when i had my last baby a year ago, i honestly thught formula was almost as good as breastmilk

[codhotbod]

didn't realise there was all these risks involved in giving formula, if i had i would of percivered more with the bf.

i bet theeres lots of women that think formulas almost as good.

i personally wish i had made more of a informed decision, it doesn't help women really when others sugar coat the truth

I also thought that formula milk was very nearly as good as breast milk.

Yes, oyu are quite right.
These companies who make billions out of flogging formula, want you to believe there is no difference and there is.
What we choose to do is up to us,but the facts should be made freely available.

perhaps if someone had said to me, if you want to stop bf, its upto you but you should be aware of the risks ?
and then went on to tell me the facts.

too many, say stuff like oh well it doesn't matter, happy baby happy mum and all that.

really its quite patronising really to not treat women like intelligent adults

i didn;t make an informed decisoin either. and it rankles now, and i have joined babymilk action and got political about breastfeeding.. too late for my DCs. but what can i do?

i had no information about breastfeeding, no idea where to get info, no idea of helplines and support.

with DD i did try, and did not succeed, the sum total of my advice from a MW about breastfeeding , when i wanted to switch to breastfeeding when DD was 4 days old was, 'well, she will be unsettled if you put her on the breast, but you can have a go'

end of conversation.

there are risks to giving formula, but thank goodness, my two have been fine.

but i think there is a long way to go until breastfeeding is seen as normal again by the majority.

When I had my first (6 years ago) I also thought formula was as good as breast milk, and nothing, or nobody, told me otherwise. I did breast feed him, through my own choice, but only for a few weeks, until the HV advised me to top up with formula, which at the time firstly I thought HV's knew everything and because I thought formula was as good, it didn't bother me doing so, even though it led to me stopping breast feeding altogether.

DS2, 15 months, was breast fed till 11 months when he stopped wanting to feed.

I must say if I hadn't have found MN by the time DS2 was here, although I did have excellent support to BF once I'd started, I didn't get anything from any part of the NHS to actually get started.

I think whether or not to breast feed is completely down to the mothers choice, and I don't know how much support the NHS could give to start BF without seeming to 'push' it on the mother, or to make her feel guilty for FF, but I think a little bit of education for the benefits of BF could be given before the birth.

Lulumama

So, so you had no support.

But so lovely that you still give it to others (via MN & your doula-ing and the stuff you do at your local hospital).

{{{{hugs}}}}

i know

it is very until recently i used to dream about feeding DD and feel a let down in my sleep

anyhooooooooo.......

can i send you a couple of posters for teh baby day ?

can you email me your addy?

[hugs] to you codhotbod. but you have made the first few steps in coming to terms with your loss. stick around, read, ask for feedback round here. lots of compassion on mn for women in a similar position to you.

When I chose formula for ds1, I did so thinking "It's ok because we will always be able to afford it". I thought it was basically powdered breastmilk - to be honest, I didn't think very much at all about it - I was formula fed myself, and all the mums I knew formula fed.

thanks k

I had never really thought about it before having DS, probably thought it was much of a muchness.
"perhaps if someone had said to me, if you want to stop bf, its upto you but you should be aware of the risks ?
and then went on to tell me the facts.
"
I was thinking about this yesterday in relation to the breast isn't best thread. If a HV says:
"Definitely give BF a try, it has loads of benefits..."
vs
"Yes, of course you can gove your baby formula, however there are risks you need to be aware of..."
then IMO the second one is more accepting of bf as the norm and treating the woman as an adult with the capability to make an informed decision. Both imply the 'benefits' of bf, but the 1st is in a way that almost makes bf seem unattainable.

lulu can i have posters too please?

with pleasure but it is advertising a baby day in merseyside, i have a thread running in the charities tpoic..... which is a bit far from you i think !

makes me and too.

perhaps those around us thought, they were helping us .....

This seems to be the thread to share some stupidity of mine

when I was younger my Aunt used to wear a T-shirt with a slogan "take good care of your baby"
It had a stylised picture of a baby blowing a huge bubblegum bubble...so I thought
I actually only realised what it was about a year ago

lol that is great. what a great aunt

Personally, I find this thread unnecessary as there are plenty of mums and mums to be on here who possibly can't breastfeed and saying there are "risks" associated with ff is unfair to them.

Yes, we all know breast is best but for some it is just not possible.

it is not unfair. it is true. for women who are unable to breastfeed, whether through choice, lack of support post natal illness, pretending that formula is as good or as same as breastmilk does a great disservice to women, as it does not allow those that choose not to breastfeed ,make an informed choice

as someone who formula fed both of my DCs, i fervently wish someone had taken the time to actually discuss the pros and cons of feeding with me.

i don;t judge anyone who formula feeds, how could i? have done so myself.. what i do not like is the intimation that we should hide the fact that formula is not a perfect substitute.

also, a lot more women could breastfeed with adequate post natal support, another issue that needs addressing

Forgive me for being stupid, but what are the risks (haven't been keeping up with the news)?

two things off the top of my head is more risk of gastro illnesses and severe ones at that.. the new advice re making up each feed individually with freshly boiled water cooled for 30 minutes is that babies can -rarely but can - contract a fatal illness from formula milk as it is not Enterobacter sakazakii
and more risk of ear infections due to the different way of sucking a bottle than a breast
also, no immunity conferred as it is with breastfeeding

sorry, that was 3

no-one is saying all formula fed babies will get ill or suffer adversely , but some will

I do see your point lulumama but I don't think it is fair to those who can't for medical reasons (like me) to scare them by saying there are "risks" associated with ff.