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?

I often feel a bit guilty on my LG as she is my first, I like previous posters have said did not know all the facts, because she was tiny (4lb9 at birth) I was told I needed to give her formula and could not wait until my milk came in.

I did that, and I think she got used to the bottle, she did not want to work for colostrum and even though she latched a couple of times she would detach and start screaming :-(

So by the time my milk came in after 2 days she was having several bottles a day plus I was using a syringe to give her my expressed colostrum.

I hear what people say about support, you need your partner especially to be on board with it! My OH panicked when it came to my LG when the hospital staff said she needed feeding formula he convinced me it was the right thing to do, plus I was in such a blur after giving birth and she was so tiny I thought it was for the best too!

I feel if I do have another child I will be more prepared and know more on what to expect.

I bf but found it very difficult as I had a husband who suddenly expected I should do everything around the house whilst looking after a newborn on minimal sleep whilst recovering from birth/forceps/episiotomy/haemorrhage. I think there is a public health piece to be done around educating fathers and family around breastfeeding and what they need to do to support. It’s pointless pushing mothers to breastfeed when they are often let down by their support network

@OlderThanAverageforMN
Quite the opposite, certainly from my experience, data collection counts you as a breastfeeder if you simply give one breast feed.
Which is why there is such a "sudden" drop in breastfeeding rates from birth to 5-10 days post delivery. Because you put your baby to the breast, and that counts as being a breastfeeder, then suddenly surprise surprise by the next data count you've "given up".
The numbers are can be played with however best suits the person collecting the data

I think a lot of it is cultural. People tell you that that formula is just as good as breast milk, it helps babies sleep better, it’s easier. So when you hit a bad patch with breastfeeding it’s easier just to switch. I think all the talk of ‘breastapo’ and ‘fed is best’ makes people reluctant to talk about the benefits of breastfeeding in case they look like they are being smug or patronising.

I really don’t understand how our stats are lower than say, France.

There is a lot of help out their but ime most mums don’t go looking for it. They have bad advice or completely incorrect ideas (like the classic- my baby was always crying I wasn’t making enough milk to satisfy them- I’m not kidding when I say every mother I know who has given up early on has said this) and don’t seek out the good advice

Like so many people, I think because it’s now not the cultural norm so problems that are probably easy to fix aren’t fixed and women don’t know what is normal (and not). Expectations come from formula - eg baby shouldn’t need feeding more than every 3 hours and should start sleeping longer and longer without feeds during the night at an early age.
Cultural norms as well that women need to start going out without the baby and leave the baby from an early age with others.

I think we are used to having more equality in life - we don't accept a woman doing all the cooking or cleaning any more, and expect fathers to be more equal in raising children, but breastfeeding is still fully on the woman (yes you can express, but that still involves extra work for the woman), and we just aren't used to that. There is shed loads of support where I live for it, but no amount of 'support' could magic me up the full night sleep I can get if I bottle feed and share with my husband.

Also, as someone mentioned the statistics are very strangely compiled. The UK does it differently from most countries, so our rates for 'exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months' are small because if just one bottle of formula is ever given, or any solid food before 6 minths, then you're excluded. I know v few people who fall into that, even though they breastfeed their child, either because top ups were needed (and medically advised) at the start, weaning was before 6 months etc. Other countries are a little more flexible on this, so their rates will inevitably by higher. The questions asked in the 6-8 week checks do not feed into the who statiatics.

Personally, given its individual choice in how to feed, I don't really honk rates matter at all, as long as women feel supported to do it the way they want (whether that be breast or bottle).

Cultural attitudes, particularly inter-family

This. I’ve only met 2 exclusively formula fed babies, one adopted so mum obviously not lactating, and the other that baby’s daughter 20 years later. Most of my social group are uni educated and have jobs with decent maternity benefits. I think there’s a correlation between being privileged and breastfeeding, which is shitty because nutritionally and financially, families from a less privileged socioeconomic background would probably benefit most from breastfeeding.

“British lower class culture” 🤣

I think its lots of things.

Some women/families don't want to breastfeed, choice is paramount.

