To feel annoyed trees were cut down to print this anti-breastfeeding article

[cherrymama]

In the latest edition of Mother and Baby magazine (I bought it for the free gift) the deputy editor has an article about breastfeeding. In it she says that she "couldn't be fagged" to breastfeed and that breastfeeding her newborn using breasts that had previously been used for sex would feel "creepy". And that even the health benefits of breastfeeding "wouldn't induce her to stick her nipple in her bawling baby's mouth."

I think her attitude is horrible! I understand many people try to breastfeed and don't manage, but to say that it is creepy is another thing.

I guess you can't.

But that is not what I am insinuating, I am insinuating that women have had their heads messed with pretty much from birth to think that FF is a great alternative to breastfeeding, that their bodies are not producing enough milk etc.

It simply cannot be true for the number of people who end up FF here, it can't be - the human race would not have been able to perpetuate itself to the extent that it has if 50% (or whatever the actual number is) of women could not feed their babies.

That is interesting that you say that about Australia Morloth as my DH is Australian (with a very large family) and we lived there for several years. I did not find BFing common at all. My DH's sisters not only did not breastfeed they were prescribed tablets by the doctor to dry up their milk quickly when they advised they would not be BF'ing. Most of my Australian girlfriends did not breastfeed. I am Canadian and I can count my Canadian and American friends on one hand that breastfed. I have encountered more people in Europe that breastfeed then anywhere else I have lived (12 countries).

Lets see, what are some reasons why one cannot bf

• Not enough milk supply
• Had breast surgery and could not
• Repeated cases of mastitis
• Severe problems with inverted nipples
• On medications for other ailments

And any other number of reasons that no mother should ever have to justify to anyone else.

Many mothers do regularly say in articles that they breastfeed for the benefits of weightloss, not wanting to sterilise or make up bottles, that they feel that it is totally natural. These articles are written and publised time and time again. No-one complains because this is fine. This article is the opposing view and that is fine as well.

That is interesting that you say that about Australia Morloth as my DH is Australian (with a very large family) and we lived there for several years. I did not find BFing common at all. My DH's sisters not only did not breastfeed they were prescribed tablets by the doctor to dry up their milk quickly when they advised they would not be BF'ing. Most of my Australian girlfriends did not breastfeed. I am Canadian and I can count my Canadian and American friends on one hand that breastfed. I have encountered more people in Europe that breastfeed then anywhere else I have lived (12 countries).

Lets see, what are some reasons why one cannot bf

• Not enough milk supply
• Had breast surgery and could not
• Repeated cases of mastitis
• Severe problems with inverted nipples
• On medications for other ailments

And any other number of reasons that no mother should ever have to justify to anyone else.

Many mothers do regularly say in articles that they breastfeed for the benefits of weightloss, not wanting to sterilise or make up bottles, that they feel that it is totally natural. These articles are written and publised time and time again. No-one complains because this is fine. This article is the opposing view and that is fine as well.

oops double post

That is actually not true about the human race not perpetuating itself with lack of bfing. They used to have wet nurses before formula, for mothers that could not bf. Furthermore lots of babies died in years gone by. We have had advances in science that allow us to do things like ff and help out mothers that can't. Population rates keep going up.

All of my aunts/sisters/girlfriends BF as did my mother, most for a year or more. All Australian. As I said, I grew up relatively poor and in quite harsh physical conditions, so it can't be a middle class thing especially since the large indigenous population of our town all BF, there simply wasn't any formula and if there were we probably couldn't have afforded it. I don't remember lots of babies dying, will ask Mum.

Why are those things you list more common here in the UK than in other places? Or could it be that they are not, but that women are pushed into believing that their bodies are not up to it?

As I said I see no ulterior motives in wanting people to feed their babies human milk, but I can see at least one huge one for wanting them to be fed cow's milk.

i just think the magazine its its ilk should be saying 'hey! why not give bf a try' massive emphasis on the word 'try', supported with 'if it doesn't work out theres always ff and thats not the end of the world'

So true ChuckBartowski In the early weeks, so many women seem to feel they 'don't have enough milk' as they seem to have to feed constantly. So many women believe they can't possibly satisfy a large baby as there won't be enough milk etc.

