Hi all
Just back from hols so apologies for delayed response.
I do recall the phone conversation with the Scottish journalist - mostly as it was the day before my hols and I was in company of all 3 of my children on the way into a music class and it was all rather chaotic. But I'm pretty sure despite this, that I can remember most of what I said and it wasn?t all as reported .
She said there was some directive in Scotland saying mums were being told they had to breastfeed for 2 years - ok journo alarm bells should have started to ring, but time was short so I immediately went into my - yes extended breastfeeding is important and v popular on Mumsnet but we have to get people started on breastfeeding -rant which went something like ...
Everyone knows breast is best and lots of people who breastfeed for two years and beyond on Mumsnet, but the crucial thing is to get people started on breastfeeding in the first place.
It would be a shame if people being told that they had to breastfeed for two years put them off even trying. We know from many threads on Mumsnet that some people find the first few days or weeks tricky, so we'd be keen to see more help directed, and particularly more peer to peer help, to help women establish breastfeeding and want to stick with it.
That said if people need help or encouragement to stick to the guidelines and keep on breastfeeding to two years and beyond then Mumsnet is definitely the place to come.
That was what I was expecting them to use.
Having had the time to pause/reflect/ take stock (and read this thread) I wish that I'd also made tiktok's point about society/ workplace etc making it easier for people to breastfeed for longer and will certainly try and get that point across next time I'm asked (if I'm ever allowed to speak on this subject again)
On the WHO, guidelines - and here I have to ?fess up - I admitted to the journo that I wasn?t completely up to date, as I?d thought that the guidelines were exclusive b/feeding for 6 months and then recommended along with solids for minimum a year. ie I didn't realise that the current guidelines were saying two years, which is not the same as saying there's no evidence for it. As you say Hunker I probably should have known my facts and if I'd been at work I might have checked with you all, (as reethi96 points out, checking the WHO site might not have helped) but I was caught on the hop, she had a deadline and so did I.
We talked about the third world and how vital extended breastfeeding was there, but certainly not in terms of the guidelines only applying to the third world. At one point I talked about guidelines being guides that were often debated on Mumsnet but ultimately people chose to follow or not - but again not in the way that that final quote came out! Basically I gabbled for about 10 mins and they used every 7th word (approx)
Anyway, thanks for allowing me to give my side of the story (though even I can see why I may have needed subbing ? note to self to be more concise and to the point). I?m genuinely sorry that by failing to ask to check copy (and perhaps being less than well prepared) I've damaged the cause - and won't be making that mistake again.
Carrie