how as a nation/society can we normalise bf

[robinredbreast]

these boards really make for sad reading,esp all the ill informed advice thats been posted in the last few days from hv gp etc

how are we going to improve things for us and future generations?

what are your ideas?

No, mybabysinthegarden, of course demonising formula gets us nowhere (where is formula demonsised, BTW, apart from, very, very occasionally, by some of the madder posters on mumsnet, and boy, do they get jumped on )

Nor do women want to be patronised, and your midwife was right, there.

The recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for six months is there because this gives the best health outcomes. To not state this is patronising. To state it without giving mothers info about where to get help is useless. If people think breastfeeding's qualities are reduced to nothing if they use formula then they're wrong, but I know of no literature or leaflet that tells them this - again, very rarely, you will hear of someone being told this , and if it's reported here, it's corrected.

This is probably a training issue. People whose job involves supporting bf women need to be able to correct myths, not perpetuate them.

I keep thinking I should write to the Sun and ask them to put a bfing woman on page 3 !

Incidenty did anyone else see the NHS bfing advert on tv the other day or did i imagine it?

I personally have never experienced negative cultural attitudes to breastfeeding babies under six months and breastfed my dd in all sorts of public places without being made to feel uncomfortable when she was little.

I think what has far more of an impact is the lack of help given to mothers while still on the maternity ward and the speed at which they are chucked out after delivery. If we were able to remain in hospital with really well informed midwives or breastfeeding counsellors on hand until feeding was truly established there would be far fewer women experiencing the horrendous problems that force them to give up (and write negative bf articles in national newspapers). Perhaps this is unrealistic - when I gave birth there was a desperate shortage of both beds and staff, but it would be worth fighting for.

Now as for negative cultural attitudes to breastfeeding toddlers - that's a whole different story - what is it with the bizarre 6 month cut-off? It may just be that it is rare (and therefore abnormal) to breastfeed toddlers, especially in the day time, because so many women work away from the home and couldn't therefore bf their toddlers even if they wanted to. I have experienced a fair amount of shock and/or disapproval for breastfeeding my two year old (and reference to little britain/that bloody extended breastfeeding programme). I always end up quoting the WHO guidelines and get all annoyed that I feel I have to justify myself.

Bumper - I saw that advert too, or at least the end of it - I thought I'd imagined it too!

'Twas a little patronising, but a good start! Glad it wasn't just me hallucinating!

I've had all the problems previously described i.e. midwife on ward post birth encouraging me to ff my baby because she wouldn't stop crying (I didn't), HV commenting to me on my DD weight because it wasn't on their FF baby WHO chart and warning me I may have to give up BF (I didn't and she's a happy healthy baby).

Its a pity women give up BF when they return to work as many seem to but after my experience since returning 3 weeks ago I'm not surprised. My DD is 6 months old now and I'm still BF by pumping at work. It has been a screaming nightmare getting a room for me to use. Despite all the problems I am pumping 3 times a day and feeding her myself twice a day but it is hard work, I can't deny it but I know I'm doing whats best for MY daughter. Apparently I'm the 1st women where I work to ever return to work and to carry on BF, this is a company with 500+ employees.

Midwives and HV's seem to come up again and again as a big part of the problem. I think the solution has to be much better training for them, and a proper bf set-up within maternity wards.

Not hv's fault if they haven't received adequate training. They need to know how to help when bf is not working for a mum and judging by the experience of many mn'ers, a lot of them don't.

I don't mean to suggest that all HV's are bad or ignorant, but there has been a lot of very strange advice coming from some of them.

Better bf care in maternity wards even more important IMO.

There are some government statisticshere (scroll down from mmr stats)

well I think HVs can be blamed for not being adequately informed tbh.
it really isn't that hard to learn about bf - for example you couldread a book or some articles in profressional magazines or go along to a session run by a bfc.

Stats suggest it's all about age and educational achievement. So to increase numbers significantly, would need to appeal to young mums with no A Levels.

Any ideas?

well it is their job though isn't it? a very very big part of it, tbh.
it isn't really good wnough to say I don't know anything about bf I never had any training.
also it's unforgivable to always talk such rubbish about bf.
(Not all HVs I hasten to add, and not all midwives either but it certainly isn't unusual)

I agree.
but if you don't know about SN then you should shut up, really, rather than give crappy advice.

well I don't know if that's true, about no training. as a society we don't really care too much about bf tbh.
the general view is that the "breast is best" stuff is propoganda put about by the bf nazis and it really doesn't matter how you feed your baby, it is a matter of choice. and the influence of formula advertising is pretty strong on health professionals.
I mean in RL and not on MN.
and of course it is hard work to support a woman to bf and loads easier/quicker to recommend she gives formula. which might be tempting to twake the easier option if you are pressed for time.
off the top of my head.

I think it would be useful for HVs to be reminded to refer on when something is outside their area of expertise. i.e. don't just push the top-ups when weight gain is an issue etc.

Of course, ideally they would try to expand their knowledge of bf, but if not, then acknowledging that they don't really know what they're talking about would be a start.

(Usual caveat that the above does not apply to all hvs)

(glad the bf is going well btw fio )

Agree bookthief - they just don't seem to be able to say "I don't know - I'll find out for you/refer you to x". Instead they just make things up with results that would be hilarious if the consequences weren't so dire. It was the thing that most exasperated me when dd was newborn.

Usual caveats etc etc

Yep, bookthief. knowing when you don't know something is important knowledge.

I have been reading our Health Board's new Infant Feeding Strategy. They are going to be getting a 3 day training course. GPs are getting 3 hours. Paediatricians & Ob/Gyns are getting an hour.

Of course, it depends on how good the training is as well. I wonder how much time they spend combatting the myths that are so widespread since my experience is that a lot of the misinformation that HCPs pedal about bf is stuff that they have picked up from hearsay/their own experience god knows how long ago.