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 wonder about the stats, because the vast majority of mothers locally all seem to breastfeed. Nobody has noted down anywhere that I'm still EBF at 7 months, who do they ask? I'm another who can't understand the issues with mixed feeding, I don't do it but I can't see why it isn't equally as good for a baby. In the early days there needs to be better understanding that breastfeeding is a 24*7 activity and better support for tongue tie issues (Do we have more of a genetic predisposition to this? It affects bottle feeding anyway so it should be better reviewed).

Yeah, but I was saying all the “I plan to... I’d like to...” whole actually thinking “I’m going to be ACE at this and it’ll be a breeze” .

I am originally from the UK but all three of my children were born in the USA. The local hospital where they were born prides itself on getting recognition from UNICEF and the World Health Organization for being a “baby friendly” hospital which is due to the high breastfeeding rates of mothers who give birth there.

Before I had my first baby I knew precisely zero about BF. During my visits with the doctor affiliated with the hospital there was a lot of encouragement to BF and the hospital had a presentation which future mothers and fathers were urged to attend. It was well attended with plenty of people, I think at least 60 and the woman who gave it ma de it very interesting with lots of up to date information on BF. For example she shared that studies showed that successful BF was linked with the support of the partner, so she encouraged partners to learn everything they could and practical ways to support the mother. This was 20 years ago but I remember her explaining all about the breast and how it was a perfect design for babies. That the nipple was exactly like a target especially as newborns could only see in black and white and that is why the nipple tissue darkens during pregnancy so there was more of a contrast and it was easier for a baby to see. I remember her also explaining that the milk does not come out of the end of the nipple but from a number of milk ducts and that’s why getting as much of the areola into the baby’s mouth was important because by suckling it encouraged the milk let down.She then showed us videos of babies latching on and how and why some latches were successful and some were not. So even during that one lecture I learnt a lot that I still remember today. There was a Q and A sesssion afterward too.

Before and after the birth everyone at the hospital was very positive about BFing. After the birth a lactation consultant came to check how everything was going and give more support and education.

But the most important factor for me was once I was back home, I was told if I was having any problems at all to call the nurse at the BF Support unit at the hospital for help. In fact when our dd was 3 or 4 days old I was really struggling to feed her so after calling the center they encouraged me to come in. Well first of all they were incredibly kind and supportive and told me what a great job I was doing as a new mum which made me cry, it was such a relief because I was feeling very overwhelmed. Then in a private room with a nurse she reassured me that my milk had just come in so that was why the baby may not have to been getting much milk before then and why she was unhappy. Then she asked me to latch the baby on and watched. She told me that dd was like a “piranha” and was going to eat me alive (I already had cracked nipples) so she got me some nipple shields and helped me to latch the baby on using them.

So this long post is to explain that I received SO MUCH very practical help and support from the hospital that really helped me get BFing established. I was told I could call whenever I wanted and the hospital had created a unit whose only purpose was to support BFing mothers. The hospital also had a shop selling all sorts of products such as books, nursing pillows and ointments for sore nipples. Mothers could also rent out electric breast pumps that were very high quality for mothers who needed to pump regularly for work. They also had mother and baby groups meeting at the hospital who were separated by the age of your baby: newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. Some groups met during the day and some in the evening. You could attend free for the whole of the first year and they again gave lots of practical support and education.

As a I result I ended up BFing all three children for years. My mum died when I was 13 so I had no maternal support or advice and I think without their help there is a very good chance I would have struggled tremendously and given up. This story is especially for the OP who wondered why BFing rates were so much higher in the US. My first dd was born in 2000 so this support was already in place and sophisticated 20 years ago.

Thank you for all your responses.

It does make sense now when reading through them.

I think for many women myself included, we want to do it, but we find the support is not there, either, post natal, at home with family and via groups.

I do think there should also be a lot more support out there for partners advising them on what to expect! Such as classes as to how long your wife or partner will be feeding the baby for in the first few weeks, how to help and be supportive, and I do think two weeks unpaid paternity pay is bloody awful whether your breast feeding or formula feeding.

I’ve said this earlier but because my LG was my first baby it was like a baptism of fire and I think with hindsight I would have done a lot of things differently, but you live and learn!

Think it depends where you are. Most people I know with children the same age as mine breastfed - very common in most baby groups, clinics etc I went to. I was the unusual one - formula feeding.

I also like to add that I still express for my little one but my supply has declined dramatically, she’s four months today and at the moment I get about 200ml of breast milk from about two hours of pumping per day, I agree with other posters expressing is a hard slog but I am going to do it for as long as I am able. My LG has about 800ml of milk a day so I do have to use mostly formula.

I felt awful to begin with but I think now however you decide how to feed your baby or whether you have to feed your baby via a certain method we should all feel proud that we are doing the best we can! Sorry I’m being a bit cheesy now! Xx

I has both my dc in another North European country where 98% of women breastfeed.

