6 months minimum.
I bfed my first till he was 1 and still going with my second at 5 months. First fed constantly for 2 weeks. Second hurt like hell for 3 weeks.
I do it because actually once you get through first three weeks it's much easier for me, and wether people like it or not it has been scientifically proven that breast milk is better for your baby.

The Breast is Best campaign doesn’t work.

Why? Because it basically screams at pregnant women “PLEASE breast feed your baby it’s so so important” - while actually not following through with any information. “Breastfeeding babies get less ear infections” is not, frankly, relevant information. “How to tell if your baby is getting enough milk”, “How often is really normal for a BF baby to feed” “How to encourage letdown” and “How to cope with engorgement or incredibly sore bleeding nipples” is actual information.

All the romanticised, pedestalised information campaigned by the NHS only serves to act as a guilt trip to mums who choose to breastfeed and act as a divider between breastfeeding “vs” formula feeding.

I fully welcome the new campaign if it also takes on a new role to actually support breastfeeding mothers - because more support and intervention is neeeded if you are breastfeeding than if your are formula feeding. Imagine if quiet but visible support (and by quiet I mean a lack of “breastfeeding is clearly shown to reduce x and increase y” - when actually his evidence as not as clear and robust and again only serves to stigmatise a lack of breastfeeding) actually focused on supporting the physical process of breastfeeding and not just trying to increase a woman’s intention to breastfeed. Then, women wouldn’t feel bad for wanting to formula feed, breastfeeding women would get the right help and as a side effect breastfeeding levels will go up - because women who want to do it are able, not because women who don’t want to do it feel pressured.

If I were a FTM this experience would definitely have made me reconsider whether breastfeeding was the best thing to do. It’s just fortunate I’m an experienced mum that knows what I’m doing is fine and that DS is definitely getting all he needs. It has definitely dragged me down though and in the hospital made me feel a bit like a failure.

Unfortunately, that was my experience as a FTM. DD was only 5lb and born the week before Xmas. I never established BF before being discharged and she refused to latch. The random midwife that visited us (mine retired after my booking appointment) scared us so much that we'd end up back in the hospital over Christmas with a baby that was failing to thrive that we just did as she said and formula fed. I did pump for a while hoping to drop the formula but due to the time of the year, constant canceled HV appointments (never actually met her) and lack of info about where to turn, I just FF.

This was when I lived in a major city. I live in the North East now and the council runs multiple breastfeeding groups. I also get visits from the HV, so I'm hoping whenever DC2 comes along, I'll have better support.

I really don't think any medical staff (aside from the odd midwife) want to support breastfeeding - it is much easier for them if babies are having measured amounts of formula. This means if you have any post natal nhs contact inc on (many?) post natal wards with nhs then formula will be pushed assumed / and or fed to your baby. Where I am most women do breast feed it is the norm so peer support is available.

I think the figures are a bit misleading.
I think a lot (including me) stop breast feeding at 1, which is perfectly fine for both mother and baby.

MWs talk a big game about bf support, but in reality it’s just leaflets and posters that make you feel shit IME. Great big poster in the Antenatal waiting room “just one bottle of formula can ruin your supply” (anyone ever fallen off the wagon dieting/giving up fags, because you had one wobble and therefore ruined it all?) a leaflet said “breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt” (when many women find it does).

The most support I got from a MW was “If you give up BFing I will be so disappointed with you”. She wanted me to combi feed with a clingy, screamy NB who would only sleep on me. I couldn’t cope with having to let him cry while washing and sterilizing then having to shove my boob in his face and put up with the pain as well - it was the worst of both worlds.

My policy with DS2 and 3 was/will be to BF in hospital to keep the MWs quiet, then FF once home so I’m on home turf if they decide to be nasty.

I am a FTM and I think I must be in a minority as I feel like there was quite a lot of support in my area. When I was getting bf established I had a specialist support midwife come out to help and would have come a number of times if needed. I did have an unhelpful midwife in hospital ask me if I'd bothered to express and colustrum when I was struggling to latch. The only reason I was struggling was I had a really painful cannula in my right hand (I'm right handed) and still hooked up to drops etc. I just physically needed the help to move the baby! I'm now 14 weeks in and honestly it's the best thing I've decided to do but am sick of both sets of mums asking me when I'm planning to stop. And they both breastfed me and my husband! I do wish someone would have told me REALISTICALLY how often babies feed. I'm sure that's why lots of women stop quickly.

