Gather round all pro-bfeeding anti-formula MNers I have a question..........................................

[Malaleche]

Shouldnt there be a be-all and end-all bible of breastfeeding info, experiences and statistics etc which every woman should be given at the first pregnancy check-up and MADE to read (yes, I know, maybe we could be examined on it and !) , which has been written by the WHO and breastfeeding experts and which could be the final and last word on bfeeding(...until new evidence means a new edition has to be brought out.....)

I just dont understand why there has to be so much conflicting advice out there and why some women are still so woefully ignorant about bfeeding at the end of the day....

I also agree absolutely that formula should be avaliable only on prescription but before that happens there needs to be a lot more education and (24 hr)support avaliable or there would be a lot of hungry babies and suffering mothers out there....and why don't govs give 9 months maternity leave on full pay if the WHO recommends 6 months exclusive bfeeding (am adding 3 months for establishing weaning)?

I posted about the breastfeeding manifesto a last week, so sorry for being a broken record, but it seems relevant. Find out if your MP has signed up to it by going to www.breastfeedingmanifesto.org.uk and add your support if you havent already done so. I had big problems getting bf established and started to mix feed out of fear, pressure and desperation - but have now got it sorted and think its the most brilliant thing on the planet (apart from my beautiful boy!) I went to the babymilk action website too, and some of the info i read there about formula manufacturers putting pressure on women in developing countries made me cry with anger.

twinkle, yes, m/ws and hvs do sort of 'prescribe' formula, but I was meaning literally prescribe ie you could only get formula via a midwife or health visitor (the way some medications can only be obtained on prescription)....and that's what horrifies me.

Infant feeding really needs to be control of mothers, supported by informed professional help where necessary. Imagine some woman, desperate to give formula, having to beg someone to prescribe it for her....and it being refused. I don't want to give anyone that power.

The Japanese massaging technique sounds weird to me and unnecessary, but the support and encouragement is good

Can we correct something about Norway? Norway was never a bottle feeding society like ours. In the 70s, bf rates had fallen, but initiation rates never went below 90 plus per cent...it was the use of formula at two to three months that worried the authorities. They never had stats like ours.

After the war, Norway was a very small, relatively poor, scattered population, and it was just not attractive to formula manufacturers who really started to push formula elsewhere in Europe and the US and Australia in the 50s and 60s. So in Norway, they never really got 'hold' of mothers and professionals the way they did here. When action was taken to protect breastfeeding, there was nothing like the cultural shift that would be needed here. They got in quickly, and turned things round, and because most women still started to breastfeed, the job was a lot easier than it would be here.

ds was born on a thursday night and had lost 10 0z by mon am, i dont think they are meant to lose that much, then hospitalized with severe jaundice.
i still get upset by the fact that i only bf for a very short while, and even had to express all the time.

even "then" had to express

too too much

for bitbaffled.

It's horrible when things go wrong, and so quickly, too, in your case....whoever was supposed to be checking you were bf ok (hospital midwives?) were clearly not doing their job.

why would you be ANTI formula?

fgs

it is a feeding choice, not poison

fgs

because of the health risks to babies compared to breastmilk oliveoil.
if you are still here

even the WHO describes as the best way for breastfeeding to be established is by peer-to-peer support at local level, with extra support from maternity services.

this is what the government needs to fund - local level breastfeeding support. however, the government at the moment gives money to the local NHS primary care trusts, who then distribute the money to where they think is the most needy.

obviously, maternity care isn't higher on their list!

and that's why i welcome children centres. only those who have breastfed can pass on the positivity of it on to another mother.

yes, well everyone KNOWS about the health benefits but still CHOOSE to formula feed

I b/f (why does everyone feel the need to justify that btw?) but used formula as well, I don't see the point of demonising it

and I am going now as these threads make my teeth itch

x

what a ridiculous idea.

god I'm right behind you Olive (with itchy teeth as well).

i had him in big hospital, and they did know he wasnt latching either that night, still let us go next morning.
transferred into local midwife run unit, which is closing this year , they were fantastic , tried really hard, helped me express.
we went home again on the sunday pm, and went in the monday am expecting to be dischagred, they weighed him, took one look, and sent s straight back to the big hospital for blood tests.
but milk still didnt come enough for him even after he recovered , glad to say he is now a bouncy 11m old, still only on 50th centile, but loves his food. i do feel sad to have ff as i said

At first I thought a BF Bible, what a good idea then I saw ....

'MADE' to read?!!!!!
and Formula only on prescription?

Maybe we should have GCSE in it and you can only get pregnant if you get an A*?

Maybe I should MAKE YOU read 'How To Make Friends and Influence People'

I dunno - I think it is worth talking about ideals. However, it is a very middle-class, educated and heartfelt ideal that comes across often on these threads. I wonder if that's why the message isn't getting through to as many people as it might?

One of the things that I've found sad though is that by suggesting that breastfeeding support can only be in the hands of the professionals we are at risk of yet again losing that generation of mothers who can help support and pass on wisdom to the others coming behind. If you keep on slagging off "poor bf advice" then what happens is that it gets worse not better. I've happily bfed both of mine, but have also used formula which makes me a pariah on some of the b/feeding threads (where on some of them only Tiktok, HM or Mears are welcome). I mixfed through informed choice but on so many threads that is practically equated with "failure" that I pretty much gave up all attempt at sharing my experience - and I know I'm not alone out there.

I think that we do need good, sound bfeeding support, but also recognising that the majority of our support will come through friends etc. Out of my NCT group we all breastfed, and at some point during that first year we all sought advice from a bfcounsellor. But only once or twice - the day to day problems were shared with friends, even though we accepted that we each had different choices (eg whether we were going back to work, whether we wanted to mixfeed etc). And yes, the advice was conflicting becuase none of us were experts, but we were sharing our experiences, on what positions worked, how frequently the babies fed, what colour the poo was etc, and personally I think that that personal contact with someone who is going through, or who had gone through similar challenges is more valuable than some bible on breastfeeding (says the woman who had "The Art of Breastfeeding" in her labour bag....).

Fio - who's asking to 'ban' formula???!!

Even Malaleche - who says she wishes she hadn't used 'anti-formula' in the thread title (it is a daft notion) and thinks she might be 'naive' in her suggestions - isn't suggesting a ban!

this whole argument is frankly insulting and downright hurtful to many many mothers

why not give out to mums the unicef babyfriendly bf leaflets - great info.

Have more bf support to help mums.

sahms need to be helped as well - perhaps some finacial incentives to bf after all bf saves the nhs lots of cash in the future.

Intelligent post LadyMuck - very true