Breastfeeding rates have gone up during lockdown

[YaWeeSkitter]

In hospital births due to the ban on visitors
AIBU to think that this is the way it should be in hospital all of the time?

Yes - visitors are great a lot of the time if you're stuck in hospital but recently it has grown to ridiculous amounts . Open visiting is somehow interpreted as a free for all with no peace for ill patients.

Surely its time to go back to strictly limited visiting hours - staggered if necessary for parking purposes.

That’s fine if you can support the patients adequately. I had someone with me all the time as I was very unwell after both deliveries and no I’ve had any time to assist me whilst I was pretty much bed bound.

If the midwives don’t ignore your bell or refuse to help you feed the baby then fine.

My experience does not favour having no visitors.

I would have thought scare stories about the lack of availability of formula may also have played a part.

This is great but there is a massive need for realistic support. Leaving a mum in tears with her curtain closed and a screaming baby for hours isn't encouraging breastfeeding - I wish I'd had support with ds1 and dd2 because if I had I may have had the same chance as I did with ds3

I had no visitors with DC2 and it was much better! I felt so much more relaxed. I hated sitting there in my pjs, bleeding and sore, attached to a catheter, looking rough as a badger and having to pretend to be totally fine with DC1.

In terms of having a partner able to come in during the day for relief it can be good as it sets early roles of shared parental responsibilities instead of it all being on the mum. However outside of the other parent or carer, reduced visitors or shortened visitation periods definitely could be a good idea. Starting breastfeeding (especially if its your first time ever) can be an emotionally trying time and mums while they need support also need privacy that a lot of them dont get it (I gave birth at 1am and by the following evening I had had 20-25 visitors (none of whom had been invited, just nosy family members that I didn't feel I could say no to) and even more over the next few days of my stay). Even if you say no to your family if you're on a shared ward, you've got other peoples families coming in. My mums a midwife and she finds a lot of visitors get in the way and distress the mums offering unwanted and often medically incorrect advice.

I strongly suspect that when midwives and other ward staff don’t have to police the behaviour of inconsiderate partners and other visitors they have a LOT more time to support women. I’d be strongly in favour of reduced footfall and stricter visiting hours on postnatal wards permanently.

I just saw this being discussed on the One Show. I can't say I'm surprised.

I had DS 17 years ago and hospital rules were pretty strict, visiting for 2 hrs in the morning, 2hrs in the evening, I don't think even DH was allowed onto the ward any more than that - and no more than 3 visitors round a bed at a time.

These days it seems like a free for all. A friend who recently had a baby said it was an unreal experience... she was kept awake all night by the partner of the woman next to her (who must have stayed the night) snoring. Then in the morning visitors turned up for that woman, bringing McDonald's breakfast, playing music on their phone, burping as loud as they could after eating. She'd closed the curtains around her bed while she was trying to breastfeed and some bloke yanked them open to ask could he take the chair next to her bed. The partner spent most of the day wandering up and down the ward talking loudly on his phone with no regard for any of the women's privacy or dignity. Her husband nearly decked him when he came in and found her in tears. She discharged herself that evening.

All well and good - I wonder how much midwives have had to actually support mothers now there’s no partners around to do it? I’d have loved to breastfeed - however a poorly baby and absolutely no support to breastfeed (other than being told formula was full of rubbish) meant I failed very quickly.

More attention from midwives in hospital because they are not having to police idiot visitors? Or less attention from visitors at home interfering with feeds?

I strongly suspect that when midwives and other ward staff don’t have to police the behaviour of inconsiderate partners and other visitors they have a LOT more time to support women.

This.

I doubt there are suddenly more midwives on the wards, are there? And yet breastfeeding rates have gone up. It's highly likely to be linked.

I agree that limiting visitors (as they did in the old days - but with good enough staffing like they had then) is a good idea and will encourage breastfeeding.

However my worry that I read this is that women as bf more as they can’t go out anyway - so would suggest that we need to work on making it easier and more widely accepted for babies to bf in public.

Also agree that it could be due to the supply issues of formula in early lockdown and supermarket queues. I was planning to combi feed with formula but havent for those reasons (although I'm actually delighted to be exclusively breastfeeding atm). I would be very hesitant to visit a new mother in hospital. Even my sisters. We both have big immediate families that visited in hospital as we had a week's stay. I acted pleased and probably looked like I had it together but actually I was very emotional and needed rest and 1-1 time with baby. Fortunately didn't impact breastfeeding and most of the staff were very helpful. This was 4 weeks before lockdown.

I think one midwife who could give you advice and support would be so helpful with regards to breastfeeding. In my week in hospital, we rarely saw the same midwife twice and we got a lot of conflicting advice which was stressful tbh.

@UncleShady

More attention from midwives in hospital because they are not having to police idiot visitors? Or less attention from visitors at home interfering with feeds?