Agree suntangirl. The journalist could have written the same article but with a different tone and it would have been a much better reflection on her as a person.

Yes, they did have wet nurses but it was extremely well paid so unlikely to be used in the numbers that now formula feed. Most wet nurses earned more than their husbands so was purely the preserve of the rich.

Most women start BF but give up earlier than planned because of bad advice (MW/HVs) and lack of support at home. Also if someone in their support network (husband,mother,MIL, sis) find BF creepy they are more likely to give up.

All my great aunts/great grand mother/grand mother/cousins/friends BF as did my mother. All American (one Canadian).

Have a look on the BF/FF board for how women are not told/see that a newborn wants to feed all the time in most cases, like every 20mins or so. How they almost always sleep for a big period after birth and it is OK that they are not feeding in that time, how they change what they need from week to week and sometimes need to go back to feeding every 2 hrs even after they have been on a rough 4hr schedule for a while, how waking in the night for milk is normal and not a sign that there is something wrong/lacking in the milk.

The big baby thing has been said to me so often since DS2 was born that I am getting sick of correcting people. They simply can't believe that a fully BF baby can be a huge porker, because they have always known that FF=chubby and BF=underweight/skinny.

So much misinformation messes with people's heads.

It does seem like some women have a lack of faith in their own bodies.

A colleague at work had a baby, was desperate to breastfeed, kept worrying baby wasn't getting enough, mentioned to HV who assured her everything was fine and not to add a bottle until bf established, but she still convinced herself baby was starving and so decided to mix feed which at that early stage led to the almost inevitable conclusion of ff entirely. And 4 months later she's still upset about it

I don't know how much more you can do to help people like her.

Mix feeding normally signals that BF will have finished within the next couple of weeks. I know so many women who were advised to mix feed (their DCs would all be over 10yrs so hopefully HVs have stopped giving that advice out).

There are so many myths surrounding BF. The assumption that it is creepy is the tip of the iceberg.

I never said that those things were more common in the UK. I said that those were a some of the reasons why women cannot breastfeed.

And because FF is so normal in our society; many women don't get the chance to see a BFing mum and baby in the early weeks; at least not frequently enough to understand how much feeding they actually do. I only knew to expect it because my SIL told me she had barely moved from the sofa or got dressed in the first few weeks. I was genuinely very surprised to hear it because I didn't recall reading it anywhere or being told about it in antenatal classes.

But FF is more common in the UK than in many other countries so if it isn't cultural/marketing then the problems you list must be more common?

My milk did not come in for 9 days after the birth of my early dd. I tried, time and time again with the hospital breast pump and not a single solitary drop (nothing, no colostrum, nada). I also tried with my DD several times every day. My baby would have starved had I not fed her formula. No baby cannot go without milk for 9 days. Everyone makes assumptions about each individuals situations. I am grateful they have formula.

Well that is interesting as the USA has the lowest bf'ing rate in the developed world. The people you know must be in the minority.

Actually it is completely wrong to say,as a previous poster has,that we have formula for the many women who can't breasfeed.If it were true that "many" women couldn't breastfeed our species would no longer exist.We have formula because men peddling milk products worked out that there is money to be made in making women feel innadequate and as though their bodies are flawed.OP YADNBU,everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course,but that article is anti women and anti babies.There is so much evidence that breastmilk affects our health for our whole lives,anyone who stops bf because they have a genuinely good reason or a lack of support has my sympathy,but to not even try because you want your "Fun bags"(boak) to remain perky is selfish and immature and completely incompatable with someone in a postion of influence who may sway women into choosing formula from the start.Peer pressure is surprisingly effective,even on those of us who think we are immune,and an article like that,aside from being quite disturbing,is totally irresponsible.She should be sacked.

Who is making assumptions? No one on this thread.

What personal, hands on, one to one assistance were you given tictock? Before you got to 9 days how many people sat with you and talked about babies feeding and gave you a hand and looked after you, how many people had you previously spent time with BFing? What tests were run on you to find out what was up with the milk?

I don't blame individual women for the FF rates, I blame the corporations who created a market, who bribed doctors and so on to sell their product.

It is easier and cheaper to advise a woman to FF than it is to put in the time/money and effort required to help her if she is struggling.