Advice please.....mw says no point in mixed feeding newborn

[Magpie1976]

Hi.
Dd is 5 days old and has been bf and ff since birth. I found bf v difficult in hospital so a mw provided a cup for her with formula.

Since then I've mainly bf with a bottle at night and occasionally in the day as a top up. I'd like to continue this pattern for as long as I can manage the bf for. I'm aiming for at least a month but ideally more dep on how it goes.

I've had terrible experiences with bf before when I've developed mastitis and then a horrible abscess which needed surgery and my breasts have been lumpy since then. So I'm v worried about this happening again which means I'm not really enjoying bf. But really want to give it a go in the short term at least.

However when I went to my mw appt the other day I was told that as the formula had already colonised the gut there was no point in carrying on mixed feeding and I may as well just stop and do ff. I was really hoping there would be some health protective benefits as she still is getting a lot of bm but, with my anxiety, I don't want to keep on if there's no point.

What have other people been told about the benefits/ point of mixed feeding from birth?

Thank you

The best way to avoid mastitis is for your baby to feed from both your breasts thoroughly and regularly. I think mixed feeding is more likely to lead to you having problems.

Midwife is misinformed.

Feed your baby how you want. I combi feed (baby has 2 x150ml top ups in the evening) and we've been doing this for 5 months. Just keep doing what you are doing. If you want to of course... There is nothing wrong with switching to formula if that's what you want to do.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone.

Lots of very reassuring messages on here. I'm enjoying bf more now I know it's actually going to have health benefit still. Went to the baby cafe today and found it really helpful too.

Thanks bigmama for your info re the science and research behind virgin gut theory. Really interesting.

And thanks to everyone for sharing experiences of combi feeding. Very much appreciated xx

I also combi fed after 6 weeks of BF issues.

Best thing I ever did for me and DS.

We were both so much happier with him having a bottle at night - he slept better and I got more rest as DH usually did the last feed.

My MW assured me that combi feeding wasn't a waste of time and that any BM was a good thing - however the main priority was DS being fed properly by any mechanism and if that was FF only then that was ok too.

Like you I felt so much more relaxed about BF when DS wasn't solely reliant on it and I'm sure I wouldn't have continued as long as I did if I hadn't done combi feeding.

OP, it sounds like you're doing fantastically and, my goodness, there are a lot of ill-informed/irresponsible people out there (especially unhelpful when they're in a position of authority at a really vulnerable point in your life!). I've mix fed my first baby for 7 months - he probably has approx 70% breast milk and 30% formula now, used to be more breast milk - and feel strongly it should be more heavily put forward as an option. I seriously think it could improve long term breastfeeding rates overall, as it makes breastfeeding much more tolerable/manageable, especially if, like me, you struggle with expressing. I'm shocked at the all or nothing way in which breastfeeding is talked about - there is a fantastic (for me at least!) middle ground.

If it was true that breastfeeding was pointless after you give the baby anything else, then wouldn't we be advised to stop at 4-6 months once the baby is eating solids? Or even 8 weeks once baby has its first dose of calpol for immunisations?

Exclusive breastfeeding might be the ideal but any breastfeeding still has benefits for you AND your baby.

I was told mixed feeding is better than formula alone, as it still gives them nutrients and helps to build resistance and boost the immune system. Plus, bf milk just cleared my baby's constipation after an unfortunate change in formula milk!