Anyone listening to R4 on bf'ing? WHERE is the mother with a positive experience?

[RappyNash]

It's all about the pressure, and none of the women interviewed have had very much of a positive experience. It's the same every time a new study comes out about the benefits. Where is my experience being represented in mainstream media?

When I say positive experience I don't necessarily mean someone who found it easy, by the way. I certainly didn't at first.

Just been listening too. I agree, I found it difficult at first but was really glad I persevered.

I am still breast feeding my DS at 30 months and still have to listen to people telling me their negative breast feeding experiences alongside them wincing because"he has teeth"!! Nearly everything about breastfeeding in the media portrays it as difficult and there are lots of stories about negative experiences and very very few about successful BF. I have always wondered why so few successful BFeeders are interviewed! I am sure there are lots of us about.

I'm feeding my 2.9yo and 5mo and am normally a fairly private person, but am seriously tempted to get onto r4 about this.

DH just came home ranting about this. He said the people interviewed were apologists and the general gist was "yeah, yeah, we know its the best thing for babies everyone has rammed it down our throats and made us feel guilty but we couldn't do it". How annoying. I believe people can choose and have no problem with people saying that they chose to bottle feed/formula feed. However, all the excuses and the 'I tried it for the first couple of hours/days/weeks but just couldn't do it' really get to me, women need to hear positive experiences, examples of how people have got over problems and what help is out there. The majority of 'failures' are down to miseducation. Very disappointed in the BBC.

What programme was it on? fancy getting irate.

In the beginning women need support. Yes it's bloody hard work and No it isn't this hard forever. It really is the best thing for your baby. Whenever people talk about how good and important breast feeding is then all you get is being accuse of bullying women and making those who didn't feel guilty. Women thing to know the facts so they can make an informed decision. And not kept being told that most/allot of women can't breast feed.

Hate the question "are you going to TRY breastfeeding?". I kept saying while pregnant "no, I'm going to breast feed". It was bloody hard and I truly believe if I wasn't determined then I wouldn't have continued.

I heard the first few sentences, felt my blood pressure rising and turned off the radio. Disappointed in you, radio 4.

I was really disappointed in Radio 4, I felt quite depressed with the world after hearing that. What on earth was the point? Normally they are great at presenting both sides of things, was there no thought to how that might come across to the public or what harm it might do? Why wasn't a breast feeding counsellor invited to speak too? There were some inaccurate points and cliches made by the women and the positive results of the study that prompted the whole segment were buried

As for breast is best being rammed down everyone's throat, that is certainly not my experience. I feel there is nothing in the media to counteract the formula feeding adverts and impression it is more normal than breast feeding. I actively had to seek out the information, paid for NCT classes, went to my local breast feeding group, argued with the midwife in hospital that I wanted to breastfeed when they wanted me to give him formula as ds wasn't fussed with feeding for first 24 hours.

I also feel puzzled by people not breast feeding because they want their body back. I understand that feeling, after being pregnant and then breast feeding my ds for a year I completely feel that too, but it's not about me anymore, it's about what I feel is best for him and it's not very long in the scheme of things.

I don't begrudge anyone for formula feeding, each to their own, but at least give people factual information and if you are a public broadcaster realise you are in a position of responsibility.

This pissed me off too. Didn't know if I was justified or not.

For us, BF was bloody difficult. DS was back in hospital at day 5 as he'd lost so much weight. I exclusively expressed for a while, used nipple shields, had a really fast let down, flat nipples, three bouts of mastitis, oversupply and waking up in puddles for 9 months, bleeding nipples for 6 months (now permanently scarred)... But we kept going until 20mo.

Breastfeeding was, obviously, a huge priority for me. None of the women on radio 4 seemed to feel that way.

And the one who said that scientific studies had shown there wasn't much difference between BF and FF outcomes unless you're in a developing country must have read very different scientific studies to the ones I've read.

I did admire one of the mums on the show though, battling through her 3-year old having a dose of the mummy-mummys as she was trying to do her interview - we've all had phone calls like that, not usually on national radio fortunately!