No one tells women how bloody hard it is the first two weeks, at that after those two weeks it’s a piece of piss! I love breastfeeding, currently feeding my third but bloody hell its hard, especially day 3 when you’ve no milk and the baby wants to eat all night. Now dd3 is 8 weeks old and she sleeps for a 10 hour stretch at night, every 2/3 hours during the day and feeds only take a few minutes. I don’t have to sterilise anything or worry about taking milk with me - I can have long leisurely afternoons out without having to pack anything apart from a few nappies and don’t have to worry about how many bottles I need to take out.
I’ll happily have the odd glass of wine too!
My boobs have gone back to normal after feeding each child!
I just think people aren’t told how easy it is if you can stick at it for a couple of weeks!

Yep! This x1000

@Kaystar89 yes! its hard for a couple of weeks, but its so worth it. but if women are told its so easy, and it isn’t at the start, tgey stop. realistic expectations go a long way

I didn’t manage with my oldest. I think I wasn’t aware of the realities of how difficult it would be and I wasn’t left alone to let my nipples heal when they got all cracked.
So with my second I decided I would stay in hospital for a few days to get help with it. But that was a complete waste of time. They would come, shove him on them leave. No one had the time to sit with me and watch me do it.
And then I got all panicked that I wouldn’t be able to manage the oldests nursery run and the breastfeeding baby because it was all new.
This nursery run was a 5 minute walk.
But I had no family or friends close by to come and help out.
So I think lack of knowledge about what it entails and supports is what does it.

@AmIRightOrAMeringue most if us introduced formula around 6 months, so weaning age. Formula is an emergency food if there is nothing else. Baby will survive - which is massive! - but it has several severe disadvantages

• formula always tastes the same, which has been linked with food avoidances later, especially for vegetables. doesn’t have to hapoen, but is more likely
• formula means mums know exactly how much a child eats, there are norms, and kids who need less are getting overfed. Together with the first point, its a obesity risk
• formula is ok in termsxofvrough nutrient profile, but lacking quite a bit for the more nuanced bits - which impact brain development
• breastfeeding is very, very beneficial for maternal health. From taking tine out to sit down to cancer, it’s the wholes spectrum

Formula is a very good emergency solution, but it is an emergency solution. working in R&D of a formula company means you are very aware how much effort goes into making it better, and how much it is lacking.

Nobody should feel guilty for zsing formula if there is nothing else - that’s what its there for. but choosing formula - nobody who knows the details would do ghat.

There's too little support for bf, both within UK culture and within the medical profession.
Too many people think ff is just as good for babies despite all the evidence.
Many parents want to share the feeding for various reasons. Many women are not prepared to make the commitment that it takes, also for various, often very valid reasons. Bf is very much counter to equality.

I think lack of support at home doesn't help. When my DH went back to work after paternity leave, there was only me to look after my 2 year old (and newborn). I can't spend my entire time attached to the sofa when I have another child to look after and take out.

I think it's because mums aren't told the truth - it can be difficult at the start, it can be time consuming, you have to be prepared to give up a lot of time at the beginning (and maybe longer). Instead it's sold as being easy and convenient so when reality strikes lots of mums think they can't do it and give up. I found it very difficult. Literally for weeks I did nothing but feed but I was determined that I was going to do it because I'd had 2 very difficult pregnancies, and I speak as someone who breastfed for 3 years.

but choosing formula - nobody who knows the details would do ghat.
Why would you say that? I chose not to breastfeed knowing all the stats. As a matter I studied public health, ut that's the thing, when you understand epidemiology, you understand that what is an overall benefit to society doesn't make it a benefit to individuals. I also understood that the benefits are not what it's made to be. It's not a case of if you don't breastfeed your child, they will have 50% increase in a lower IQ, allergies, hyperactivity, obesity etc...

