To take bottles and formula into hospital even though I want to breastfeed?

[Giltedged]

Last time I ended up taking bottles and some formula as everyone said I should. Had a horrible birth and fainted so didn’t get skin to skin and DH gave our newborn baby some formula. I’ve no idea if that contributed in some way but failed miserably to breastfeed.

I don’t really want to buy newborn feeding bottles and formula - feels a bit like failure before I’ve begun. Equally I don’t have much confidence in my ability to breastfeed and don’t want to starve my baby! What should I do?

This, don't do it

This is good advise I think. It is what I would do if i were you OP.

It has been years since I had my babies but I thought in the US they asked if you were bottle feeding and they gave you formula and bottles from the manufacturer. That doesn't happen now?

The o/p is in the UK, so US practices aren’t really relevant.

maybe some US mumsnetters would know, if you’re interested.

I took bottles and formula but didn’t use either - but it helped me feel very reassured that if I struggled with breastfeeding I had what I needed on hand. At one point my baby hadn’t passed urine so they asked me to give her 10ml formula but I was so determined to try and breastfeed her that I (slowly and painfully!) hand expressed 10ml of colostrum out of sheer determination 😂 but if that hadn’t worked I would’ve absolutely given her the formula that I had without question! And knowing I had it was a huge peace of mind. She also uses the bottle occasionally when I go out and I leave her with dp so it’s not a waste to have them up your sleeve for later too!

I’m in the group of, if you want to breastfeed don’t buy formula or bottles at all. Hospital will have some in an emergency if there’s a problem. For me, if it’s there you’re much more likely to use it.

I didn’t take any in second time around. He really struggled to latch and feed in the first 24 hours – so sleepy! So small! – but the feeding support was wonderful and there was a tongue tie clinic that clipped him there and then. Got off to a flying start and never had formula… …but I wish he had and that this time I was formula feeding, I’m completely touched out with two children and feeding to sleep and being bitten!

I’d say don’t take any in, if needed you can get anything very quickly.

Not necessarily. I have had 3 children. Took ready formula every time with me. Never used it.

OP I'd suggest going to a breastfeeding support group while pregnant to get your questions answered.

I didn't manage to breastfeed my son hardly at all for three days. They did give him a bottle in the end - they provided it. It took me and my baby about two weeks to really get breastfeeding established but he only had that one bottle.
My daughter was in NICU for three days and I didn't feed her then (she had a tube) and expressing was not successful but she latched on day four and didn't let go!
So no, I wouldn't. If it came to it the hospital will have some. But your baby doesn't need feeding the second it's born.

Thanks. I can see what people mean by ‘if you take it you’ll use it’ if you’re a bit undecided or if you think you’ll give breastfeeding a try but aren’t too fussed either way.

For me though, I really wanted to breastfeed, and while I know people want to be helpful there is a tone of ‘you just didn’t try hard enough’ with some of these posts. Last time, I was constantly asking midwives for help while in hospital. It just didn’t work as they’d come and latch him on and then vanish (as a buzzer would be going elsewhere - I am not criticising) and he’d come off, buzzer again, ten minutes later some poor harassed midwife would show up … After the first night together we were both crying by morning!

I did manage to find a lactation consultant but it didn’t work and I have to admit it’s made me a bit wary of going down that route again. Memories of driving down roads of the rural Peak District on a December night with a screaming newborn … and it cost £200 and it didn’t work.

I had a similar lack of joy when I got him home and unsurprisingly he’d lost too much weight and ended up on the well known but dreaded feeding plan which is formula, expressing and then attempting to breastfeed. I did express for him for nearly three months but as most people know, expressing isn’t as effective as breastfeeding and also it takes so much time and energy at a time when both are low. He did have formula as I couldn’t express enough, I’m glad he had some breast milk but I don’t see that I could have realistically done very much more.

So with all that sensibly I don’t think a bottle of cow and gate will stop me breastfeeding as that’s what I want to do. I’d have been delighted if we’d just been able to do it but I have a responsibility to my other child as well as this baby to be sensible and balanced about it.

I took some of those ready made formula at our hospital we couldn't take in bottles they provided ready sterilised bottles that you throw away after use. There was no facilities to sterilise bottles on the ward.

I never wanted to bottle fed but D's had jaundice and the doctors recommended that I should breastfed and bottle feed to help flush out the jaundice.

