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?

But class must have at least something to do with it or there wouldn't be a disparity.

Well as a middle class, masters level educated reasonably high earner in a group of very similar women, the vast majority of whom formula fed I feel it isn't about class at all. It's about the lack of support, being booted out less than 24 hours after giving birth and not knowing what the hell you are doing.
Stories from my group -

• me, no milk, genuinely no milk, baby dehydrated
• friend 1 - tried in agony and baby chewed her nipple off, advice from midwife on 5 minute visit was to grin and bear it, nipple did not grow back until pregnant with her next
• friend 2 - lay in bed for 3 weeks struggling to feed, no midwife visits as she fell between boroughs, finally went to a La Leche meeting for help, was told she should find it easy, went home and bottle fed
• friend 3 - twins - literally sobbed through 2 weeks then gave up
• friend 4 - just didn't know what to do, couldn't get baby to latch, no support, gave up

I could go on.

These are women who are company directors, forensic scientists, life coaches. All educated and all fully intended to breastfeed.
The class argument is just a lazy argument that suits the government not having to do anything about the levels of support.

Who is measuring the "class" anyway? For example take friend 1 - doesn't live in a great postcode but holds a masters and earns £60k+ how exactly did they assess her "class"?

They measure by income, not 'class'. The latter isn't really a useful metric, but research shows that breastfeeding rates are significantly lower in low-income households.

I’m as middle class as they come and I would never consider breastfeeding.

Yes everything to do with normalizing and support. My mum breast fed 3 children my aunt breast fed 4. By the time I was 14 I had wittnesed thousands of breast feeds, so when I had my baby I knew what to do. Everyone thinks it's normal for a new born to be attached to it's mother and runs around making cups of tea for them and getting them cushions. MIL formula fed and when she started the whole " is he feeding again? Do you think you have enough" thing DM put her right. Agree with park benches though Dd (October born) was mix fed.

And £60k would put her well out of poorer cohorts.

I agree about co sleeping - that’s what got me through the early days. My baby screamed the second I put him down anywhere, including his cot, and tbh I wanted him as close as I could have him anyway so it suited us both. I read up on how to do it safely and lied to my HV about it as I didn’t want a lecture.

I agree that support is the key factor in whether someone who wants to bf is able to. Sadly those who are better off are able to pay for it if it isn’t available for free in their area. I live in (I think) the most deprived borough in London (though there is also a large middle class presence) and every single person I have come across in baby groups has breastfed - I’d say that’s maybe 40 women I’ve met in the last few months? We have excellent bf support groups available for free every day of the week in multiple locations. Similarly all of my friends and colleagues who have had babies have breastfed, as did my own mother. When it’s seen as a normal thing to do, plus there is one to one help available for those who want to do it, rates should increase I think.

I think there is something about the class divide..purely from a personal anecdote however.

I live in the roughest area in my city, high drug use and a large immigrant population living in overcrowded rental flats (multiple families in one flat) who rarely allow involvement of the HCP such as midwives and HV. At 38 weeks pregnant I brought up breastfeeding at a midwife appointment and she replied in a surprised tone 'Oh are you planning to breastfeed like?' and promptly handed me a DVD on breastfeeding. That was the total input I received from midwife. I completely understand why that was, she must have so much extra care with more complex cases but in our area (one community midwife) there is very little push put on breastfeeding. HV's were slightly more helpful when I called to get advice but none was offered without me pursuing and there were no local BF groups in place.

I got a lot of support in hospital for breastfeeding and stayed in extra days to get things established. The infant feeding team regularly came by to check how things were going and I think because I was adamant that I wanted to bf they didn't suggest a bottle at any point. We syringe and cup fed for the first 5 days as I have flat nipples so DS just wouldn't latch. On the fifth day someone suggested trying a nipple shield and instantly he latched and fed it was an incredible feeling.
9 months on and I'm still breastfeeding, ditched the shields at about 3 months when he'd got the hang of it. I feel really lucky to have been given that support in hospital as giving up wasn't an option. I'm sure it would have been different if we'd have gone home.
Most of the mums from my antenatal group didn't breastfeed and they just didn't get the support I did and stopped because you worry that you're baby is hungry and not putting on weight and desperately just want to get home. It's quite an emotive subject within my friendship groups, I wish I didn't have to feel guilty for being proud breastfeeding.

Class has nothing to do with it. Support available does

When there is no support, the more educated parents are more likely to seek out information on the internet, breastfeeding groups etc.

Most “middle class” parents are older, less reliant on parents for help and guidance. I lives in a very mixed area- my middle class, middle income friends had moved away from family, were in their 30’s, used nurseries and childminders. They were the ones who breastfed and sought breastfeeding groups and paid help.

Friends who hadn’t stayed on at school generally still lived near family, were early 20’s. Their mums were younger and more able to help. They went straight to bottles as it’s what their mums did, also with family help it meant they could leave baby with their parents right from the start. A couple of these women were still using techniques like rusks and weetabix in bottles. They went with family advice over professional.

Class, education level, income level, whatever you call it. But on a population level it does matter.

Well my side are posh snd rich. Bottle feeders.
DS's side working class MIL and FIL v v poir growing up. Breast fed.

