Please can we save tiktok's sanity...

[welliemum]

... and have a Myths and Legends link here.

I've just seen her calmly explain for the 847 385 211th time that what you eat doesn't affect the quality of your milk.

tiktok is a saint in human form, but it would be great if we could have something that people can read before posting, thereby saving countless wasted electons (and preventing tiktok's head from exploding).

My top myths would be:

1. eat well to ensure good quality milk
2. the growth charts are based on formula fed babies only.
3. the WHO guidelines about weaning to solids after 6 months are meant only for developing world babies.

I'm sure there are more, can't think of any at the mo

Anyone else up for this?

Here's another one - they've started waking in the night at 4 months - THEY NEED SOLIDS. But solids have fewer calories than milk, so they'll actually be getting less nourishment!

lmao NQC - My DS's head is a lot smaller than his body (proportionately, of course it is smaller than his body - larger would be freakish) - do you think formula would fix that too?

Mars - I think people would read it because potentially it could be featured in the 'topic intro spiel' bit at the top - you know where it is 'seek medical advice' on health or 'no substitue for professional advice' in legal or 'think before you type' in SN etc.

Further, I imagine many posters would point people to it if they felt it contained relevant / useful info for someone who is asking a question IYSWIM.

Finally, in a way, I think it honours the people who have put so much time, energy and compassion into MN... that some of their ideas / wisdom would be around even if they left IYSWIM.

just my 2p.

Hi all, thanks for the comments!

I feel a bit bad at singling out tiktok when mears and NQC and many others have done sterling myth-busting service too; but it seems to me that tiktok's been doing the lion's share recently.

I do understand that bf problems are complex and you can't use a 1-size-fits-all approach, so a problem based FAQ wouldn't be a good idea.

But I'm thinking of a FAQ, not for people with problems, but for people with solutions.

eg, someone posts to say "my baby seems hungry and has dropped a centile and the HV is threatening to come round and burn the house down if I don't top up."

Then a whole lot of people will pop up to say: make sure you're eating properly/no harm in starting solids or top ups at a young age/doesn't matter if baby not pooing/baby's head will shrink nicely on formula... and anyway, the growth charts are for bottle fed babies.

PS If we do this, the chocolate myth stays, OK?

Hi all, thanks for the comments!

I feel a bit bad at singling out tiktok when mears and NQC and many others have done sterling myth-busting service too; but it seems to me that tiktok's been doing the lion's share recently.

I do understand that bf problems are complex and you can't use a 1-size-fits-all approach, so a problem based FAQ wouldn't be a good idea.

But I'm thinking of a FAQ, not for people with problems, but for people with solutions.

eg, someone posts to say "my baby seems hungry and has dropped a centile and the HV is threatening to come round and burn the house down if I don't top up."

Then a whole lot of people will pop up to say: make sure you're eating properly/no harm in starting solids or top ups at a young age/doesn't matter if baby not pooing/baby's head will shrink nicely on formula... and anyway, the growth charts are for bottle fed babies.

PS If we do this, the chocolate myth stays, OK?

i don't think people would read a faq, they don't read through past threads do they to find their answers? so poor tiktok has to say it all again or link to the last time she said it all again.

If a FAQ existed and was relevant useful, people can point to it. It would have a very easy URL too probably. If it doesn't exist, people can't point to it so they've either got to type it all again or go off and hit the archive search.

People aren't always too lazy to use the search but they're not quite sure what terms to use, or if they enter generic terms 'formula' they would get too many hits IYSWIM.

I still maintain a nicely structured FAQ would be great.

And if mears and tiktok (just to name two superstars) feel that it might be good / save a bit of time, I think we should take note !

So, mears / tiktok - what do you think ?

Mears TikTok (and everybody else) would just like to say many thanks for all advice proffered. Am guilty of asking FAQ, but to be fair was new to mumsnet at the time.

I would have loved a FAQ on b/f when I was new here (and also now tbh, for when I have those 'stupid' moments). For my first month of MN all I used to do was trawl around in the old threads searching for information. I was a lurker and definitely too scared to post !

Agree with Hub2dee about the problems of generic terms and getting too many hits.

Great idea welliemum, BUT THE CHOCOLATE ONE STAYS!

You know I am not really sure TBH. I don't really mind answering someone directly to put their mind at rest. I often do a link to kellymom or other similar threads that I remember.
Wouldn't like new MNetters to think they couldn't have a discussion about something that was worrying them.

Did I kill this thread?

Nope .

I'm sure it wouldn't stop people posting. Would it make sense to try it for a short while and then review? Or would there be too much work involved in setting it up to be just a temporary thing 'under review'?

Ok, not meaning to be a trouble maker, but I refute the "myth" Eat well to ensure good quality milk.

Give me the proof & I'll be quiet, otherwise I'll be doing my thesis on it !

What do you mean you refute it? You think it's not a myth and that if you eat well you produce better quality milk?

Another myth IMO and IME - "You can't feed a big baby by yourself, you will need to top up with formula"

DD was 10lbs 10oz at birth and stayed on the 98th percentile, where she still is for height and weight at 2.10 years. She didn't touch formula until she was 10 months old.

Mears, I agree, it would be a pity to put a newbie off if they had a problem.

I'm picturing something a bit different though: thinking of a link at the top of the page saying, "Do you know the top ten myths about breastfeeding?" or something. Curious people would then hopefully click on the link and read the myths which would just be briefly listed. There could then be a link to kellymom for anyone wanting further info.

Would that put anyone off? Any newbies/lurkers reading this who might like to comment?

Written in haste as dd1 waking up, not sure if it makes sense!

oh yes, that makes more sense I guess. I was thinking of something in more depth, but it probably wouldn't need to be.

Then again, if it didn't try and explain why it was a myth, would it be believed?

I think the thing that tiktok gets particularly wound up about (apologies if this isn't right tiktok) is when a new mum posts that little one hasn't pooed for a couple of days, and he's 5 or 6 days old, and lots of posters pile in with 'that's normal, fine for a b/fed baby', when it just isn't.

As both a newbie and a lurker I have to say I think this is a really good idea. When my DS was between 3 and 4 months old and spitting up a lot, my HV told me it was because my milk was poor quality, and advised me to top up with formula or start solids early. He was and is still (at 5.5 months) on the 98th percentile for weight, so I think my milk is fine, thank you very much! It didn't feel right to do either solids or formula, and to see a 'Breastfeeding Myths' top 10 would have reinforced that for me. So it gets my vote!

Milk being of poor quality is deffo another daft myth! Milk is milk there's no quality issues!

Sorry BlueJelly to disagree, but I definitely think that the quality of milk improves significantly if chocolate (particulaly Twirls) are consumed by the mother prior to each feed.

i think the top 10 myths thing is a good idea, also a link to kellymom. after all kellymom is a FAQ about breastfeeding basically so why duplicate the fab info on there?

could we just have a link to kellymom where it has jack newman's 4 pages of breastfeeding myths?

Hot chocolate and power over the tv remote also helps with milk quality

I can't count the amount of times I've had to explain to people (mainly my mum) that DS is just dinky, it has sod all to do with my milk and diet - I always think of milk and diet like pregnancy and diet - the baby/milk takes what it needs first, it is the mother that suffers from poor diet, not the baby/milk.

Please correct me if I sm wrong though

waht about stress will dry your milk supply and that you need lots of rest and water to have a good milk supply.