breast is best

[Haitch27]

Is anyone else who is pregnant sick to the back bloody teeth of the 'breast is best' campaign being shoved down your throat everywhere you turn and being badgered by health carers to attend breastfeeding 'workshops'?? Maybe its just where I live but it seems to be everywhere yet the one thing no one says is "are you planning to breastfeed"? Assumption that all Mums will!!
Curious to know as I said if it is just my area or is it everywhere?

Millymolly I am beginning to suspect that if anyone is a troll on this thread it isn't darkandstormy.

Now we have:

"No MillyR but if you refused to give your children five a day for a pretty poor reason then people might suggest that your priorities were all wrong and motherhood wasn't for you."

Again with saying that people shouldn't be having children?

The rate you're going there won't be any kids left

do you take a similar hard line on smoking/alcohol/ drugs when pg babies born to mums who use these substances have contraindications and incur a cost to nhs

I would imagine most people would take a hard line on these issues wouldn't they ?
I don't think she was comparing formula to smoking though, that wasn't how I read it at all.

scottishmummy, of course! shouldn't the government fund ways to help those drug-taking women who cost the NHS money, of course! shouldn't the government fund BFing in the same way?

Right so if somebody has access to 5 portions of fruit and veg and they refuse to give them to their child/ren that's ok with you is it ?
What a strange view of the world.

Your post wasn't talking about the Government though, it was talking about women who choose to FF.

drug - taking women need help, first and foremost, but things need to be put in place to prevent it in the first place. if you knowingly take drugs and cost the nhs money then yes, that is a damning indictment of your attitude to society in general.

its the same, BFing will help society and you - and so will not taking drugs.

I should also add that a friend of mine who had a baby a few months later found herself in a similar, but less extreme scenario to mine, (ie. her baby was not gaining any/nearly enough weight, but she could maintain weight through bfing), and her ds plummeted to below the bottom line of the weight scale despite being born on the 50th line. I truly believe that the induction of such guilt caused her to persist when it was clearly not benefiting her baby. The size of her ds has remained a sensitive subject and he does not move or seem to have much energy even a year later, although things did pick up after having food at six months (before then a number of people mentioned that he seemed lethargic as well as thin). This was all due to nobody around her feeling that it is possible that sometimes bfing doesn't work, and that persistence is all that's needed.

Okay then, bf is ethically similar to having a child in your twenties. Many women for very valid cultural reasons choose a time other than in their twenties, even though there are health implications, but we don't prevent those women from making that choice.

But my choice to FF does not damage society. It may potentially damage one of my children, as may any one of the thousands of choices I make, but my 3 children being FF does not damage society.

One drug user by themselves can damage their community though, and almost definately cause damage to their child/ren.

I know some fat people. Being overweight unhealthy and costs the NHS lots of money. And children of overweight people are often overweight too. I don't think overweight people should have children.

I also know some criminal people. Being criminal is bad and expensive for society and children born into those families are statistically more likely to end up on the same path. I don't think criminals should have children.

I know some people with genetic problems. It is possible they will pass these problems onto their children. I don't think people with genetic problems should be allowed to have children.

In fact I think that only slim brestfeeding middle class people should have children. Then everything will be just fabulous.

my issue was your inference ff is depleting nhs funds.smoking and drugs pose greater contraindications than ff alone

Oosabeauta what is enough weight? Many babies move down the centiles after birth and find their own level. The lethargy is worrying and should be investigated but don't assume that because a baby isn't moving up the charts that it isn't thriving.

from a social point of view, maybe. maybe we should have kids in our 20s if that would benefit society.

have you got stats that suggest 30/40 year old women having babies cost the NHS money, more than 20 year olds?

fwiw, i think fat people's plame tickets should cost more

plane

I find the posters irritating but not because they say breast is best but because of the way they say it. They treat us mums as little children who know nothing about bfing. Also the campaign ignore mums who are not able to bf, which can be really heartbreaking! Maybe it would be possible to prepare a more efficient campaign to promote bfing if they employed mums instead of some advertisers who just prepare posters etc.

I find the posters irritating but not because they say breast is best but because of the way they say it. They treat us mums as little children who know nothing about bfing. Also the campaign ignore mums who are not able to bf, which can be really heartbreaking! Maybe it would be possible to prepare a more efficient campaign to promote bfing if they employed mums instead of some advertisers who just prepare posters etc.

Sorry to put these in three separate bits, but just to clarify, I don't mean to just share personal experiences, but reply to the OP that yes I agree, and would feel better if the phrase could be 'breast is best in most circumstances, without mitigating factors'. I realise that this is unlikely to catch on!

Ruby Buckleberry, it is really widely known and you could just google it! This from the BMJ for a start:

Pregnancies in women older than 35 are increasing markedly in Western countries. It is harder for older women to become and stay pregnant, and outcomes for the mother and child are poorer.

scottishmummy, and all of these issues need action from the government, more than just 'breast is best.' alcohol is also one of the worst offenders for costing the nhs money.

TW888, the women in the posters are all real, young mums who live in the target areas. Some of them are also peer breastfeeding counsellors.

millyR how do you know which posters TW888 is talking about?

Or have they always been produced like that?

Some of the posters when i was at hosp had older mums IIRC

MillyR, is it so controversial to suggest that mothers should be encouraged to have children earlier, and when in a fit state to do so, ie 'low risk'. for the good of society?

Bubbleymummy she was 6 kilos (around 14lbs I think) at eight and a half months, and that was after a leap up from solid feeding. She was born at just under 8lbs. I appreciate the sentiment that you shouldn't look for every baby to grow at the same level, but such a dramatic drop seemed worrying. Maybe this isn't as unusual as I thought.