I think physical make up comes into it. I can honestly say that I have never been in so much pain as breastfeeding. It was endless, the let down was excrutiating, the latching was excrutiating, mastitis was evil, bycweek five the deep breast pain was debilitating for at least an hour after every feed (I think I provs had thrush of the inner breast tissues by then).

I did miscarriages at 17 weeks and 12 weeks pretty much at home, a pusterior baby with pethidine until the final 90 mins and was back at wirk 9 days after wedging a vertebrae by more than 50%.

Managed it with dd knew what I was doing and she didn't have ds's wide and shallow palate. It still fucking hurt and I atill got mastitis but just once.

I think the “class” label is quite, welll misleading isn’t quite the right word, but maybe inaccurate? Because they don’t mean working class women don’t breastfeed. The vast majority of the country is working class. Being a homeowner/ going to NCT/ reasearching doesn’t make you middle class.

I suspect what the studies are referring too are specific qualities which maybe loosely identified with the traditional working class or yesteryear Such as:

• little social or geographical mobility, so likely to stay in same place they grew up in close to family and school friends

• young

• poor

• minimally educated

This is absolutely the target market for attitude change. But as PP said the majority of the population of women DO WANT to BF. A hell of a lot start off BF so they do try. Then they stop. It’s the stoppers which should be (and have been) the priority for support

I still don't think there is enough of a dialogue with mums in this situation.

I'm not sure I had any support, I just did it. I think lack of support is not the reason

I bottle fed from day one for a number of reasons

• it seemed like if you started breastfeeding there was a lot of pressure to continue from everyone. I actually think supporting all feeding would benefit breastfeeding, if i knew if I'd tried and actually hated it then given up i would have probably tried whereas midwives seem to put more pressure on if you start to keep going

• I would never have been one to feed in front of anyone but DP. So no family would have been able to visit, no leaving the house, I'd have been trapped. I know some people change but i wouldnt have, im a very private person. More places out and about other than toilets to hide in would have helped this

• i wanted to know he was eating enough

• sleep deprivation from feeding

I was breastfed and had a lot of pressure from family to, which also didnt help

@lethaldrizzle that statement makes no sense - it’s great you didn’t need support, presumably that’s why you were able to do it. Rates are low because despite a high percentage of women starting to bf, the majority don’t continue. It’s likely that a lot of them would have done if they’d had support.

In India the rate is in high 90%..
It's not class, it's not lack of support. It's convenience and ability to afford formula.

@northernbeachbum do you think your reasons for not bf are quite common? Just wondering about your first and last points in terms of trying to improve things - so your family and midwives encouraging you to bf actually put you off? But given your other points, could anyone have ever persuaded you?

Can't speak for everyone but I know the pushing of the health benefits didn't help me. It made me stressed and panicky which can't have helped with milk production.

There was a real low point where I was sobbing my heart out over that leaflet after a failed attempt to get my 4 day old DD to take much despite my nipples going bloody.

Just thought I'd post here a comment I just got on another thread when I mentioned breastfeeding (in passing!), since it seemed relevant to the discussion about expectations put on women (and also because I'm pissed off about it!):

I knew someone would bring breastfeeding in to it. "I can't function because of breastfeeding" or you could you know just cope and get on with life.

I think formula is far more normalises these days. The marketing ploys the companies use “time to move on” ect even imply you should move from breast to formula? Also from bodies being sexualised has a lot to do with it. See women say it all the time “eww sucking on a tit” and believing that formula is “just the same”.
I don’t think anyone looks into the risks of formula feeding either. Part of me feels that rates may improve after Aptimal hospitalised so many babies by changing their milk “formula” pardon the pun!

I definitely feel socio economics have something to do with it. I spoke on a previous page about how virtually everyone I know breastfed and the vast majority breastfed until one at least. I’m talking NCT, university friends, baby classes.
It was honestly unusual in a baby group to see a woman with a bottle. I think certainly there’s a certain amount of egging each other on. Some probably expected to do for six months only but then everyone else was still doing it, so they kept on too.

cookit I stopped going to NCT coffee mornings because I failed and wild horses wouldn't have dragged me there with a bottle.

@harrietm87 i think if I'd had less pressure i would have tried for a few weeks while DP was off. The way people feel a failure if they stop and the pressure to continue made me not even want to give it a go. The team in the hospital were fantastically supportive of feeding in any way. It did make me consider changing my mind but i knew my midwive wouldn't be the same

Ive seen in a few John Lewis' and other department stores feeding rooms, I've noseyed in and theyre lovely, nice comfy chair; light, lockable door etc. I think facilities like that should be more available too and that would also make a huge difference if people feel like i do about privacy

My experience echos what others have said. 1st baby lived in outer london borough there was approx 50:50 breast : formula fed baby’s at local Nct bumps and babies group. 2nd baby in north Notts there are only two of us that are breastfeeding.

The biggest difference that strikes me is attitude, mums in outer london borough beat themselves up about not breastfeeding, in north Notts there doesn’t seem to be as much of that. Bottle feeding is more of the norm.

I think reasons are multufactorial, however in both parts of the country I received very little formal support. I actually credit mumsnet for teaching me to breastfeed my eldest. When I took part in an nhs breastfeeding audit, and said this, it was scoffed at which annoyed me no end!