To demand a harder hitting campaign to promote breastfeeding?

[WashwithCare]

I?m sometimes taken aback to hear mothers gave up bf-ing because it was sore, or involved feeding for hours at a time? What did they expect? What did they think newborns do? Didn?t they imagine that anything chewing on your nipple for 10 hours a day was going to nip a bit?

But then again, who can blame them? Breastfeeding for the minimum WHO recommendation of 2 years is practically unheard of. Nearly everyone will tell you it?s absolutely your decision, and fine to stop. The public info campaign is fluffy and vague about the benefits, and the baby on the follow-on formula milk box looks decidedly peachy. Lots of women are so mis-informed, they believe that formula is almost as good as breastmilk.

Is it time for something a little harder hitting? How about this for a tv ad; (scene 1) mum feeding her newborn a bottle telling her mate how hard bf-ing was. Caption: Breastfeeding Hurts. (scene 2) same mum, but now older, bald and sick, hugs toddler. Caption: So does breast cancer. FADE to caption: "Breastfeeding significantly Reduces your Life Time Risk of Breast Cancer". Followed by cheesy inspirational slogan.

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I had this mad thought about all the nipples off to a boot camp to be toughened up, sort of sergent major type person making them all do runs and such like.

Think I have had too much of the red water as had to explain to the other half what was so funny, he looked at me and wandered off.I BF my three and my friend fed her two, she died of Breast Cancer and I am fit as a flea.

Bye bye thread

Didn't work!

Never mind.

I like you wannaBe

I am not saying I agree with the article in the Daily Express saying that Breast is not necessarily best, I'm just saying that there is not just one opinion. Here is the link to the article as requested:

www.express.co.uk/posts/view/150179/Breastfeeding-not-always-best-

I also do believe that mother knows best because only the mother knows what external issues are affecting her and her baby. If a mother has painful breasts, exhaustion and is recovering from childbirth, her well-being must also be considered and if introducing a bottle is the answer then so be it.

I don't have any abnormalities and my brother has far more allergies and he was breastfed for far longer.

For those who missed my previous comment - I Breast Fed for 8 months and am a supporter for those who want to do it.

wannaBe - do you think the OP might be a troll?

The way she's going about it is all wrong, but the evidence is there, actually.

Check out Alison Stuebe's research which is a large scale study that finds incidence of premenopausal breast cancer is significantly lower in women with a family history of breast cancer if they have ever breastfed.

Also, Jo Freudenheim's 1994 study Exposure to Breastmilk in Infancy and the Risk of Breast Cancer showed a significant increase in breast cancer rates in adulthood in babies who weren't breastfed.

The stat that really astonished me though is that you can reduce risks of childhood leukemia by 21-30% if you breastfeed. (Robison, L at University of Minnesota 1999)

I do actually feel if women knew these statistics and believed them, they would be more determined to breastfeed and see it as less of a 'lifestyle' choice. So I understand the op's frustration. I know I'd do as much as I possibly could to cut the risk of leukemia for my children, for example.

(There's loads of other stats about cutting risk of SIDS etc. but I won't go into those.)

Now that all said, the sort of horrid tactics the OP mentions are unnecessary and unpleasant. Most women WANT to breastfeed and give up with a heavy heart, but they are unsupported and it requires bloodymindedness to insist on breastfeeding in the face of pain and lack of social and practical support.

Instead, what we need is for policy makers, the government and the NHS to see this as an urgent matter of public health and to invest in making it so that every baby can breastfeed if the mother wants - through more research into feeding problems, more education and much, much more practical support for new mothers.

Carmen - thanks - I have no problem with thinking it's a naff approach - but I think the info does need to be put out there more.

I do disagree however that most women want to bf- according to official stats, most women never try - never even put baby to the breast... sorry - sad, but true.

Last point - I find the reaction to this post close to censorship.

By WashwithCare Mon 11-Jan-10 23:57:38

"I do disagree however that most women want to bf- according to official stats, most women never try - never even put baby to the breast... sorry - sad, but true."

sorry - I believe you are very wrong. What are the "official stats" to which you refer?

I'm quoting tiktok (and I'm sure someone will help me find the reference to the exact survey soon, but:
"In the UK, figures show 76 per cent initiation (it's 78 per cent for England, 76 per cent for UK) for all mothers. There is a difference between 1st time mothers and others - 79 per cent 1st births, and 73 per cent for subsequent births."