I chose not to breastfeed for my own reasons and have had no regrets at all. My kids are now older if you'd had to guess their feeding methods based on outcome, you'd think I'd breastfed them u till they were 5! No one in my family was breastfed (and were not British) yet we are all healthy and highly educated, genes have much more of an impact than breastfeeding.

Lack of support in the hospital, lack of education about how its best for baby.
Mum wanting dad to be involved and can't express.
mum wanting the convenience of a bottle.
Sadly, recently I've heard 3 women say because it's not natural.
But feeding them milk from another mammal is fine go figure.

If it wasn’t for the doctors diagnosing tongue tie soon as he was born, he wouldn’t have had it cut at 11 days old.
He dropped a whopping 15% of his birth weight so I wasn’t discharged from midwife for 4 weeks till he was back to up birth weight and if it wasn’t for this midwife I would have failed. She was amazing I seen her every few days and she lent me a pump from the hospital I had to pump and feed round the clock, as well as formula top up.
I had cracked bleeding nipples, recovering from a c section so many times I nearly gave up.
If it wasn’t for the midwife and my partner pushing me to keep going I would have put him on formula.
He’s 11 months old and still going strong.
The Facebook groups are amazing too, so helpful.

And to a previous poster who mentioned ruined boobs you need to educate your self, pregnancy does that - not breastfeeding

NRTFT but for me lack of help and support without a doubt.

Not managed to establish breast feeding properly with any of my 3 and I feel totally shit and guilty about it.

DC1 I was young and unconfident. Told the mw I was struggling around 10 days pp and she just tutted and said 'it's a bit early to give up if you really want to bf isn't it?' but offered no support whatsoever. Ploughed on for a couple of weeks and then switched to formula

DC2 tongue tie diagnosed at 2 weeks, my nipples were black and blue by then. Controlling partner at the time refused to let him get it cut. Ended up pumping and topping up with formula for around 5 months.

DC3, currently 19 weeks is fed solely on ebm. He was bf but was losing weight at 3 weeks still so was told to express or top up with formula. I carried on bf with a nipple shield as well as expressing but it all got too much. DS hated the shield and kept batting it off and I was tied to the house as had to be there to express and wouldn't have been happy using shield on public. Carried on feeding at night with the shield until he slept through at 10 weeks and now just has ebm. The extent of the support I had was the midwife telling me to get a nipple shield and me ringing the Children's centre to see if there was any support (there was 1 person but she was on holiday)

How long I can keep the expressing up for who knows.

With my first I was 19. It hurt a lot and when I asked my midwife or health visitor (I can’t remember) I was told I was doing fine. No looking at how he was latching or what position etc. I gave up at 6 weeks. I also had peer pressure from my mum and aunties about how he would sleep through the night if I ff, I could get him in a routine etc. I was encouraged by them to give up.

With ds2 and ds3 I had moved away, I was more confident and my health visitor was amazing as was my midwife. I asked for help as I was struggling and they spent a lot of time with me and gave me lots of support. I was lucky that my friends were also breastfeeding so there was an inbuilt support system amongst us.

I suspect the lack of support and information when trying to establish breastfeeding (as pp have said, bf babies more dependent on mum as only one who can feed etc) and the positives of it don't really show significantly until later.

I think all the advertising by formula brands doesn't help either. I genuinely thought follow on milk was better than bf until a doctor enlightened me, but the marketing is very strong.

There's also a lot of negativity around bf that it hurts etc. After a couple of weeks I found it very easy and never painful, I went on to bf my children for over two years each and had no issues continuing when I went back to work at 12 months (just fed morning and evening).

I reckon misogyny too - breasts are for men to enjoy and not their function of feeding babies. Anyone offended by seeing bf in public should grow up.

When I had my daughters in the 1970's we stayed in hospital for a few days, and they made sure feeding was established if you were bf. BF mums could stay in for extra days until they were confident, although all mums stayed put for a rest before being sent home.

I honestly feel so sorry for young mums now as the service you receive is far inferior to what we had. Rest and recuperation used to be central to maternity services for all women.