To think formula feeding parents are bent over a barrel?

[inpixiehollow]

Just been discussing this with a friend and interested to know peoples thoughts.
Am I being unreasonable to think that the NHS/govt should manufacture a nutritionally complete formula for babies, sold at cost price to families? Not disputing the importance of real access to proper breastfeeding support but we have to acknowledge that some women cannot/don't want to breastfeed and instead are victim to formula companies turning over huge profits. If people want fancy formulas/special additives then the option should be there but with rising cost of living I don't think its acceptable that something so necessary for many babies is getting to the point of unaffordable.
I am a massive advocate for breastfeeding so please don't take this as an attack or downplaying the massive lack of help for bf in the UK, I just wish both options were made more accessible for whatever feeding choices people make.

Do people genuinely believe that every mother can breastfeed if they just try hard enough, and do it better?
There are genuinely women who cannot breastfeed for a variety of medical reasons. I’ve seen estimates from 3%-10%. At approx 620,000 live births in U.K. every year, that’s 18,600-62,000 women that this affects.
Formula is therefore an additional expense that these women have due to a medical condition/disability.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to give some help with the cost of this - not necessarily free, but some help.
Healthy Start vouchers are a start, but your family income really has to be very low to qualify. Maybe extending these to women who can’t breastfeed for medical reasons would at least be a start.

I disagree totally. What next government start manufacturing nappies. New borns need them too. Ridiculous!

Yes I still remember the orange juice concentrate too. Mum had to put it on a high shelf to stop us helping ourselves!

Companies exist to make profits ! That’s a fact of life. Without those profits they wouldn’t exist! It’s just the way our capitalist world exists. Without the profits they won’t have investors. Without investors they won’t have the funds for factories staff and research. Selling at cost is never an option. Someone would need to foot the bill. And our gov already give a tonne of hand outs .

It is not the job of the tax payer to pay for baby food.

There are many options. Thicker formula to help with reflux. Goat's milk or soya for those who can't tolerate cows milk. Halal. Formula to help with colic. Constipation. Hypoallergenic.

One basic NHS formula will not meet all needs. If all those other companies go out of business, then all those other formula options will no longer be available and babies will suffer.

This is the worst post on this thread 😑

Feeding babies should be taken out of the hands of large corporations. They can’t be trusted. They are disgusting, immoral and haven’t cleaned up their act since the 80s at all. Takes a bit of interest in the subject and digging but people would be shocked at what’s goes on. I would love to see a very cheap or free National formula milk. Even with the healthy start vouchers families have been struggling with the cost of formula for years (there was a government report on it not that long ago linked below). I dread to even think of what’s going on now. Watering down milk and staring cows milk and solids super early I would imagine.
www.infantfeedingappg.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/APPGIFI-Inquiry-Report-cost-of-infant-formula.pdf

Formula is therefore an additional expense that these women have due to a medical condition/disability.

I don't see it as an additional expense. I see it as something every family should expect to budget for - the same way they budget for nappies, childcare or clothes.

If you can (and want to) breastfeed instead then great, you save some money. In the same way people save money by getting hand me downs, or having childcare provided by family, or having children who are lucky enough to toilet train at two instead of six etc.

Feeding your child is something that should be budgeted for from birth.

Breastfed and agree 100%.
Also breastfeeding isn't free: breastpads, nipple cream, feeding yourself extra, potential pump and other material.

Also next big scandal will be allergy milks. NHS prescriptions went up by something like 600% in a few years. They release these into the market often with absolutely no clinical data to back up claims. Formula companies have been the main driver in ‘education’ on CMPA. See this great deep dive by Dr Helen Crawley who is such a champion for good infant feeding practices. If you have half hour to spare.

I also read this book, the details are a little foggy as admittedly it was a while ago but it was very interesting and glad you understood exactly what I'm asking for!

@BadNomad I'm a mother of a CMPA child.

Did you know that the formula companies are spending a lot of money to convince parents that their babies have CMPA? A tin of specialist formula cost £35! That's a nice bit of profit if they can get the NHS to buy more. I'm thankful I had a great dietician who supported me continuing to breastfeed alongside the special formula. Other parents aren't so lucky. I've met many woman who've been told they cannot breastfeed a CMPA - not true.

The thickened formula is just marketing there's no real scientific evidence it helps, hence why not all formula is as thick.

Soya formula shouldn't be given to newborns without proper medical advice. We're mammals and need to feed our babies with animal milk.

Anything that is proven to be of benefit to babies is required by law to be in a first infant milk. Anything else they add is just for marketing.

I absolutely agree with you. I have sadly read articles and reports from parents who have watered down formula milk to make a tin last longer :( i feel buying food is easier (shop at cheaper shops, food banks, community pantries to budget for very inexpensive meals where you can) but with formula people can't make it home, have limited choices and I know my local food bank doesn't accept donations of baby milk

@inpixiehollow I've just finished it. I knew some of it but not the full detail of what went on.