Funnily enough, there wasn't that much in the media the other week when a study came out that associated too-long exclusive breast feeding (over six months without adequate solid food being introduced) with 'cheese teeth' (weak adult molars and front teeth, prone to breaking and discolouration). I heard on R4's Inside Health, to be fair, but not much anywhere else. Breast-might-not-always-be-best suppressed....? (3 July episode; Inside Health)

Immediately made me paranoid at first, as I fed DD exclusively (after a very shaky start involving having to get her tongue tie divided so that she could physically feed - all researched by me - I wonder how many mother/baby pairs have that issue) for 6 months, and then she didn't take to food at first. Glad I didn't pay attention to the baby-led weaning book's insistence that she's get to it in her own time, be that 8 or 9 months, and tried something other than broccoli florets and carrots!

I thought the whole piece went on far too long and was probably more suited to a discussion programme rather than a news and current affairs prog...when the Scottish woman said something about syringing colostrum off her nipples...I expect half of the listeners of radio four turned off in horror..not that it's a bad subject but it was tea time and surely the audience PM transmit to aren't hardy enough for that kind of detail?

But I suppose in the same stance, fair fucks to radio four for talking about breast feeding and the issues around it. At least it is being discussed. Shame no more talk of b/f clinics or support maybe...

Both my bf experiences have been miserable, one lasted 8 weeks the other 9 months. Should I have a third I will not be all hung up about it and there will be an evening bottle from v early on!

I was screaming in my car listening to PM tonight.

Wtf?! Wants to see research into the effects of BFing on parents relationships? Arghhhh! Then the old cliche of not being as tired as BFing mothers.

Each to their own, but really what was the point of such a one sided piece? I thought R4 were all about balancing views?

PM, I'm not happy and may well fire off an email to Eddie Mair.

DD breastfed from the start but after a fairly traumatic C-section I didn't realise she had been left for 40mins without food (pumped too full of drugs to realise and it seemed like 10 mins, to me, while they stitched me up). She continued to suck for the 2 days I was in hospital with the MW taking her off me for 2 hours so I could sleep (3 day labour) but no one collected the collustrum they made me express on the 1st day, while feeding her, and it got binned. In front of me. I continued BFing as a single mum with a C-Section at home alone 2.5 days after birth (and subsequently told was at .001 of needing a transfusion and therefore they should have kept me in for 5 days specially after all of the extra drugs given during complications in C-sect) but managed to carry on despite DD being in 98th centile and being home alone. No one from hospital ever asked if I had a liv in partner to 'help'. Then git mastitis and had to take drugs Dr said was fine whilst BFing whilst Pharmacy said NO! Had to make a choice and decided to continue BFing for next 7 months. Stopped at 11mo as was pg again and became too challenging for me.
No one point in broadcasting is ever going to cover what we all go through as mums. Airing diversity is key.

Agree that there is a lot of coverage of how stressful it is. People do talk about the pressure to bf, yet most of my friends from antenatal group already had a stock of bottles, a steriliser and some formula at home 'just in case' before the baby even arrived - this is hardly the way to set ourselves up for success.

On minimalisthoarder's link - this seemed a little odd, they were saying that 6% of children in northern England had 'cheese teeth', yet surely this is not really the percentage who are ebf past 6 months? And then earlier on it mentioned a perinatal illness, but that was then left undiscussed ... Has anyone seen the original research? Coming from a family with horribly weak teeth I am a little concerned!

I started a thread on that Inside Health programme. The stats just don't add up - if only 2% of babies are ebf to six months, and all suffered from this condition, where does the other 4% come from?

I do think it's wise as bf'ing mothers to consider our mineral stores though, particularly vitamin D. And to consider the NHS advice to supplement our babies, too - although that doesn't work for us and I prefer to supplement myself.

Sorry, that was unclear - even if all suffered from the condition...

I wondered about those stats myself. Surely there has to be another factor. If the rest of the babies were partly bottle fed, is the formula right or is more research on its composition needed, if these babies are at risk too? Is it more to do with innate differences in calcium absorption and teeth development? Possibly introducing low-calcium foods (in place of milk) too early? Plenty of other factors to consider and it certainly doesn't seem like all the variation in the development of cheese teeth can be accounted for by longer EBF.

Not to be a cynic, but dd if you do, dd if you don't again?!

Well, they just featured a selection of the feedback following the item.

Did it contain anything positive? Did it fuck.

I put in a complaint