Breastfeeding rates in the UK

[Faerie87]

It’s just that really, been reading up a lot on this recently and the statics show that our rates are not as good as other countries, so what is it that other countries do differently?

I currently feed my LG a combination of breast milk and formula, I express for her, unfortunately I was never able to get her to latch properly but would have loved to have been able to feed her directly. I know this can be quite an emotive subject so I thought I would share my experience to show I’m not in one camp or the other regarding this, I’m just curious to find out what is the general consensus on why the Uk does have low breast feeding rates?

I think it’s nice to share experiences of feeding baby’s whether it be formula feeding or breast feeding, and for those ladies who have tried to breast feed but not continued what made you stop? And if you were to have another baby would you do anything differently?

The horror when I went back to the UK with a 4 year old breastfeeding ds was hilarious. You'd think I was force feeding him crack!

My family think breastfeeding past 6 months is disgusting. And heard many similar comments from friends too.

Only read page 1 but pressure from hcp’s in hospital to feed formula for no clinical reason. I was advised by a senior midwife it’s because it’s easier to measure what goes in then what comes out. Combined with staff choosing not to follow hospital guidelines or evidence based practice.

I had to fight to feed my baby despite having colostrum 2 hours post section and my milk kicking in within 24 hours and having 3 years bf experience. So I despair for any new mother in that hospital. (Not long ago). Awful non nutritious food too (chips and macaroni cheese anyone?).

My ds is 13 weeks and I'm already hearing 'when are you going to stop?" They all seem to have forgotten that I fed my dd till 10 months. I have to say that I have also had people coming up to me in public and said how nice it is to see a baby being breastfed. To me breastfeeding isn't a badge of honour or anything it's just the way I feed my baby. My dd was mix from 3 months due to me getting ill. I enjoy breastfeeding though cause I'm very lazy by nature and I don't think I should apologise for that but the media does portray it as unusual to like it and find it easy.

Lack of support and advice. Not knowing how hard it might be. Feeling discouraged early on (eg my DS had lost 12% weight at day 3 and the midwives were so harsh about it. My milk hadn't come in!).

The convenience of formula (now we have perfect prep machines, ready made formula, electric sterilisers etc). Lack of sleep (at least with formula you can evenly split feeds with your partner). Wanting to get your life back, and get the baby into a routine.

IMO in this day and age, if you have the money, then formula is tons easier, and makes the very hard transition of having a baby a bit easier. The benefits in this country don't clearly outweigh the difficulty and effort it takes.

Oh and hcp’s seeing formula as a magic remedy. I was told to see it like medicine! For a condition it can make worse and that was in a baby friendly hospital.

The US has made big strides in promoting breastfeeding in the working classes through WIC, which surprised me as I thought it just gave away free food and formula.

I feel like no one is doing significant work to promote breastfeeding among the working classes in the UK, which is the group that would benefit most.

Another significant difference that PPs identified is a pumping culture, with free pumps given to every mother in the US. I always felt reassured by having a nice milk stash in the freezer so my DH could take over feeds for much of the day if I happened to be out with friends, etc.

I was warned not to start pumping before six weeks by a LC as it could lead to oversupply but not sure how accurate that is.

Faerie My DC1 was born at 27 weeks and I exclusively expressed for 7 weeks and he was fed by ng tube, and then I started feeding directly, a little bit at first, when he was 34 weeks. I went on to breastfeed until he was almost 2, although he was prescribed some catch-up high calorie formula when he was discharged from hospital to help him gain weight more quickly and build up his strength. The hospital he was born in was very supportive of bf and reading some of these stories makes me realise how lucky I was to have that experience. It took me a long time to be able to express. The stress of the early birth meant I produced very little to begin with. I also donated a freezer full of breastmilk to the neonatal unit for very poorly babies whose mothers were unable to express for whatever reason. This was a different hospital to where my DC was born and they were also very pro-breastmilk for tiny and premature babies.

@laurG I have not said that researching prevents a medical birth. Things change and interventions can be needed. However the culture starts there. From women being induced when their bodies aren't ready, trusting in medical professionals that it's the best thing to do when often it isn't. I'm talking about the low risk women who end up on medical pathways such as induction when they don't need to be. Because so many women, low risk Women, end up not feeling empowered to say no and not feeling empowered to do their own research.
That culture then continues. And of course if you find bf hard then stop. Whatever. Your choice. I just pointed out that a lot of women think because its natural it should be easy. It's not. It's hard work emotionally and physically and we seem to be unprepared to accept that.
There's so many more reasons why bf rates are low but my experience has really highlighted that the antenatal journey truly contributes as well.

The horror when I went back to the UK with a 4 year old breastfeeding ds was hilarious. You'd think I was force feeding him crack!

Yep still feeding 21month old DD2 and no-one seems to approve (except the two of us!)

hersymphony just to say that my baby is almost 6 months and exactly the same - really snacky so short feeds every 1-2 hours, day and night. It’s just the way he is so I’m going with it!

It does seem like breastfeeding is the middle class option. Could less well off women be being put off naice breastfeeding groups? Do midwives treat people of different social classes differently without realising and make assumptions about feeding choices?

No one told me about cluster feeds, latch problems or that the baby would just suckle for fun and I’d be attached to him fir up to 8 hours at a time

See I think this is part of the problem:-

A) many women giving birth now will be the child of a mother and a granddaughter of a grandmother who formula fed so they don't receive this information from them.

