Well I don't know how DS survived. I sterilised the bottles, made-up 7oz of formula with 5.5 oz of boiling water, kept 6 bottles in the fridge for 24 hours and added 1.5oz of boiling water when a bottle was needed. He was never sick and never had the runs.
My Mwives told me to rest the breast, not rest the breast, to use breadt pads, not use breast pads. That being engorged was OK. Hollow laugh.
My HV told me shebwas responsible for immunities my baby, breast was best and when I rang and sobbed due to the pain told me to sit by the fire and wrap myself in a blanket. When I objected, she told me to phone the NCT. The NCT told me to take paracetamol every four hours to take the edge off the pain.
I followed the guidance of the NCT breast pump lady, a former A&E sister whontook one look at me, went to the chemist and bought me two bottles, a tinnof Aptamil and showed me what to do.
After infective mastitis, thrush of the inner breast, and a breast abscess it was the first time I was out of pain for ten weeks and DS settled. DS grew into a happy chap, brought me home a first from Oxbridge, got a PhD and made the 1st XI cricket, 1st XI football and 1st XV rugby.
The chair of the HV Association was quoted in the Times as saying the role of the HV was to teach ignorant mothers the three c's: cooking, cleaning and communication.
I'll listen to an experienced mother or fully qualified doctorel, before I'd ever listen to a midwife or HV again. When DD was born a few years later all went swimmingly because I banned the HV's from the house, had more experience and refused to let in more than two named community midwives.