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?

Having breastfed in the UK, then moved to the US and seen a lot of my colleagues breastfeed well past a year despite going back to work at 2-3 months, I think one reason breastfeeding is more popular in the US is to do with encouraging expressing.

Insurance is required to cover a pump - usually a good electric one that pumps quickly from both breasts.

Insurance covers support from a lactation consultant before and after the birth.

Because women assume they will go back to work fairly early, they pump from early on. This gives them freedom even from the early days to go out without their baby, to have other people feed their baby at night, to get a proper night's sleep occasionally. They feel less tied to their baby.

Once women are back at work, they are supplied with facilities for pumping and storing milk - this has been federal law for a long time.

I have no idea of any of this is supported by research, but if I had another baby I would either pump much more, or I would mixed feed. The idea of being so tied to my babies by exclusive breastfeeding really intimidates me, having tried it (three times).

The myth that breastfeeding is a wonderful experience.

It's not. It's boring and painful and restrictive.

Women are sold the myth that they are going to have a wonderful experience and then are disappointed and stop when they discover it's not because they think they've failed.

Mum's need to be reminded that they are doing it because it's best for baby and not necessarily best for them. The happy mother, happy baby mantra destroys breastfeeding. (I'm not talking about those with mental health or physical problems, but those who don't like it or find it uncomfortable).

And the demonising of ff as a previous poster said. If one bottle didn't imply you had failed, then I think more women would breastfeed in combination for longer.

Pike I have breastfed 2 beyond 1 and my youngest gets a bit bitey when teething but it only lasts a day or so at a time. My eldest didn't bite.

I was lucky enough to take a year maternity leave so was able to continue breastfeeding morning, night and days off so no need to express at work. If I had to return earlier I would have soon got fed up of expressing and moved to formula.

Breastfeeding works well for me and fits in with our family but I would have stopped in a heartbeat if it was the more difficult option. People need to do what works for them.

It really would probably be cheaper for the NHS to encourage formula feeding as there would be less of these issues that take up HV and midwives time, and hospital admissions for dehydration/failure to thrive etc

I doubt it. The NHS' own economic modeling indicates that greater rates of breastfeeding would save significant amounts, in both the short (admissions for common childhood illnesses) and long (breast cancer, obesity) term.

even if I had bf I'm not sure I would have wanted to still be at it now he has a mouth full of teeth....

But a properly latched baby or toddler can't and won't bite. See, this is part of it right here, IMO. People are downright eager to see Bf as inconvenient, messy, undignified, weird. Yes, a teething baby will occasionally bite. It's usually a very brief phase, and really not a problem.

Choice? In some countries there isn't the money or food supplies to allow mothers the option to stop breastfeeding and still keep their baby/toddler healthy.

Work.

And then I agree with Pengwynn's list. I never considered breastfeeding. I have really tiny breasts (28AA) and I just thought it would be really painful. And I have a psychological distaste for it for no good reason.

It's bloody hard, nobody prepares you for that and there's hardly any support but (in my recent experience anyway) loads of pressure from midwives to do it. When I was trying to establish BF with DD back in February I told one midwife that I couldn't go on because it was agony (broken glass on the nipples feeling). When I asked about using nipple shields she pulled a face and said "we don't like mums to use those". We'd bought some formula to top up as I just couldn't manage to give DD enough and this was also looked down on. Luckily something clicked and we continued BF but combination feed with two bottles of formula a day. Works for us. I would find it so, so hard being DD's only food supply and am scared to BF her in public as I'm normally alone when I take her out - would feel very vulnerable and exposed.

It always mystifies me that women in the US express so much, although I guess they have to. I hated it, it was so time consuming and meant I got no rest in the early days when I was either feeding or expressing. Horrible. I'd have cried if someone had tried to encourage me to continue with it or do it more.

From what I’ve gathered from friends/colleagues it’s a few different reasons.
Some find the thought sickening. Some have heard horror stories of babies feeding for hours at a time so don’t want to attempt it.
Others have tried but found it hard work.

Where are the links to this NHS modelling in relation to childhood diseases,obesity and even cancer?

@CowParsley2

The statistic mentioned was breastfeeding rates at a year, so I felt my stopping at 9 months was relevant, although you might feel that is a 'success'

I also think that being in pain, isolated, exhausted and pressured is a strange measure of 'success'

I lived abroad when my 2 were small but didn't breastfeed, because I didn't want to. The thought just didn't appeal. It was ok either way, though and I never felt pressured at all about it.
Breastfeeding rates were a lot higher there.
I'm back in the UK and quite shocked at the nasty attitude towards formula feeders. I read a thread a few months back where a mum was told that she should try breastfeeding as "being constantly needed by my baby makes me a better mother"

@QueenAravisOfArchenland no one believes in those effects of breastfeeding though, the vast majority believe the NHS are misguided and massively overstate it. Most people think that other factors associated with breastfeeding actually produce the effects, rather than breastfeeding itself. It's a losing battle to try and persuade people that it isn't.

