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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

It WAS very childish of me, but I got a dig in at some Formula companies today......

613 replies

VeniVidiVickiQV · 04/04/2006 16:55

Got sent a market research survey today asking me my opinions on formula milk.

So i gave them.....WinkGrin

OP posts:
koolkat · 07/04/2006 16:08

I have just come back from a 3 hour wait in a walk in clinic (I have had a cough for bloody months and it just won't go, wanted a chest xray to make sure not dying !) - left DS with DH.

This is how the conversation went:

GP (female): Everything is fine. I will give you some antibiotics to clear it up.

KK: which ones ? there are some I can't take
[I take out and start reading my trusted AAP medication list from kellymom.com for bf mothers)

GP: why ? are you allegic to anything ?

KK: no, I am breastfeeding.

GP: oh, how old is the baby ?

KK: 22 months [long pause]

GP: looks totally Shock
but why are you breastfeeding for this long ?

KK: well, eh... [can't belive I have no words as I am never short of any !]

This is the 2nd time I have been to the GP in the past 2 months for my cough, mentioned bf, and got look of horror and pathetic comment from GP.

Oh, also never ever see anything to do with bf in any surgery I go to. No posters, no leaflets, nothing. There is always a NHS booklet on "weaning" with a photo of a cute baby being fed by spoon, but no cute babies being bf !

Any advice what I should say next time (something polite please) ? Grin

BornBerry · 07/04/2006 16:09

PT perhaps you were told that because its what all the evidence concludes? I personally we believe we should be giving women facts rather than anecdotal evidence as then quality of support has to also be factored into the equation which would be impossible.

harpsichordcarrier · 07/04/2006 16:14

you could mention the WHO guidelines about a minimum of two years
you could say something about how wonderful bm is
or you could tell him to f off Smile

koolkat · 07/04/2006 16:15

harps - thanks - I was thinking of taking a very wet kipper to clip them round the ear !

puddle · 07/04/2006 16:16

KK I'd be wondering why it wasn't on my notes from last time. Maybe you could make that point.

koolkat · 07/04/2006 16:18

puddle - they had no notes - it was a walk in clinic not my usual surgery - so that one I can forgive Smile

Original poster
VeniVidiVickiQV · 07/04/2006 16:23

Well hindsight is a wonderful thing. I would like to think i would have said.

"You are the doctor, you tell me "

OP posts:
BornBerry · 07/04/2006 16:25

I used to carry round the "benfits to nursing toddlers handout" and save my breath!

koolkat · 07/04/2006 16:28

Thanks - sorry for hijack ladies - carry on with thread as before - I will go and ponder what to say next time Smile

hunkermunker · 07/04/2006 16:33

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1364&threadid=70267&stamp=050418020950\KK, this is my experience of a hospital GP who was ignorant of BF past six months, if I had to at all...}

PinkTulips · 07/04/2006 16:34

so differant over here, i always get a great big well done like a little school kid when i tell health prof how long i bf for!

PinkTulips · 07/04/2006 16:35

good god hunker, thats insane! Shock

Original poster
VeniVidiVickiQV · 07/04/2006 17:12

Shock never seen that thread before hunker!

OP posts:
koolkat · 07/04/2006 18:07

Pink - where do you live ?

Hunker - thanks for the link - gosh - is it any wonder NEW mums get no support ?

harpsichordcarrier · 07/04/2006 18:24

Shock at that hospital GP hunker
telling you to stop!
actually not Shock
just Angry

PinkTulips · 07/04/2006 18:48

koolkat, ireland. they've gone very pro-bf here in recent years thank god. i hear some of the stories on MN about health profs in uk and it's no wonder people don't keep it up. we're not much better here but it's creeping up.

Caligula · 07/04/2006 19:00

Must agree with everyone who talks about needing just as much support with subsequent babies. When DD was born I was absolutely confident I'd be able to get through the pain barrier and carry on as it had taken 9 weeks with DS, but of course I didn't have the time I'd had with baby number 1 and I was concerned about DS being completely ignored while I sat there for 2 weeks trying to bf.

