If children had a bit of education about breastfeeding at school...

[hunkermunker]

Would that be good or bad?

I think from the pov of raising awareness and normalising bf might be good.

But it might also make feelings of guilt rise to the surface if they come home and say "Mummy, did you bf me?".

Whaddya think?

I think there is definitely a problem in our (Western, industrialised) society that we just don't see people breastfeeding. This must make a difference to the expectations of mothers-to-be. I can't really envisage it working as part of school "lessons" though if it is not already part of their life (sniggering teenagers). Generally finding ways for it to be just normal and not commented on (in book illustrations etc) would be good.

but do women not feel comfortable bfeeding in public because of stigma? or is it that they just don't feel comfortable "whipping it out" in a public place.

I was unable to breastfeed, but had I been I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing it in a public place purely because I'm not the kind of person who would be happy undoing my top in a public place, any more than I would feel comfortable going topless on a beach for instance.

exactly VVV...also, whoever said it, of course bf support should be better...but it will only ever truely be better if bf is the socially accepted thing that everyone does...in countries where people bf, unbless they truely can NOT bf, the succesrate is so much higher, because expectations of feeding patterns and sleep pattern are so different, which is so often the reason why Formula are advised...so, basicxally tellingthe Kids of the regualr feeding and non sleeping might actually aid as a contraceptive!
Yes, in an ideal society we would not need to teach about bf and it's benefits, as it would be the norm, sadly our society is farfarfarfarfarfar and more far away from that ideal!

I didn't feel comfortable bf-ing in public with ds1 to begin with because he was such a wriggling fiend. But later on I felt okay, when could be discreet. And with ds2 I really cared much less... And I was lucky never to get any hassle from other people.

Not sure it is "stigma" as such, but I think it is more that we just don't see many women bfeeding out in public.
I am also quite private about my body but if the majority of mothers bfed and it was totally accepted as the norm, then I am sure I personally would have felt much more at ease doing it wherever and whenever...

going topless on the beach and feeding your Baby the natural way is NOT the same....I used to be fine going topless,as is normal in german, however, since living in britain so long I have become far more inhibited about that...but that is because going topless is somehting "alluring" for blikes, or should be, lol....but feeding my Baby's was a completely different mindset...

I wasn't limiting support to technique though. If women are feeling embarassed feeding in public, then don't they need support?

I think the point from the take-up rates is that most mothers do start breastfeeding, and therefore presumably are persuaded by the current level of information re benefits etc pre-birth. I'm not sure that covering all the issues that mums of 3 or 4 week old babies may face in a classroom of teenagers would necessarily help? I had enough difficulty retaining the information from antenatal classes - the idea of reaching back to my GCSE year is a bit extreme.

I also think that the whole issue of associating formula feeding with "failure" needs to be addressed, and otherwise you just end up with a large number of women, who themselves are aware that "breast is best", but are forced to come up with alternative narratives which in turn get passed onto other women.

When my ds was born, dd was in Reception. When he was a few weeks old, i took him to "Show and Tell" The children were fascinated, and I actually made a conscious decision that I would feed him in the class and let them watch and ask. They were a bit wide eyed, but unphased, and full of questions. A week later they did a review of the experience, and 90% of them drew pictures of a baby being bottle fed! You just can't win!

seeker, that's really interesting. Amazing how children have these perceptions even at the age of 5.

wannabe, in terms of the stats, the lowest take-up figure was in terms of the age of the mother - mothers under 20 had a 53% initial feeding rate whereas mums over 30 had an 85% rate.

Wannabe, the way you will feed your baby is pretty much set by the time you leave primary school (can't remember where I read/heard that - will try and find a source for you).

ALL the evidence I've seen points to early intervention and education being the key to stopping girls getting pregnant (or even having sex) - the same goes for normalising breastfeeding.

mollymawk, interesting what you say about being "lucky never to get any hassle from other people"
that is my point really, that mothers who bfeed in public do worry about possible reaction and people commenting, and addressing this is vital I think if we want women to bfeed for longer.
No woman should feel awkward or uncomfortable however she feeds her baby...

seeker...had a not so conciencly made experience, lol...as I fed as and when with all mine, obviously there were situations when I would feed with other young children around, and they tended to ask what I was doing, so, I said, I am feeding..and really sadly thsoe Kids were comletely astonished asking where the bottle was, so, I just explained that I didn't need a bottle as nature provides mummys with the right food....quite sad to think that children are so curious about it, as it shows just how rarely they get to witness it!