Ive also just qualified as a breastfeeding peer supporter and know how little support there is for women who WANT to breastfeed. There's so many myths and misinformation out there, all aimed at undermining confidence and making women feel that they've done something wrong.

You’re right National Dried was introduced in 1940. Its production was put out to tender by the government. It couldn’t be reintroduced in the same form because it wasn’t modified like modern formulas. However a similar scheme could be introduced, though I can’t see a political will to to so. Governments prefer to give vouchers to low income families. It also reduced in popularity as mothers increasingly preferred to use branded products believing them to be superior.

Sold at cost price. Not free.

I had to FF my (now 7mo) daughter because of a crash C that went horribly wrong. I was in labour for over 100 hours and then in theatre for over 5. She almost died and then I almost died when my placenta ruptured.

I didn’t get to hold my daughter for 6 hours. Missed her birth. Missed the golden hour. Missed that initial skin to skin. Didn’t even get to go to the shitty postnatal ward with all the other mums.

My colostrum came in on day 5 and my milk proper on around day 9. Meanwhile I formula fed, and eventually I pumped and combi fed. It wasn’t a choice, it was horrific. I felt like a total failure. But I’ve never been too angry at the price of formula. Gotta feed my kid.

It’s only ‘free’ if you place zero value on a woman’s labour. Which, sadly, lots of people do.

Views on breastfeeding and formula feeding in this country are so messed up, it’s just used as yet another tool to bully and control women. Often by other women which is the most messed up part of all ☹️

We are talking about companies who literally invented a brand new, totally unnecessary product (in the form of follow-on milk) in order to have something that they can legally advertise and establish their brand. If they can no longer manufacture first milk they will find other ways. They will sponsor ‘breastfeeding consultants’ to go in maternity wards and baby groups in pseudo scrubs covered in their logo, just like the Bounty ladies.

When I started my first newly qualified nurse post I was an exclusiviely expressing mum to a 12 w old. DH was made redundant at a fairly inconvenient time. I pumped pre work, then at lunchtime break for 30 mins then as soon as I got home from my shift. I wasn't a maternity returner but I believe I would have been entitled to an extra pump break if I was or if it had been risk assessed properly. The hardest parts were walking to work with my pump 40 min walk uphill and trying to switch from nights to days and work out when to pump. I kept it going til he was 1 and then stopped for the covid vaccine (recommended not to breastfeed at the time, but was ready to stop by then!).

No I don't think the NHS should manufacture formula. The NHS doesn't manufacture things, there are generic medications manufactured by pharmaceutical companies like TEVA once the original patent of a branded drug expires. There are generic forms of baby milk (Aldi) however it is a less popular choice than the known brands that our own mums probably used and trusted (Cow and Gate).
I'm in Scotland and unfortunately we didn't qualify for anything as we had literally sold our flat a month before my DH lost his job so it was either lose all of our deposit or make it work with me pumping and working until we could. If we had qualified there is a fairly decent contribution. Baby box with pretty much all needs for 1st year, £642 payment before baby born, £18 every 4 weeks when pregnant, then £36 every 4 weeks until baby is 1. It's now a prepaid card so allows the parent to have the choice of what milk they want to use rather than you are low income so need NHS milk.

Also I gave birth abroad and had an IBCLC in hospital, visited me about 8 times over the 2 days and my youngest just would not latch. I've bf successfully before so knew what to do and had ample support but it wasn't an option for us. I don't feel any regret over the situation at all, we gave it a good go.

I agree....the entitlement on this thread!

i produced no milk or colostrum at all with DD - I also did my best to bleed to death shortly after her delivery, and then got pre-éclampsia after delivery (who knew you could do that?!?!?).

with one thing and another I couldn’t BF and had to FF. the expense even ten years ago made my eyes water - not so much in the first few weeks but when we got close to weaning and she was drinks lots 🤦‍♀️ so expensive!!

im another one who had a horrendous experience with a busy body in cafe Nero - I was about six weeks post parfum and had struggled out to the cafe with DD, ordered a coffee and cake and warmed up a bottle for DD - this absolute cow bag of a woman came over and told me I didn’t deserve DD if I was just going to feed her poison…

i was teetering on the edge of horrific PND at that time and I genuinely believe that comment tipped me over the edge. It took me nearly a year to recover and DD is an only child because I was so worried about returning to that dark place if I got PND again. I had suicide plans and I even tried to give DD up as I didn’t think I was fit to be her mother.

i think we need more support for mothers generally and in particular an honest conversation about feeding, and that BF doesn’t work for everyone and that that’s ok.

I'd argue that it's a cost you factor in when planning on having a baby. Same as being able to afford nappies, pram and other baby equipment

It’s only ‘free’ if you place zero value on a woman’s labour. Which, sadly, lots of people do.

Spending time with your newborn is not labour it's the absolute bare minimum. Formula feeding mums also sit on the sofa and relax with their babies, so how is it a waste of time?