I brought my 2 year old son into A&E on Thursday as he had been vomiting for 48 hours. A doctor advised that he stay in to be observed and that I breastfeed him in the meantime.
I was doing this while sitting by a bed in the short stay assessment unit. The curtains were almost drawn, and I quite clearly heard a nurse (who was attending to a baby in the bed opposite) draw this to the attention of her colleagues by saying "oh look, that woman is breastfeeding her child". I was shocked to then have to listen to a conversation between her and her colleagues where they discussed the merits of breastfeeding "older" children and questioned if this was for the benefit of the mother or the child. One person found it helpful to add that someone in her class at college had been fed in this way until she was seven, and this was generally felt to be "a bit weird".
This whole exchange took place as if I could not hear what was being said and at no point did any of the staff address me directly, even though they were clearly talking about me (there was no-one else in the ward). This left me feeling vulnerable and isolated, on what was already a difficult day.
I would like to know what your hospital's policy is on breastfeeding. The benefits of continuing to breastfeed babies and younger children past infancy are well documented. Indeed, the WHO recommends that children are breastfed until they are at least two years old.
If this is the attitude of medical staff who work on a children's ward, it is no wonder the breastfeeding rates in this country are so low.
I look forward to receiving your comments on both this policy and this incident.
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Actually, the bit about feeling "vulnerable" isn't quite true. I was just peed off, but hey, I could have done