For me this is down to 2 main factors.

1. each first time mum stays in hospital for 5 days for her first baby (longer for a csection). During that time you get one on one support with feeding. A nurse will sit you with you at each feed and make sure baby is well positioned. By the time you go home feeding is week established.

2. Under law you get an extra months of maternity leave on full pay if you breastfeed your baby between the ages of 4 and 5 months!

That should read Well established

2) Under law you get an extra months of maternity leave on full pay if you breastfeed your baby between the ages of 4 and 5 months!

I can see how that would concentrate the mind

I thought the extra pay was such a good idea then I thought paying women to BF is really unethical, although in the country you speak of (I think I’ve guessed) I know it’s not for that reason but simply to facilitate BF because everyone does it anyway

Sweden?

I guess it would be more controversial in the UK given that poorer women are less likely to breastfeed

There was a trial in, I think, Bristol giving young women vouchers for breastfeeding and it was successful for them but does raise a huge moral argument

2) Under law you get an extra months of maternity leave on full pay if you breastfeed your baby between the ages of 4 and 5 months!

I think that's pretty awful in a country with a 98% breastfeeding rate because that means the only women who aren't getting it are almost certainly women who physically can't.

It’s not an incentive though, it’s there so that breastfeeding parents can continue to feed. If you were bottle feeding then your child care provider would be able to feed your baby

I breastfeed and don't know many mums but while everyone in my nct group wanted to try breastfeeding, the thoughts we came up with in our brainstorming was weird and only about half of us now breastfeed. There were lots of cesareans and they were told it takes longer for your milk to come in if you give birth that way. My boobs however were leaking before I gave birth at 36 weeks and had to do mixed as my baby had jaudice so had to be on the blue light so fed quickly. The feeding every 3 hours advice was exhausting and we were in for a week as after baby recovered I was exhausted and anemic. I got good support and taught hand expressing and 3 months on I use during a wash to relive hard boobs as my baby sleeps through. I got good help from a student but never hand expressed enough in hospital to feed, they gave me a pump after 4 days which was so much better. Before then the milk was leaking over my clothes when any other babies cried and the ward was full! I got the best support from my mum who also breastfed and had no issues. She moved to Holland and had us. There more people breastfed but my grandparents didn't bf and my mum told me when she was helping with feeding that she couldn't feed in the same room as her father, had to go to the bedroom. I chose to go to my room to feed when I visited my parents with newborn, partly confidence and partly as she got distracted by laughter. I agree with the earlier comment 'LadyLaSnack

It’s only since having a baby that I have really understood how damaging the old rhetoric of ‘if it hurts you aren’t doing it right’ can be.' noone told me it was painful and in family get togethers mums would breastfeed during the conversation no problem. At the beginning I was trying to delatch my baby when it was painful until a midwife said its normal to be painful in the first few seconds and breastfeeding is an endurence game.

I’m not sure I could have kept up breastfeeding if I hadn’t managed to safely cosleep. But people are very discouraged from doing this. At nearly 5mo my baby is still feeding every 1-2 hours through the night and he won’t take a bottle. I would be certifiable without cosleeping

Breastfeeding isn't a necessity, so it stands to reason that in a country where economic pressures tend towards women working outside the home to pay higher living costs than in less developed countries, BF rates will be lower.

It doesn’t stand to reason because countries were women go back to work sooner also have higher BF rates

I managed to establish BF in the beginning because no one around me expected me to do anything else other than respond to baby’s need to feed. H, parents, PIL, friends all took amazing care of me and the baby. And it was still tough, especially at night, but it would have been a million times harder without their support

Because maternity and paediatric support in the uk is underfunded. In some countries in Europe mothers and babies are provided with a paediatrician from the day they are pregnant up until the child is 5.

I think most of the reasons given on the first page are spot on but for me personally I found other people's attitudes negative.

I was 22 when I had my first and although most of my close family BF no one from my age/social group /generation had.

I was made to feel weird or disgusting and I hid it from most people.

I'm stubborn so carried on through the early difficulties with family support until 14 months. However where I live and within my age group its most definitely not the norm.

My best friend had a baby 9 months after me and we encouraged each other but her experience was the same as mine.

It’s quite literally lack of support, at least in my area. I stayed in hospital 5 days after my last baby and still hadn’t fully got the hang of it. So combination fed from about 8 weeks old because my nipples were shredded.

If I was to have a third id bottle feed from the start x

Just to add my eldest was 8 weeks premature so never breastfed as he wasn’t big or strong enough

What really helped me was learning that breastfeeding behaviour for the mother is NOT INATE and needs to be learnt. We were shown footage of a gorilla mother in a zoo whose infants’s life was in danger as the mother did not know how to BF. They sent in some human mothers and their babies to sit in the other side of the glass and feed their babies. The gorilla came over and spent lots of time observing. The mothers would shown how their babies were latched on. She was able to BF her baby after learning the behavior.