Telegraph: 'Breastfeeding going out of fashion'

[thesmallestpotato]

Has anyone read this??? I can't get through the paywall to actually read the article, could anyone do a quick summary?

www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/10139435/10-reasons-why-breastfeeding-is-out-of-fashion.html

It's a list of 10 reasons that we've all heard before and know ourselves already. What we need instead is 10 point action list on how to reverse the trend.

Depressing

It's a top ten list to explain the reasons why bf rates are dropping. It's pretty farcical, IMO. The only reason that rang true with me is No. 1 - Lack of bf support after the birth.

I certainly found the balance between ante-natal education & post-natal support all wrong.

The Observer explains more. More funding than fashion.
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/22/breastfeeding-figures-fall-nhs-cuts?INTCMP=SRCH

And this link is quite good:
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/interactive/2013/jun/23/breastfeeding?INTCMP=SRCH

Thanks

I saw the statistics reported at the weekend but I did a double-take when I saw this, I just thought what a stupid title, why put it like that? I can imagine there could be people out there who might see that and think oh if it's not in fashion now I won't bother!

She left off :-

because it can often be an unpleasant experience however much support you get

in this country we are lucky enough to have a great alternative

and most importantly

many don't want to do it and no longer have to.

Going back to work is a big reason too, stargirl1701. No matter how many people suggest it, pumping is not really a feasible/ reliable option for many women and is certainly far from pleasant! I wouldn't blame anyone for quitting breastfeeding on returning to work because, with younger babies, what they're really quitting is pumping and not actual breastfeeding (though if you work regular hours you can combination feed I suppose mixing morning and evening BFs with daytime FFs).

The 'breastapo' label is a total pain too. I was out with three friends with babies of similar ages recently and, though I know it was a little irrational, I felt more comfortable taking myself off to a quiet corner to BF as I thought they might think I was making some sort of pointed statement/ judgement of them for FF'ing if I BF'd in front of them. It's like I try to overcompensate by downplaying the fact that I'm still BF'ing a 10mo so as not to offend them. Slightly wacko I know but that's the damage the 'breastapo' label has inflicted. As if pursed lipped conservative oldies not wanting their attention brought to the existence of a breast wasn't enough to make us feel like hiding/ covering up, the fear of being labelled a crazy, intolerant zealot just because we BF has added to that.

We'll done to you Mum.Tis a wonderful thing your doing. I used to go off and do it as well I breastfed my children for seven years in total.

The most pointless article I have ever read.

mumsnoc, i totally agree with you. Ive not given birth yet (im 31 weeks) but I had dinner with a group of friends last week, some mothers, some not. Someone asked me if I was going to breastfeed and when I said yes, the tone of the responses I got from everyone made me feel like I had to justify why i wanted to breastfeed, as opposed to not just going straight to formula. Im in no way planning to be a member of the breastapo, and I have already decided that if for any reason BFing doesnt work out, i wont make myself feel bad for switching. Although in my opinion I think that some (not all) women who switch, probably give up far too easily. 'it felt weird' isnt really a valid enough reason to give up as far as im concerned, but its a personal choice and as mrbuttercat says, we are lucky to have a great alternative available to us.

It's not really a " great" alternative. It's milk from a cow's udder meant for a calf and then modified and processed to enable babies to be given it. They still don't know everything that is in breastmilk and formula doesn't replicate breast milk. The health benefits to women who breastfeed are just as important as the benefits to baby. It is a shame the numbers are falling.

I think it is feasible to continue BFing at work of you want to and the law is on your side.

I'm currently expressing at work right now. I'm a HCP working shifts, DS is 14 months. It can be done. Interestingly, I've had a lot of support and encouragement mostly from women who struggled and gave up.

I didn't really consider pumping to be an issue as I'm not going back to work until DD is a year old. I didn't really think about folks that have to go back when the baby is ebf.

I do know about expressing though I relactated at 11 weeks after a break of 8 weeks. 12 sessions in 24 hours. Hard work!

very true Twitchy it's a strange world sometimes. The most basic things in life are the most important.

Rulesgirl - its a great alternative to babies starving! It may not be identical to breastmilk and im not saying that we shouldn't be trying to encourage mothers to BF where they can, but those who cant, or chose not to are too often looked down on in some fora and treated as if they are damaging their children forever, and I do believe that is wrong.

There are a multitude of reasons that people choose not to breastfeed and im sure that in most cases people make that decision based on what they think is best. I Dont think its helpful to make mothers on either side of the fence feel inferior when they are ultimately trying to do what is best for their child.

Very very sad that we live in a society that undermines breast feeding. Those who want to (who are probably a minority anyway) don't get the support they need before discharged from midwife care. Midwives don't get much training in breast feeding anyway. Tongue ties are missed, health problems like thrush and mastitis aren't always dealt with urgently.

On the other side, you have the food giants of nestle and Danone who are eager and waiting to push their products to mums for their babies, as new customers are born every minute. £700 to be forked out on formula a year. They advertise everywhere and make it seem like formulated cows milk is the normal option for human babies.

Because so few babies are breasted, breasts are seen as sexual objects first, instead of mammary glands, contributing to formulated cows milk as the norm,

The alternative is donor milk. We donate blood, eggs, sperm, why not more milk? The answer is because a company doesn't profit from it.

Take away farming subsidies that lead to overproduction of dairy products in Europe and the US. Cows milk is not a necessary part of our diets. Just today, the BBC reported that childhood hospitalisations relating to obesity have risen alarmingly. If more babies had human milk, this might not be the case. Why can't we make the connection between the two?

I think there's a lot of ignorance surrounding breastfeeding. We're simply not told beforehand probably so it doesn't put us off just how demanding it can be.
If only I knew before I started that my LO would feed constantly for hours on end and this is normal. It would have saved me weeks of worry.
IME our parents' generation who, to be fair, know mostly only about formula feeding, are fuelling these doubts, imploring us to 'top them up' with a bottle of formula because they 'only fed an hour ago and that can't be right'.
The argument that breastfeeding prevents fathers bonding with babies is tripe - dd is the absolute apple of dh's eye (and vice versa).
Sorry everyone, rant over!

Agreed happydaze. None of things that happened to me - infective mastitis, blood poisoning, allergic reactions to the IV antibiotics - or DD - posterior tt, lip tie, asymmetric palette - were mentioned at the NHS bf class. Not one.

It was the biggest challenge of my entire life and I wasn't ready or prepared for it at all. I have since undertaken lots of reading and spoken to bf counsellors in order to relactate. I know so much more.

Even when you are 'doing' it correctly, it may still hurt like buggery.

This has been the first thing I have failed to accomplish in my life that really mattered.

Formula is a perfectly good food,several times healthier and safer than many foods toddlers and yes babies eat.

It may not be the perfect ideal but then countless parenting choices aren't.

I hate to say it but I couldn't give a flying f**k if Kate bf.A millionaire mother with palaces full of servants would never in a million years induce me to go through the hideous experience that was bfing again-ever!

Really silly article.

stargirl1701, you don't sound like a failure to me. IMO you deserve a medal

How stereotypical my dp did all in your list,most do,some feed too and enjoy it. Hardly a crime.