As for 78% being a high figure - it's not bad at all - but where I live, it's 54% who initiate bf and far fewer at 6 weeks

so in the end we got to start somehwere, so why not by targeting school kids to tech them it's the noraml naural way to feed, etc...so, they are not weirded out1

hunker, where do you find this kind of info (stats on bfeeding where you live that is), out of interest?

Your hospital trust will have a Maternity Liaison Advisory Group of some description, and you can get the stats of that Trust from one of the members (usually Director of Midwifery as well as delegates from local LLL/NCT etc)

Wannabe, I'm not sure you can say you wouldn't have felt comfortable bfing in public because you haven't done it.

I bfed DS1 for nearly 17m, I had a four-month gap between stopping feeding him and DS2 being born and during that time, the idea I was going to bfeed was really peculiar - what, lift up my top and latch a baby on in public?! Nah! But as soon as he was born, I did it - and I'm still doing it - I don't even think twice about it now. Because it's not about what other people think of me, it's about feeding DS2.

I don't mean this unkindly, I just wanted you to think that maybe it would have been different if you had bf?

Pannacotta, I'm involved with my local hospital, so I know this stuff. I made a nuisance of myself by complaining about the bf support after the boys were born and am now on a committee looking at ways to improve bf rates (hence the threads, Pruni). Am sure if you spoke to your local maternity hospital, you could get the same info.

i think that it is quite upsetting that allot of you seem to assume that all teenage mums seem to "have babies as fashion accessories". i also find it upsetting that the opinion seems to be that teenage mums dont think of the long term reality of having a child, consider brastfeeding ect ect...
i myself am a teenage mum, had ds a few weeks after i had turned 18 and he will be 1 next week.
i certainly did not have ds as a "fashion accesorie", i have devoted my life to him and he means everything to me.
i have b/f from the start, weaned him on fresh foods from the start, had 1 evening out scince he was born (a week ago), and a long list to go on.
i know that theese are the things that alot of mothers do but i am just trying to get my point across that not all teenage mums, drink and smoke, go out at every given chance, feed there children on formula and jars and have them as a "fashion accesorie".
i apprecheate that theese may be the views that you have but ds means the world to me and i knew that it was a life long commitment before i had him. and having a child for some teenagers may be for all the wrong reasons and i would have to agree that allot of teenage mums dont appear to have a clue and it does sicken me to see teenage mums walking down the road, cigarette hanging out of mouth, swearing, disscusing their next night out and shouting at thier dc but not all of us are like that!!!
anyway, sorry about my rant and as the topic in this thread is b/f i will give my opinion, yes - i do think that children should be bought up with b/f being seen as "the norm", i feel that b/f is very important, and i feel that no-body should f/f their babies unless there is a medical reason for it. its the most natural thing in the world for both mother and baby and i think choosing to f/f your baby simply because you think it would "be easier" or because you "dont like the idea of b/f" is depriving your baby of what they need.

Wow hunker - I'm not sure that I'd even thought about breastfeeding until I became pg - certainly didn't think about it during primary school, so wonder how I was influenced? I always knew that the nuns were brainwashing me...

There is quite a trend between the age you finished education and b/feeding though: 61% initial takeup for those finishing at 16, 74% for those finishing at 17 or 18, and 92% for those finishing over 18.

Perhaps the taregst of getting over 50% of pupils to go to uni will have a further slant on the figures.

When I breastfeed my baby, well OK toddler, round at friends houses they're kids are often fascinated. They stare and crane in to get a close look. I've had one little girl say, 'What's he doing?' and this was when my baby was newborn.

Kids are fascinated. IME they are not freaked out nearly so much as some of their parents are, by the whole idea of breastfeeding, especially anything older than newborn.

ImAHappyBunny, that's what MN's about - people posting "actually, the stereotype you're spouting isn't always true - look at me!" - fab post!

SM, children are remarkably adaptable and accepting, IMO. It's adults who knock that out of them

Well said imahappybunny btw. I agree there's a real predjudice against teenage mums. It's sad because I've known some really great teenage mums. I think the predjudice comes from society as a whole and it's terribly cruel and unhelpful to young mums who need support, just like us oldies.