However, the vast majority start and then stop - for a lot of reasons. I think the fact that not even 50 years ago our knowledge and support of breastfeeding dropped dramatically and formula was seen as something of a liberation and feminist, freeing us from the trappings of being with baby to breastfeed. So you then have potentially 2 generations of mothers where formula feeding is seen as more the norm - I am speaking largely from my own family experience and I know this doesn't apply to everyone.

I do also think we as a society need to stop expecting babies NOT to be attached. Feeding on demand, not sleeping through the night, cluster feeding, wanting to be close/held are normal newborn/baby behaviours but we are told babies should be independent and self soothe and they shouldn't want to feed that much you must not have enough milk... and on it goes.

I'm not making much sense! Sorry. As a former midwife, I had the same conversations over and over about how you can't spoil a 2 day old baby by holding them too much, their stomachs are small so they need regular feeds, not settling in their cot alone but only on you/Dad is normal, your baby just wants to be close to you. Etc. And I didn't mind, I loved postnatal care, but I think its so hard, when there is this expectation your baby will wake 3 hourly, sleep in their cot, and latch beautifully.

I don't know what the answer is. More peer support early on, is a start.

I do think as well you repeat what you see, usually, although not always. My mum formula fed me, her mum formula fed her, and with an adoptive sibling she formula fed him to (obvs!) and so it stands to reason and I 100% think that if I hadn't been a midwife I might have tried breastfeeding because I'd have learnt antenatally about the benefits and gone off and read more, but also I don't know if I'd have had the support and instincts to continue when it's hard and I know the family form of advice would be 'give a bottle so I can help' 'she's feeding AGAIN it's only been 2 hours' etc.

Long working hours. Presenteeism in this country is terrible compared to some mainland Europe countries.

Long commutes.

Poor NHS ward support in some busy hospitals immediately post-birth/up to 48hrs later.

Poor access to tongue-tie clinics/appointments that come far, far, far too late (if at all).

Noisy NHS wards where private rooms are scarce and new mums have no hope of getting to rest and recuperate (e.g. poorly enforced visitor rules around behaviour, partners of shared ward patients being allowed in with a free reign and no real privacy/noise screens).

Poor employer support - i know this is a legal issue as well as a practical one, but at my workplace there's no private room - it's a loo pumping job and then having to store breastmilk in the (small) canteen fridge, to much eye rolling of the staff that work there... not surprisingly i can't remember the last time we had a female member of staff come back and breastfeed whilst working - the environment just isn't set up for it. Impossible situation if you're the breadwinner.

It's a wonder breastfeeding rates are so high in this country, when you look at all that.

That’s not true though valsmey- breastfeeding rates are higher in countries with far fewer maternity rights and far less average maternity leave ie USA South Africa

I think as mentioned above a lot is to do with the way the statistics are collected.

Prejudice against breastfeeding by an older generation who were seemingly discouraged from doing so You have to be quite old for that to be the case - I'm definitely old, and yet I suffered from the guilt resulting from "breast is best" all around me. I'd be surprised if anyone under 80 had been discouraged from breast feeding.

The reason I gave up bf was pain coupled with CS/inverted nipples (which therefore had no chance of healing/hardening up) coupled with lack of support other than vague comments about "not latching properly".

Sadly lack of initial support makes a big difference to those who do actually decide to feed.

Unfortunately as a midwife, your (and the numerous other women in my care) health/medical needs come before the time I can provide to help you feed your baby. It's a sorry reality but it's the honest truth.

I would love to have more time to spend with new mums to assist with getting breastfeeding initiated. Professionally I'm very pro choice, do as you please as long as your baby is fed and your doing it by making an informed choice.

Only speaking for myself but I didn't want to. I didn't like the idea of the whole 'burden' being on me. With formula feeding I could share with my husband. I personally believe my mental health would be suffered had I been forced to BF

As a midwife the most common thing people say why they don't want to breastfeed is that they want someone to help out with the feeds. I've breastfeed two of mine to over a year and currently feeding my 7 week old. It's hard work at the beginning, it's constant and can be difficult to judge if baby is getting enough. If we talked more about the 4th trimester people would be more prepared. It's not natural for a baby to be fed and passed around to lots of people. Mums need help to breastfeed. People mean well by saying they will take the baby, but the baby should remain with the mum. Breastfeeding once established is relatively easy, it's on the go - you don't need to worry about bottles or formula. But it takes a while to get to this point and a supportive network is key to that

I think that there is a lot of stigma attached to feeding, lots of mums who have opted to use formula feel guilty I think (absolutely not saying they should) and so take any pro-BF comments as a personal attack. I certainly felt that I didn't want to make anyone feel guilty when I was BF and I think that means that we (as a country) are not good at normalising BF.

