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.

YABVVVVU and also very shortsighted.

Promoting bfing does jackshit. The government should be putting more money into training midives and HVs and GPs to support bfing better as they are currently very shit at it (the odd good one excepted!).

Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt, and if you're pressured into perservering with the pain, then you're on a road to not succeeding. Pain means it's not working. That sorts itself out with some mums, but not with many and the ones with whom it won't sort itself out need real support from people who don't watch them feed and then say 'well it looks like a good latch'. Well it isn't a fucking good latch if it's hurting! If it's hurting then baby won't get enough, mum's milk won't get enough stimulation, she is at risk of blocked ducts and mastitis, and breastfeeding is unlikely to last long.

So YAB totally U.

Rockbird, yer it was, it was fucking horrendous so to find someone writing facetious posts like the OPs makes my blood boil more than you can imagine .

Please don't feed it.

Only a mother can make the decision as to what is best for her baby

What utter crap - there is huge literature on the subject all of which says, breast is best...

No one is asking anyone to feel guilty - I'm just saying, tell mothers that is they don't breastfeed they increase their risk of breast cancer... it's a fact - not a guilt trip...

Errr tori what news said that scientists believe ff is better than bf? Link please.

File along with "career women make bad mothers" in the circular filing cabinet under the desk.

are you a colleague of Judge Flounce?

Flamingo Bingu - I am a peer supporter and a bf-ing mum myself. I have only ever met one mum who claimed bf-ing didnt' hurt her - lucky cow!

Breastfeeding does hurt - sorry, it does! And I don't care how good your latch is.

As for better support - yes, more trained supporters woudl be great - but public health campaigns are useful too.. because
(a) lots of women (usually poor women) find bf-ing such an alien concept they don't even bother to try bf-ing... and you need to change that attitude first.
(b) public campaigns are about the cheapest public health tool government has - and at the moment, with dwindling budgets, cheap is very good...

WWC, not amusing.

Your OP is exactly the kind of rubbish which alienates those who might have considered breastfeeding.

Where's the balance, the rationale?

A militant approach that seeks to remove others of their right to autonomy never produces positive results. Polarising as in your proposed 'ad' is outrageous! It creates immediate disbelief and negativity.

What next? Prohibition of formula? All hail Nestlé, in that case. Again.

OP I think your ad idea is horrific. And I think bf is promoted heavily already. What we need is better support for new mothers to start bfing and for society in general to be more accepting of it as the norm rather than the exception.

Well this is a bit extreme actually, that said, I do really think more encouragement and real information is needed to let women know fully about breastfeeding, the consequences/benefits/pitfalls ets.

Lots of women are horribly misinformed but the worst of it is that most women are unsupported in their choice to breastfeed and then fall victim to the fear that their darling baby is under-fed in some way. I have found that many times I have sought advice both professionally and personally I have been gently pushed the way of the bottle. I didn't do it of course because I eventually found my own way but I too have experienced stupid half-arsed and just plain wrong 'advice'. Breastfeeding is difficult, certainly at first for almost everyone and yes sometimes it hurts, sometimes it is for hours on end but we are in a culture that encourages Mummies to imagine they can drop a baby, drop a couple of stone, get back into their skinny jeans and reclaim their life before they became a Mummy. We need to place Motherhood and nurturing (with breastfeeding being part of this) back on the agenda, give women the time and space and support to do what I really believe is the right thing for Mummies and their babies.

If breastfeeding had the kind of marketing budget available to SMA et. al. then it would be as popular as the crap they peddle to us.

MrsSawDust - I saw it - every time some crazy publishes some dubious research about how bf-ing isn't the bee's knees, the papers pick up on it and it is "news"

Here you go:

news.scotsman.com/uk/Breastfeeding-is--best-.5961780.jp

There is a huge body of evidence that clearly sets out that breast is best....people just don't want to hear it...

WWC - you are wrong. Bfing does hurt for most women in our culture but the key thing is that bfing should not hurt. I have a lot more training than you do if you are a peer supporter and I can assure you that breastfeeding should not hurt. Like I say, it's something that often sorts itself out, but just as often, if not more so, it doesn't and good support and help is needed. Not crap advice and not people like you telling mums to perservere with the pain or they're selfish and could get breast cancer .

I'm actually really angry at your approach. What organisation trained you?

Try harder

Breastfeeding hurt me more than labour both times, and for a hell of a lot longer.
No one mentioned that it might, so although I did bf, I was very pissed off with all the Earth Mother types and the militant insistence.
Hid when they hove into view and snarled from under the table.
I did it for several reasons, one of which was laziness. And smuggery because I was doing something special.
Still hurt for months though.

Eco Mouse - I find it personally distasteful that companies are allowed to market formula. I would favour a generic brand available on prescription.

In addition, given that 90% of women who give up before 6 weeks wish they hadn't, what is the point of more promotion? If all those women could be better supported to succeed in the choice they'd already made, then the bfing rates would improve dramatically.

If you are a peer-supporter then I pity your peers! I bet they hate you!

super efficient to be bf when you haven't given birth yet

Its not marketing budget breastfeeding needs, its budget to train and employ enough breastfeeding counsellors to reach all the women who need help through difficult times. Marketing the benefits of bfeeding to me at that stage would have made no difference - what I needed was someone to show me what I was doing wrong and help me do it right IYKWIM

OP, you are being an utter twat.

I breastfed my first for over two years.
Thanks to a genetic quirk, I also have a significantly increased likelihood of getting breast cancer.
I used to work in marketing.
So perhaps I have an unusual perspective on your proposal?

And I think your 'idea' is the pinnacle of crapola.

Or I would, if I actually thought it was genuine and you were not in fact trolling.

Didn't I read on one of your other threads that you had a 3 year old? How long did you breastfeed her for? Is this interesting stance you hold a result of your experience breastfeeding her?

FlamingoBingo - have you breastfed yourself? If so, are you saying it didn't hurt at all? Or did you have your latch wrong too?

Lol, you're a peer supporter!! Bloody glad you were nowhere near me - what's your advice, "breastfeed or die"?

Get over yourself.

the eternal debate ... by all means women should be well informed on the benefits to both them and baby.

I was one of those women in extreme pain for about 12 weeks, with a baby who wanted to feed every 2.5 hours until fully established on solids. But amazingly I just stopped BFing him two weeks ago, at 17 months ...

Still, if I were to do it all again, and being very well informed on the matter, I would seriously consider reaching for the formula a lot sooner! I really don't think the BFing made that much of a difference in anything.

Ultimately women have to do what works for them and their situation, and we are lucky to live in a world of options that include things like birth control and formula.