B) even if they did receive this information, families often live further away from one another these days and due to the relentless of breastfeeding a mother needs practical support such as cooking, cleaning, looking after other children as well as support about the mechanics of breastfeeding. Historically female family members would have helped with chores. Today many women will only have their DP to do this (if they have one) and he'll be around for two weeks, if that.

C) because the older generation haven't breastfed, and the DP will also probably have been formula fed, the mother's relatives don't understand how breastfeeding works so if a mother with a 7 day old baby feeds for 20 minutes, hands baby to grandmother and then 15 minutes later baby wants a feed again it leads to the family members questioning whether the mother is actually producing milk and conclude she isn't and that formula is required. The mother often 'gives in' as she's knackered and trusts her family.

D) I'll probably be flamed, and I'm not intending on picking on the poster who wrote the above, but imo I don't think enough women who want to breastfeed actually take any time to research it before they give birth. A small amount of research would enable a woman to learn about cluster feesing/tongue tie/colostrum/frequency of feeds and therefore be confident that what is going on is normal/can hopefully be resolved /know where to get help before going straight to formula.

E) too much pressure to get out and about and back to normal. Remember 'you're not ill, you're pregnant'. Women are expected to get back in shape, socialise, entertain guests and get on with normal chores immediately after birth - these don't bode well for establishing breastfeeding.

F) the UK think breasts are sexual playthings.

@Nellyelora
"D) I'll probably be flamed, and I'm not intending on picking on the poster who wrote the above, but imo I don't think enough women who want to breastfeed actually take any time to research it before they give birth"

The same can be said about many aspects of pregnancy and birth. You'd be surprised how little many people know about the process of having a baby. We are adults and we're all capable of doing a little research for ourselves.

Has anyone had a baby with a low birth weight or a premature baby?

Yes - dd1 had a traumatic birth and was only 5lb,12oz. They wanted to give her formula, but because DH knew I didn’t want that (I was out of it - 36 hour labour, crash section) he managed to compromise on me expressing colostrum into a 1ml syringe (well, a midwife did it the first time as I was still largely numb from the shoulders down), DH feeding it to her, him taking her down the corridor for a heel prick test to measure her blood sugar and repeat every three hours for the first 24 hours.

So it was not the easy option that the hospital preferred, and it relied on me having a supportive and present DH.

We went on to ebf for six months and feed for over a year. And she never did lose any weight, not even in the first week. I, on the other hand, had a lot of pain, mastitis, engorgement, thrush. All of which could have been avoided with some decent advice in those early days.

I must admit that I do find it unusual when women clearly haven't researched things for themselves. I'm not due till early next year but I've already read a book on breastfeeding, a couple on labour, and spent time online researching breastfeeding. While I find the NHS information I've been given so far good, I like to do my own reading and research as much as possible. I do find it strange when women seem unaware of some of the more straightforward things that are easily discoverable before birth, but perhaps I'm just a control freak! I can't imagine going into something so big as labour and having a baby without researching the heck out of it!

There is also a lot of really shit breastfeeding advice out there in popular books about baby care, and for first-time mothers it’s hard to filter the good from the not so good.

I think people having a cats bum face at a woman feeding her baby in public don’t help.
I have a 9 day old baby and breastfeeding her. I formula fed my other babies who were perfectly healthy. I’m very nervous about feeding my baby in public this time because of OTHER PEOPLE. Because society can be so hateful towards mums, especially young ones.

Out of my friendship group I was the only one who formula fed and I know very few people who formula feed. Maybe it's my friendship circle but I was definitely the odd one out. Also where I live there are many BF support groups and cafes. When I asked about bottle feeding at my NCT class I was told that they didn't discuss it.
Despite having two CMPA babies, I've never had any inclination to want to breast feed. Each to their own I think. It's a personal choice.

Celebelly- I research like mad about everything, did the same for birth, breastfeeding (even attending local birth feeding groups BEFORE having the baby ). I may as well have done none for all it prepared me for the reality - a birth that meant my 'plan' was thrown out the window early on which led to difficulties bf.....Best laid plans and all that!

Also if it's sold as the most natural thing in the world then you might not feel like you need to learn about it beforehand

Yes, I don't really have a birth plan for this reason as I've no idea how things will go, so it's basically just 'be flexible'. But I do at least feel comfortable that I know stuff about when my milk should come in, that it's perfectly normal for baby to spend hours feeding, that she might fuss at the boob but that doesn't necessarily mean she isn't getting enough, etc.

But I accept that's a probably a personality thing. I'm a researcher and a control freak and like to know as much as possible about everything before I do it. DP is way more laid back and a 'let's take it as it comes type', who doesn't feel the need to research stuff like I do!

I also came on to ask where they get the statistics from. I breastfed far longer than 6 months and haven’t ever been asked.

Also I hated breastfeeding (only my personal opinion) and maybe a lot of woman feel this way and in the UK woman feel more ‘ allowed’ to do what’s best for them and stop, in other countries there is less money and I think more pressure on woman. Just a thought, I know some woman love breastfeeding and I envy them!

My DM (now 85), me (63) and my DD (30) all desperately wanted to breast feed. None of us managed beyond a few weeks because we didn't produce enough milk. Our babies were losing weight rapidly.
It was nothing to do with culture, latch, education and all to do with biology. I do not believe that we are unique.