Probably both. A procession of visitors in the early days can be incredibly disruptive to establishing breastfeeding. Everyone wanting a cuddle; relatives who don’t understand breastfeeding insisting that ‘baby can’t possibly be hungry AGAIN; the mother feeling that she has to put a brave face on and perhaps not feeling comfortable enough yet to feed in front of her in-laws...

However my worry that I read this is that women as bf more as they can’t go out anyway

No, they're taking specifically about women in hospital after giving birth, they are the rates that have increased.

I had DD 6 weeks ago and it was actually lovely to be on the ward on my own with her. It was very quiet and relaxed. I breastfed my first, and this one latched on fine straight away, so I didn't need breastfeeding support, but I did need help with putting baby in and out of the cot as I'd had a C section.
I was never kept waiting when I rang the buzzer and everyone was so helpful and calm.
With my first, it was so busy on the ward with other people's visitors, and just going to the toilet was a bit of a nightmare. So many people in the corridors.
I would definitely agree that set, restricted visiting hours would be a good thing.

Irrelevant perhaps, but my breastfeeding of my 2 year old has increased massively because I cannot fucking escape from him.

Maybe it’s also to do with being more health conscious in Covid times - breastmilk has powerful antibodies in it. In regular times when babies aren’t at much risk of catching a new disease many don’t take that into great account - but when there’s this threat of Covid perhaps some mums have been more keen and determined than usual to give their babies that extra protection, which usually wouldn’t have felt so necessary.

I imagine there are multiple reasons. Worries about formula supply and an increased desire to pass on antibodies are probably part of it. I can believe that less visitors, both in hospital and later on at home could be beneficial. I know I would have preferred a bit more time to myself, especially when I had my first, and the continual comments like "Are you feeding that baby again, that can't be right" didn't do a lot for my self confidence.
If this is extended beyond hospital, I wonder if the fact that new mums are stayinv in more does play a part? That does have a negative side because it suggests that some women are too anxious to breastfeed outside the home, but on a more positive note, maybe women are benefitting from less pressure to "get back to normal" and be out and about at dozens of clubs and classes etc? I do think there's something to be said for a quiet spell at home just getting to know your baby and get feeding established. Some people will have enjoyed that aspect of lockdown, especially if their partner is at home too.

How much have breastfeeding rates increased? Do we know that it's due to lack of hospital visitors or could it be a combination of that plus less time out and about in classes and more time just chilling out at home with the baby making it a bit easier? Or people worried about going out to get formula? Or people worried about money?

I needed my husband to go and get help every time I needed to breastfeed in hospital after giving birth, as they just ignored / were too busy to respond to the bell. My baby was showing signs of needing fed at 10pm and we weren’t feeding (with help) until 12am so it wasn’t me being inpatient!
Maybe they would have had more time to help without dads on the ward but I needed my husband to advocate for me as (understandbly) the more infirm/ sicker mothers (csection, traumatic births etc) were being prioritised.
Long post, but in my mind I would have struggled with breastfeeding without my husbands support. Only my mum visited and I was quite happy to chuck her out to bf / was happy to draw the curtains if other people had visitors. I would be happy without visitors but I think fathers (or a birth partner) can be of invaluable help postnatally.

@agentcooper mine too! If I sit down one comes crawling and the other comes running! A day out at work would be lovely right now 😂

I think it might be lack of visitors at home too: mothers allowed to just get on with bonding with their baby, not putting on a show for an endless stream of family and friends who all want to meet the baby.

I think it’s a good thing but I would be interested to see what the community rates are like or the rates at 6 weeks. I was wobbling through breastfeeding my 10 week old when we locked down. Previously I’d been attending the local support groups 2/3 time’s a week as it wasn’t going well. By week 16 I just couldn’t do it as over the phone advice wasn’t cutting it and I lost all confidence in myself. I expect there will be a few cases like that with the loss of support at the moment.

See I gave birth 13 and 11 years ago and yes there were lots of visitors but only at set times so think it was 2 till 4 and 7 to 8:30. I'm not sure but I don't think partners were allowed overnight but could visit all day between 8 in the morning and 10at night.
I was hoping for something similar this time round but looks like I'll be on my own and will have had a c section.
If it returned to that I'd be happy but no visitors at all is horrible. Obviously breastfeeding is a good thing, anything that encourages that is great but being on your own after birth isn't great for mental health.

This is great news! I have three children and formula fed my first two and am breastfeeding my third. He was born last year and I struggled with breastfeeding so much in the beginning but I was determined not to give up and I was so thankful that I had persevered when the pandemic hit and I saw all the mums not being able to buy formula. This is why there should be more help and support for mothers to breastfeed as its always there readily available in times of emergencies plus enriomentallly better and so much healthier for babies than formula