I know some PPs have said the hospital didn’t have any formula - was that some time ago? I can imagine if you plan on FF you should have your own supply but lots can happen during birth and the midwives do have a duty of care for newborns (and you). They won’t let your child starve.

I gave birth to our second DC last week and I was struggling with feeding due to a mucus build up so the midwives recommended a bottle to flush DS out. It didn’t occur to me at any point to bring my own formula as I planned on EBF. They provided the formula (and left me a few other bottles out to use overnight as I lost a lot of blood).

There’s also no harm in having a bottle if you need it. I did give DC 2 bottles in the hospital (one for the mucus, one for DP to feed so I could sleep) and it’s made no difference to BF. My milk has now come in and baby is doing fine.

Oh OP, that sounds so much like what happened with my first. I even lived on the edge of the peak at the time. That sodding feeding plan nearly broke me. They had me attempt to breastfeed, inevitably fail, then give baby to DH to feed formula while I expressed. Then they would come in and praise DH for feeding baby so well while I was half naked with a double pump!

After we got home I managed til six weeks and ended with a spectacular abscess that required surgery. And they put me on a ward that didn’t even allow DH and baby to visit because I ‘had chosen to formula feed’.

You did your utmost with your first. You’ll do your brilliant best with this baby too. Pack the formula and feel in control.

Don’t know if it’s been suggested but with each of mine I took a pack of those tiny ready made Aptamil bottles with disposable teats. In the end they weren’t needed and certainly didn’t affect my ability to BF, but they’re handy to have just in case.

They will have formula there if you need it, no?

I didn't even think about taking in bottles and formula tbh.

I didn't bring in formula and wasn't too pushed either way about breastfeeding. In the end my baby had to go to neonatal after the birth and I wasn't allowed out of bed for 8 hours following epidural so they asked if they could give him formula and I said okay, I was too exhausted after an almost 3 day labour to try expressing at that stage.

It was about 30 hours after the birth before I tried breastfeeding and he'd been taking bottles of formula during that time but he took to it straight away and I ended up breastfeeding for 7 months. I'm glad that I didn't put pressure on myself to do one or the other though.

My hospital had those stocked up and they gave me 5 or 6 at a time whenever I asked for them. They had other formulas too because they asked which brand I wanted when I first asked and I just said whatever most people used was fine because I hadn't a clue. I thought all hospitals would do the same no?

Take some just in case. I didn't as I naively thought breastfeeding would just happen easily and it most certainly didn't. My baby was crying constantly because she was so hungry and it was super duper stressful!

This is a very personal decision and ultimately, you should do what you feel is right.

FWIW, I took some of those pre-made bottles in even though I wanted to breastfeed and the MW put quite a bit of pressure on me to use it because DS wouldn’t latch on. At one point they told me they would only discharge me if I told them I was going to switch to formula.
I did end up giving him a few formula top ups, but we were EBF within about a week and never used formula again so it didn’t hinder my progress in anyway. If I had my time again, knowing what I know now I wouldn’t take formula with me. But that’s just me.

It’s interesting how much hospital policy and experience varies in terms of support, formula provision, etc.

My first DC there was lots of support but it was very intense and pressured – one midwife standing by the bed barking “Delatch, try again. Delatch, try again” over and over while I cried. Turned out much later the baby had a posterior tongue tie which was why she was crying and I was bleeding. One time I slept for a three whole blessed hours and it was as if I’d abandoned her on a doorstep: intense urgent discussions/bullying about giving her formula, refusal to discharge us until she’d taken a bottle in case I failed at breastfeeding and they wouldn’t allow us to plan to use a cup at home, lots of bullshit “biological nurturing” which in reality was me naked post section, sweating, the baby naked bar her nappy, slippery with my sweat, totally failing to crawl to my nipple and just randomly latching on to chunks of flesh while midwives tutted and DP said “breast is best” and I nearly gave him a DIY vasectomy. Humiliating.

Second DC elsewhere, completely unconcerned with not many feeds in the first 24 hours or missing golden hour: he was sleepy, he was small, my boobs were enormous and my nipple got puffed up from his attempts which made it harder. Everyone tried so hard to help him latch in theatre, in recovery, but with lots of reassurance that it was OK that it wasn’t working: I was flat on my back, he was new, there was time, the tongue tie clinic would snip him soon. Very gentle, very helpful, very hands on. My milk came in on day two. Ironic that I’m desperate to quit now given how easy it was to establish.