Terrible breastfeeding advice threads - AIBU to think MN needs to do more to reduce harm

[Manamala]

Breastfeeding misinformation is so rampant on here - anecdotal evidence and inappropriate advice which can be really harmful to a BF journey is dished out willy nilly.

On DV and MH threads Mumsnet HQ will post offfical links etc. recommending professional support, shouldn't they do this on BF threads?

Mumsnet is a trusted source of information for so many new mums and there are such serious health implications from bad advice.

I agree with you. Thankfully I've not observed huge amounts of truly disastrous advice being imparted, but I do think it would be a good idea for MN to link to concrete evidence based advice for new mothers. Even if it's just to the NHS or KellyMom websites, for example.

like what? Can you elaborate please?

The ones I've seen have been quite positive to me.

I think what we need to remember is people will give advice based on THEIR experience whether that's right or wrong; if it worked for them, then they spread it as gospel which isn't entirely them intentionally spreading misinformation.

KellyMom - concrete evidence? I think not. I'm all for women having access to supportive and accurate information, but KellyMom is not the answer!

I agree with OP, and I agree with @Sistanotcista

The amount of pure quackery that gets passed off as breastfeeding advice is astounding, and so very unhelpful to struggling mothers

Really? I thought it was a fairly reliable evidenced based source of breastfeeding information? Has it changed recently - admittedly I've not breastfed for 8+ years!

Disastrous advice is given by someone on pretty much every thread that ever asks for advice. Whether it's legal advice, relationship advice or parenting advice. I've always assumed the op knows they're not getting expert advice and will take from it what is useful.

Only if they also do more to tackle the dangerous co sleeping advice

What do you want MN to do? You can get rubbish advice about anything anywhere.
Anyone posting on here should know that it's just a bunch of internet randoms giving their opinions.

I've seen MNHQ step in before and post that not everyone on the Internet is who they say they are, qualifications have nit been checked, etc. What more do you want?

If you see something dangerous then report it on a case by case basis just like you would with any other thread.

I don’t agree, it’s not a medical site and shouldn’t be taken as so but posters should be able to share their own experiences even if they aren’t the advice of whatever body you want take as gospel.

No one should take medical advice from an anonymous forum but what are you describing as dangerous advice?

Many things from ‘official advice’ didn’t work for me. When I followed much of the ‘pro breastfeeding networks’ advice it was things like never bring your baby towards the breast, don’t guide them, move the breast to them etc whereas I could never get a latch that way. As soon as a midwife just sort of shoved the baby on it worked.
It was the ‘wrong’ way of doing it but it worked for me.

And If someone has just had a generally negative experience they should be able to share that.

Breastfeeding misinformation is so rampant on here - anecdotal evidence and inappropriate advice which can be really harmful to a BF journey is dished out willy nilly.

Such as?

The good thing about a forum is that users can share real world experiences. Most people give the caveat of “this worked for me but might not for you” and most threads I’ve seen have links to a range of resources including NHS, KellyMom and LLL.

As for co sleeping, my HV advised I considered cosleeping with DS at 5mo. She also said she wasn’t able to give me resources but that the internet had a wealth of information about doing it safely. I found Tommys.

at what point does a MN user have to take responsibility for the advice they take from random strangers on the internet? What else would you like MN to caveat?

Yes I haven’t seen this either, can you fill us in op? And what’s wrong with Kellymom - that was a great resource for me!

'I did it because someone on a Talk Forum told me to!'

Like what? I’ve not seen anything I could deem dangerous.

This 🤷🏼‍♀️

The only ‘dangerous’ breastfeeding advice I’ve seen on here is to refuse to let medical professionals weigh the baby because ‘they’ll make you top up’, lie about topping up because ‘otherwise they’ll make you top up’, and reassure a mum with a baby that is clearly starving that she’s ‘doing a great job, continue to breastfeed’.

I saw a thread where a bfing mum was refusing to top up her baby who was 9 pounds at 6 months old. Yes, that’s months. It was utterly shocking and probably the most selfish thing I have ever read on here. I was stunned at the number of posters egging her on.

Op could you explain what you've seen that is dangerous? The flip side of breastfeeding is formula feeding which is a perfectly safe and healthy way to feed a baby. So even if unhelpful advice is being dished out it's not the same as someone giving bad advice regarding health, Co-sleeping etc - things which could have very bad outcomes if misinformation is listened to.

Fwiw I have had amazing support here regarding breastfeeding. Sadly it didn't work for me. The guilt I felt was immense and I battled on regardless at great personal detriment to myself g dh or weeks. I needed someone to tell me it was ok to stop and I got that support here. Life got instantly better when I stopped.

My youngest is now 13 so it's a while since I referred to KellyMom, but it was certainly a site people referred to a lot - people whose opinion I valued.
Can you say what's wrong about KellyMom.

OP, you start the list then!

Can you give some examples, OP?

Surely if someone comes on here asking for breastfeeding advice, they understand that the advice is going to be anecdotal in the main? Anyone who wants correct medical advice should ask their doctor / health visitor / midwife etc - ie a medical professional. Its almost as if you're suggesting breastfeeding mothers need to be protected from the internet!

I really don't remember seeing threads with bad advice

Is it really common (and I've just not see it)? Or has there been one recent "off" thread that's being used as a pretext to say how crap MNetters are?

I can honestly say, in 20 years, I've never seen it.
I'm sure the OP will be back though to tell us what she means.
Dd is 19 so I was bf in the days when Tiktok spent time and beyond helping people and (I can't remember the name) a poster was invited onto one of the morning TV shows to educate that thick woman-hater twat Dr Hilary about the benefits because he had been spewing more of his "look at ME!" bollocks b

AS shows OP is referring to the topping up thread.