I have worked as a midwife in the UK and am currently a midwife in Canada, where BF rates are much higher. In my experience it is almost completely down to cultural norms and attitudes. BF support is not miles better in Canada (they do not even cut tongue ties at all where I work now). But women are much more likely to actually seek out and access the support available. They are also much more likely to have support from friends, family, their own mother to breastfeed rather than encouraging them to "just give the baby a bottle". Mums in Canada tell me they are going to breastfeed whereas a lot of women in the UK told me they planned to "try". I know this is very simplistic but I think that attitude is key.

www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/more-breastfeeding-would-save-nhs-millions/#conclusion

The NHS think it would save them millions if b/feeding rates were better, it’s a really shame there’s no extra money to actually help make that happen. All the support in our area now is run by private charities.

At 1, a lot of women have returned to work and therefore probably make the decision to stop EBF because it just doesn't work with routine. Surely they should look at the rates at a lower age?

I'm planning to return to work at 9 months, as such, I want to stop BF around 6/7 months. I think that's plenty. Obviously, I may change my mind but I just don't see how breastfeeding will work with being away from DD for 9 hours a day, 4 or 5 days a week.

Thank you for all these responses so much food for thought.

I agree with those saying it is a cultural thing. You just don't see it ever really.

And the lack of support. I feel lucky that bfeeding worked out for me but not without struggles, but when things happened i turned to the internet and got a lot of advice there.

So i do think the internet def has a new role in supporting parents. Its so easy to search and connect on sites such as this one.

I always think back though to times when formula wasnt even invented and think of mothers then. The support would have been there probably because there was no other option

I read about mothers who literally couldnt bf and think back to then.. would their babies have just died?!
So obviously formula is a great thing.. even for those who could but dont wish to.. as women should be able to do what they want!

Many of my friends bf for about 3 months as they perceived it to be the right thing to do, and then gave up because they'd had enough. Nothing to do with lack of support,or the influence of others, they'd just had enough. I was the same with dc1. Slow feeder, every feed took and hour. I wanted my life back.

I think it is easy to blame external factors rather than be honest that not everyone wants to bf.

I had a really easy time breastfeeding. Very little pain, baby latched fine right from the start, weight gain fantastic. And everyone around me, family, HV, doctors etc patted me on the back for bf-ing. And I STILL had pressure to stop.

Baby sleeps like a baby? “Oh you should give her a bottle before bed.” Baby cluster feeds? “Oh she’s not taking a full feed, try her with a bottle.” I needed a prescription for something unrelated and asked if it was safe for bf, and got a whole lecture about how it was great that I’d “tried to breastfeed” for so long (4 months!) but it really was okay to stop now. (The prescription was totally bf-safe.) Another prescription, a different doctor said “just give the baby more bottles” and then was truly shocked that I wasn’t mix-feeding. “She doesn’t have ANY bottles? At ALL?” And God forbid your bang is not in a routine. You end up feeling like you’re done crazed activist crusader just for breastfeeding at all.

I felt like there was not so much pressure to breastfeeding as to have tried breastfeeding - like you were supposed to say you’d really wanted to and poured your heart and soul into it, but it wasn’t possible for you so you’d moved to formula. Every little problem I had at all, people were falling over themselves to tell me it was okay to stop and giving me faces when I said thanks but I didn’t want to.

I stuck it out until 11 months, was miserable- it was uncomfortable (as in not hurt anymore but not a pleasant feeling-not because I thought it was gross)

I remember feeding my DT in hospital-the pain

I'm expecting again so want to bf again but if it gets too hard I'll stop because I think it contributed to my pnd-being their source of food and comfort

My friend ff, her dd slept through from 6 weeks, mine slept through at 11 months after I put them on formula after waking 2-3 times a night at least previously

(Your BABY is not in a routine I mean! Bangs can be in whatever routine they like.)

Because people don't see it around them, so it's not considered normal, where as formula is seen as normal

Because there are lots of miss understandings - this includes not enough info about how full on it is at first (cluster feeds etc) but also not enough info about how flexible it can be later on (I skimmed the thread & saw a couple of posts indicating people were planning on giving up bf after return to work at about 9 months when it is not necessary to have to do this - if you want to continue bf you can, baby can cope in the day without milk at this point)

The lack of help in the first days helping baby latch etc, I remember with my first baby, pressing my buzzer and the midwife seemed annoyed and busy that I needed help getting baby to latch and in the end just left me with a screaming baby saying something about Just keep trying yourself I need to do the med’ rounds now. I was so overwhelmed and in tears after just a few hours after giving birth.

Also regarding the lack of support..

In the hospital after birth ( i probs stayed about 24 hours) i asked for a midwife to help me latch each time. I wanted them to literally adjust my boob and baby into position to help me and all but one did that.

Also the midwives and hv offered to check my latch each time i saw them in times after birth.

Is this not everyones experience? Is it bit of a postcode lottery?

People just don't think it's important. And the ease that the alternative (ff) offers is too tempting