Also, the problems were different, the bf clinic was no longer in walking distance and was immensely difficult to get to on public transport a 2 year old and a new baby and a tiny voice at the back of my mind said "you're a single parent now, you've got another child to look after, you can't go through another 7 weeks of this and formula feed isn't that different from breastmilk" and gave me the permission I wanted to give myself to give up. And the two biggest reasons were the fact that I needed to look after DS (he hadn't yet started any playgroup) and the misapprehension that formula feed wasn't that different. So it really is just as important to support non new mothers as inexperienced new ones. In fact, it was the fact that I knew it might take 9 weeks, which made me give up.

koolkat · 07/04/2006 19:41

Yes Caligula you are right. I didn't mean that it's just new mums who need support. I only have DS, so no idea what it will be like next time.

All I have is a load of info. and a bit of practical experience with DS Smile, but next baby may be a different story with new difficulties to overcome. I had no one to turn to with practical experience in my immediate family or close relatives, so I was all on my own.

I honestly think that if a good network of mums existed who had PRACTICAL experience as well as scinetific info. they could share easily with other mothers, without any patronising or competitive mothering, none of us would need to come to these threads.

Millions of women for the past million years since humans no longer looked like chimps.....ehem.....have bf successfully because they had other women to help them. It's a crying shame that this seems so impossible now and I have to constantly "worry" about what to say or not say to friends who have newborns in case I hurt their feelings.

Surely, this never used to be the case before the advent of formula and women had an easier time taking advice off each other ?

chipmonkey · 07/04/2006 20:33

PinkTulips, we have the lowest bf rates in Europe. And although I have recently found the new breed of PHN very good, ( they are all trained midwives) I find a lot of the "old boys" not exactly anti-bf, just not all that bothered! I found a book on pregnany by Dr Peter Boylan in Mothercare and flicked through it. There's a section on bf by Dr Murphy, the Holles St paediatrician and he says bf is recommended for 6 months. End of story. No mention of the WHO or bfeeding for 2 years. Very disappointing.

harpsichordcarrier · 07/04/2006 20:38

at least 2 years
Grin

PinkTulips · 07/04/2006 20:49

must just be over this side then chipmonkey, i've gotton nothing but encouragment and up to date advice, my gp is male and quite old fashioned in many ways but even he is boned up in bf advice and knowlage. also get lots of patronising pats on the head for keeping it up, lol. (i'm a young mum so i think i make alot ofthe nurses and docs feel like i need extra praise for doing whats natural and normal)

i was on a ward of 8 mums and all were bf-ing. even if not all of them kept it up, at least all tried.

Original poster
VeniVidiVickiQV · 07/04/2006 21:13

I agree - there is limited literature on WHO guidelines. You get a basic mention of Government guidelines and thats it.

I also second that it was much much tougher 2nd time around to b/feed. Aside from having thrush and mastitis for the first 8 weeks i had a toddler who was jealous and demanding of my time. It was a truly truly nightmarish experience.

With family etc saying things along the lines of "Why are struggling so hard to do this? Why dont you just give him a bottle" Very little encouragement at all. My HV was fab though - she was still b/feeding her 11 month old and had also had thrush etc so i think that was really helpful in her general attitude.

I had a quick perusal of the shelves whilst in the supermarket today.

SMA white says on its tin with a big tick next to it "Aids development of the brain and eyes" I really really hate that particular bit of marketing. This is the stuff for "hungrier babies". Also, either the Aptimil or Farleys tin has a huge label on it saying "Prebiotics support natural defences. Prebiotics are found naturally in breastmilk" Didnt actually say it contained it in the formula but i didnt look at the ingredients lol!

And guess what i have just found......\link{http://www.sainsburystoyou.com/webconnect/index.jsp?bmUID=1144440564624\offers on baby milk....} i thought they werent allowed to do this????

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 07/04/2006 21:34

PinkTulips, maybe its just a Galway thing! All that fresh air and nature!

hunkermunker · 07/04/2006 21:34

They can do it on follow-on, VVV.

Am so tempted to follow that with...the fuckers. So I will.

They can do it on follow-on, the fuckers.

Original poster
VeniVidiVickiQV · 07/04/2006 21:53

Mind you, they've got a good deal on own brand wet wipes atm Wink

OP posts: