woefully glib and inaccurate b/feeding article in Evening Standard

[otchayaniye]

Shouldn't be surprised as it's part of the Daily Mail Gp.

Peddles myths about "big bottles of formula helping babies sleep through" and how she's been "teetotal" for a year (well, ten months)

Written from point of view of professional breastfeeder ("organically oriented middle class mum" FFS) who is hoping to get to a year.

Barkfox - as you describe, it is very important that mothers have a realistic idea of what to expect when bfing. And to have expert support and advice available to help them continue when the going gets tough.

I do know a couple of women who had no problems bfing, but most of us do need help, and if you get that help quickly, then bfing can be a wonderful experience.

I don't think formula does help babies to sleep. I think that how a baby sleeps is entirely dependent on the baby and whether or not they are BF or FF is irrelevant.

Admittedly I only have my own experiences to draw on but I introduced a bottle of FF as my DDs last feed of the night at 14 weeks (DD is now nearly 21 weeks). I've found that the formula makes her fall asleep more quickly and sleep more soundly but it doesn't make her sleep for any longer than BF did.

I don't think it's a terrible article and it is broadly supportive of EBF which makes a change. However it seems to suggest that everyone is mix feeding from an early age with the exception of the author. It can read a bit like if you don't mix feed you are making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself.

I liked the photo! Lovely to see a much older baby than your typical newborn.

I thought it was fairly balanced, and so what if it was self-congratulatory? She's worked hard to get where she is with b/f.

barkfox, I agree with the cited benefits of BF often ignoring the difficult satrt many people have. After our NCT classes, and when starting BF, one of the girls in the group said 'we were led to expect BF would be tricky, but we never realised it would be tough.

My sister and I had babies a week apart. Mine is 10 weeks 3 days, hers is 11 weeks 3 days.

She's exclusively bfing, I tried bfing but couldn't do it and ended up feeding her EBM and formula until I dried up at 3 weeks, just ffing since then.

Her baby has been waking just once in 11 hours during the night since she was 5 days old, mine used to wake 6-7 times in the night, now wakes twice in the night.

It makes no difference how much I give her at night, she still wakes at 3, so I think think the giving a big bottle of formula theory is rubbish.

Anyway, I've heard that the hormones in breast milk keep babies asleep longer.

I don't like the idea that if a media article is about breastfeeding, the writer must steer clear of some notional list of 'forbidden' topics, not discuss her own experience, and write only from a point of view that has been approved in advance by breastfeeding specialists. I don't expect that kind of censorship in media articles about politics, business or sport so I don't see why we should have it about breasfeeding either.

What a ridiculous article.

RE sleeping: BFing mothers actually get up to an hours more sleep at night, going on average feedings for FF and BF babies.

You will always get some FF babies that sleep through and some BF babies that do; and the ones that don't sleep through the night until they're three. That's how it goes.

Night time formula is heavier, so harder to digest, so can make babies sleep longer - because they think they are full. This, along with the myths that formula makes babies sleep like magic, are inventions of corporations trying to sell their products.