Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Fewer than 1% of mums exclusively breastfeed for six months nationwide

135 replies

hunkermunker · 17/05/2007 22:35

Are the massively outspoken minority(!) on here making any difference to the MN population? Have we hit (or exceeded) 1% on here?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 17/05/2007 22:37

I only went to 4 months because I had to go back to work full-time and there was no place to express or store it.

I started giving her expressed milk in a bottle from 4 weeks in order to get her used to it because there was no way we could survive without my full whack of pay, which meant I had to go back.

And yes, I could have sued them or rocked the boat.

And then made my work life even worse than it is now because the building is ancient and overcrowded already.

mummypigoink · 17/05/2007 22:38

Um, this mean only bm for 6 months, or only bm and weaning onto solids?

I've always been confused by this.

Hulababy · 17/05/2007 22:38

I would imagine it is much more than 1% of MNetters who manage this, surely?

harpsichordcarrier · 17/05/2007 22:39

I believe I may be the massively outspoken minority .
I thought it was 2% - where did you get that figure from?
anyway I know no-one else in RL

Hulababy · 17/05/2007 22:39

mummypigoink - I assume it means breast milk only as weaning isn't advised until 6 months anyway.

emkana · 17/05/2007 22:39

Only breastmilk.

I asked dh, bless him, how many women he thought exclusively b/fed for six months.

He said 50 %

FrannyandZooey · 17/05/2007 22:40

Oi who are you calling massive

years of breastfeeding have left me very svelte indeed thank you

emkana · 17/05/2007 22:40

With dd2 the HV gaily said to me "Oooh I've never met anyone who actually did follow the advice to exclusively b/feed until six months"

harpsichordcarrier · 17/05/2007 22:40

haha bless your dh
my dh said 5%
he is hardened and cynical though

welliemum · 17/05/2007 22:41

I did exclusively bf to 6 months, but I'm not here, I'm over there in NZ so I don't count.

NZ bf rates are better than UK but I'm the only person I know who's done this.

emkana · 17/05/2007 22:41

I do love him for regarding b/feeding as the norm.

He's never even discussed giving formula as an option with me.

Original poster
hunkermunker · 17/05/2007 22:42

If only that was true, Emkana!

Harpsi, from the MN Parenting News email:

Breastfeeding blow Fewer than one in a hundred women follow government advice to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, figures released this week ? Breastfeeding Awareness Week ? show. The figures reveal that, while three quarters of mothers start to breastfeed at birth, fewer than half are still breastfeeding at six weeks ? and by six months, only one in four is giving any breastmilk at all, while fewer than 1% is giving breastmilk alone. (BBC Online 14.05.07) Meanwhile it was announced that proposals are being drawn up to give women the legal right to breastfeed in public in England and Wales (a similar law has already been passed in Scotland), and to have the right to work breaks to express breastmilk. (Guardian 14.05.07)

And Franny, you're a ginormasaur! (Not!)

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 17/05/2007 22:43

My DC's were grabbing food of my plate and eating it before 6 months, so no, I'm not in that 1%.

frogs · 17/05/2007 22:44

I did with dd2 (after advice was changed to weaning at 6 month). Actually went to slightly over 6 months as we were on holiday and I couldn't be bothered to fiddle around with weaning. So it was bm only until nearly 7 months, until the day I went to Ladies in a National Trust cafe and came back to find my cousin spooning apple pie and ice cream into the baby's eager little beak.

harpsichordcarrier · 17/05/2007 22:45

"fewer than 1%"
god, I am an oppressed minority

Original poster
hunkermunker · 17/05/2007 22:45

Ooh, can we get funding and have our own, er, what do minority groups get these days?

OP posts:
Bectheneck · 17/05/2007 22:47

I went to a Surestart event today to mark Breasfeeding week. There was two of us there! One of the HVs said she had sent out 30 invites to pregnant women in the area but not one showed up. Alo said they have run BF groups before but noone attended them. It's v sad.

Would type more but am one-handed at the moment.

katwith3kittens · 17/05/2007 22:48

I'm aiming to get to 26 weeks, (currently 21 weeks) although tbh I'm not sure I'll manage to get there as DS2 seems incredibly interested in food and has already tried grabbing food off my plate, but the coordination is just not there yet.

CantSleepWontSleep · 17/05/2007 22:49

Sadly not quite in the 1%, as started dd on solids a little early to try and help her reflux, but still bf'ing at 15 months with no formula or cows milk ever given.

I don't reckon MN will have more than 1% you know.

berolina · 17/05/2007 22:52

Do I count? Mixed fed (reluctantly, to my anger and regret) for the first 4 weeks, then exclusively bf to 6 1/2 months.

Bectheneck · 17/05/2007 22:55

Oh yeah, DS is 20 weeks, exclusively BF and is a little chubster. I intend to make it to at least 6 months before weaning him although he is watching me eat with great interest!

I didn't get to 6 months with DDs before weaning as the 'norm' was 3-4 months when they were little.

emkana · 17/05/2007 22:56

Ah you're in Germany, so you don't count anyway!

Thanks for the b'day wishes btw!

mummypigoink · 17/05/2007 22:56

With dd1 was advised to wean at 4 months, with dd2 tried to get to 6 months, but at 5 months she was starving ~ milk just wasn't enough. were both over 6 months before gave any formula so at least i tried!!!

had conversation with girls at work about bf. one girl said to me she thought it was unnatural to bf.

not sure if i'm or just think its typical of so much that's wrong with society today (OMG I'm turning into a whinging old woman!!). To bite back I did ask her if she realised how stupid that statement made her sound (took it as a personal insult oops)

zazas · 17/05/2007 22:57

gosh i am suprised that the percentage is so low? I have just had my 3rd baby (3 weeks ago) and I breastfed my other 2 but they are 9 and 6 now. Definitely the 9 yr old the guideline was 4 months to introduce solids which I did and my 6 yr old it was nearly 5 months - although I continued bf much longer. Now it is 6 months - does it make a difference to continue that extra 2 months exclusively bf - will I reach 4 months and find it too much to continuely exclusively bf my baby? I guess what I am asking were the percentages higher when it was recommended 4 months but now that it is 6 months is it just too long for most woman to exclusively bf?

Having said that tonight she has been on and off me for about 4 hours straight - feel like introducing her to a 3 course meal tomorrow to avoid to much of this!

pickledpear · 17/05/2007 22:58

i still breastfeed and ds is 2.3 years but i could not be feed him soley on breastmilk for first 6 months as he was hungry he put on a pound a week easily and is still anytime feed in day or night but i love it he is my third and they all been fed till 2years but he is my baby