There is also a lot of 'bottle fed babies sleep better', BF is a tie etc that contributes to a reluctance to BF.

It's too cold and wet in this country generally to breastfeed outside

I'm joking slightly obviously, but I've mixed fed two children and the weather was definitely a factor for me in that respect.

If we are going to the park or something to burn off some toddler energy I don't really fancy getting undressed out of many waterproof layers to my nips out on a chilly park bench in October to feed the baby if I have the option of a bottle instead.

If I lived in a warm Mediterranean country I probably wouldn't bother with the bottle.

I think the 2 biggest factor are that it had now been the norm for several generations to formula feed, thus resulting in breastfeeding not being seen frequently in public, the family support network being non existent for many women, and due to how emotive breastfeeding is, other people's "failures" influencing the attitudes and information that are imparted onto new mums. This then becomes a vicious circle, keeping breastfeeding rates low.

Secondly, I don't think the NHS/ and pro breastfeeding groups has got is public health campaign right. There seems to be an obsession with exclusive breastfeeding, and breastfeeding mum's use the acronym "ebf" as a badge of honour. Surely in a country with such diabolically low breast feeding rates, the emphasis should be on increasing the 30% of women who do some breastfeeding at 6 months, rather than on increasing the 2% who exclusively breastfeed to 6 months. Imagine if we could double the 30% figure to 60% of babies recieving some breast milk at 6 months, that would be amazing and mean that the majority of babies were getting at least some breast milks and many of the benefits, whereas campaigning to double exclusive breastfeeding rates would still mean 96% of mother's weren't reaching that goal leaving many feeling like "failures", and so many babies missing out. Also presumably if the number of mum's breastfeeding to 6 months increased, rates of exclusive breastfeeding would quietly increase alongside it. If we focused on getting the majority of women doing some breastfeeding to 6 months, then it would start to become the norm to see and talk about breastfeeding, and that would further improve breastfeeding rates.

The trouble with the stats is that pesky word "exclusively". My daughter never had formula, only breastmilk. But because she had a few teaspoons of broccoli puree or something in the few weeks before she turned 6 months she would be recorded as "not exclusively breastfeeding".

Unrelated to this I think too many people consider breasts as sexual (which they are, but that's secondary to their main biological function) and so think its "icky" or "wrong" to use them to feed a baby and/or have them at all exposed in public.

I think that lack of breastfeeding support when trying to establish breast feeding and lack of general help at home are the 2 biggest factors.

Weekly rather than daily breastfeeding clinics don't help. You just can't not feed your baby for 6 days until the next one is on. If you give formula in that time then your milk supply suffers.

After the 2 weeks of paternity leave the mother is normally left on their own at home. If you haven't managed to get breastfeeding established in that time, you are unlikely to, especially if you have older children. You just cannot be pinned to the sofa if you have other young children that need to be fed and go out before they destroy your house.

3 reasons I quit.

1. The propaganda they fed me in the classes before hand was nothing like reality, it smacked me across the face.

1. He fed every hour then from 5pm to 10am literally wouldn't get off me. He never stopped when he was full I'd try to get him off holy hell broke loose. Everytime I spoke to a proffesional even before I finish my sentence I got a reply of its normal it's hard work but so worth it. Lack of sleep led me to physcosis

1. I did try a dummy and it worked, spoke to a midwife about it and was bollocked like a naughty child. Being depressed this made me a thousand times worse. Stopped doing it even though it worked and had to give up. I'm still determined to this day he was just a very comforting baby.

I read somewhere that a lot of those studies don't class you as breastfeeding if your expressing or 1/2 and 1/2 feeding or started food early. Different factors that even though there's breast milk they were discounted.

I didn't want to breastfeed. I didn't like the thought of it at all.