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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

was shocked by the amount of bottle-feeders in hospital

737 replies

misdee · 27/02/2005 09:35

found it quite upsetting at times. my bed was by the empties 'bottle bank', so saw how many people on the ward were bottle feeding. in the 4 days i was there, there were 10 women on the ward in total, and only myself and another lady was breastfeeding. The midwives offered help to everyone, but most decided on bottles.

the reason i found it upsetting was because i didnt want dd3 to have formula but that choice was basically taken away from me whilst she was SCBU and was given formula by tube.

OP posts:
Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 12:34

Hmm Bean I did read, I looked through almost the entire LLL website, I asked my mum who breastfed me about it...I asked about 10 midwives about it..... I spent days in bed with him...nights in bed with him..... sometimes it just doesn't work out!

wanda · 28/02/2005 12:34

Oh and Beansmum, I take your point about people reading up on things, however if they read this thread they would see that according you there are absolutley no downsides to bf. Also I have never found a book that tells you the real truth about the pain, the lack of sleep and the discomfort.

Beansmum · 28/02/2005 12:37

I actually said that there are no downsides for me and that I can't think of any downsides which would outweigh the benefits of breastfeeding

oops · 28/02/2005 12:39

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Eulalia · 28/02/2005 12:39

Haven?t read all this thread and have toyed with the idea of posting/not posting as I often repeat myself. I think in general most women do want to breastfeed and the ones who absolutely decide not to beforehand are in the minority. Some of the ?want-to?s? are a bit uncertain about it. The rates are low for various reasons which have been covered many times. Despite all the literature around there still seems to be quite a lot of ignorance about the health benefits. One problem is that because b/feeding rates are low is that childhood illnesses are just seen as ?common? and ?normal? whereas they don?t have to be. Things like bad ear infections, stomach upsets etc. I can only put forward my own experience (without sounding as if I am boasting) in that my ds (age 5) and dd (nearly 3) have never had an ear infection or been ill (other than colds). They have an exceptionally good immune system. There is significant difference between some childhood illneses ? research on hospital admissions has shown this ? and this relates to the feeding method of the child.

Obviously there are other factors to health and for some method of feeding won?t make a huge difference. I mean I was only b/fed for a few weeks myself but I did have an awful ear infection which led to a hugely swollen ear drum that wouldn?t burst and had to have grommets and now have mild deafness in that ear. I am very healthy otherwise though (so far anyway!), however my memory of the pain and inconvenience was enough for me to be determined to b/feed my children. As I say there are others whose bottle fed children seem to be perfectly healthy and indeed I am sure they are but we have to remember that the benefits of breastfeed are lifelong and therefore not always immediately apparent. Other factors such as genes, environmental health and just bad luck can appear to negate any breastfeeding benefits. Time again I hear the stories of ?but my baby was breastfed and he still got X, Y and Z illness?. Yes b/fed babies get ill too but the illness won?t be as severe. B/milk has antibodies and is specifically designed for your baby, whereas all formula milk is exactly the same, every single time and has no protection against illness at all.

In this day and age with very little life threatening illnesses around there isn?t going to be huge threats to the bottle fed baby although of course many babies do find formula difficult to tolerate (after all we have to remember it is artificial milk) but it just seems a shame to turn away from something that our own bodies can produce naturally, nicely warmed with all the immunological properties, right amounts of fats, minerals, water content etc and know that it is helping mother at the same time with regard to her own health. I think it is entirely up to individuals how they feed their babies and wouldn?t criticise them but there are an awful lot of women who have wanted to and haven?t for many reasons (again been covered). I don?t think it helps though to fudge the issue about health benefits because they are real.

wanda · 28/02/2005 12:44

We are back to personal choice again. Beansmum you were either very lucky to have so few downsides or very brave in facing them. However for some people the very clear downsides that lots of new mums face (most of which are covered on this thread) are simply too much to take. In those circumstances it has to be better for all concerned to switch without being made to feel bad about it.

HappyMumof2 · 28/02/2005 12:47

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Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 12:48

Incorrect latch is a major downside and although it can be rectified it often isn't because hospitals don't have the training or the resources to provide a good breastfeeding counsellor. Incorrect latch can lead to problems like the ones I had; a screaming thin child who produced meconium for 2 weeks, constantly bleeding nipples, constant attempts at breastfeeding through the day and night and as a result I was constantly in tears at my failure and the pain.

There are quite a few more major things that can make breastfeeding very difficult, nipple confusion is another biggy, nurses who like to sneak in and give your child a cup/spoonful of formula because it 'will quiet them down for the tired mum and won't confuse them' are often the cause in my experience....

Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 12:49

Sorry was replying to bean who couldn't think of any downsides, thought i'd give the first two that popped into my head!

Poshpaws · 28/02/2005 12:50

Nice to see that this has kept relatively civilised and almost not turned into one of 'those' threads ...see earlier comments.

Beansmum, I read loads of books which told me I will be able to breast feed...and I couldn't for the reason of extremely low milk production, despite that fact that i found it easy and Ds latched on immediately and pain-free.

Have only since found out that there are breast feeding clinics, MNetters have given me great confidence to believe that milk production and non-engorgement are not reasons to be unable to breastfeed, but if I had not heard of MN or seen the posters for BF clinics, I may never have know about them or ben given info.

Agree with the majority when they say that it is information and advice that is the key.

Still does not guarantee that I will be able able to bf this time round though....

wanda · 28/02/2005 12:51

Eulalia
I'm sorry but you make a few sweeping statements that I have to talke issue with. First breastfed babies can and do get very bad ear infections, colds and other childhood ilnnesses, far too sweeping to say that these illnesses will not be as bad as for a bottle fed baby! Also I think I a right in saying that almost all formula feeds do now have probiotics in them. Not as good as breastmilk I agree wholeheartedly but lets not exagerate and scaremonger Please.

Beansmum · 28/02/2005 13:00

All mothers need all the support they can get, and I would certainly try to support any of my friends who decide to bottle feed, but I still don't understand why so many people don't breastfeed and I stand by my statement that for me there are no downsides.

I'm not talking about people who try and then have problems, but people who don't even put the baby to the breast once. It's none of my business why people make the choices they do but I'm curious.

HappyMumof2 · 28/02/2005 13:04

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oops · 28/02/2005 13:04

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Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 13:05

Even if it all goes perfectly you can still be harrassed in public places by awful people - being walked up to in a park/cafe and being told 'that's disgusting and perverted!' or 'I'll tell the mananger because I wouldn't want my DS to see you doing that'... sometimes just the thought of those situations is enough to put a stressed and shy first time mum off

Poshpaws · 28/02/2005 13:06

TBH Beansmum, I do agree with you about giving things a go - but maybe that depends on the person you are. I will try anything once, well almost anything and definately feel better for giving it a go, even if it doesn't work out.

oops · 28/02/2005 13:06

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oops · 28/02/2005 13:09

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Poshpaws · 28/02/2005 13:12

Think it happened to Fastasleep

HappyMumof2 · 28/02/2005 13:13

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Beansmum · 28/02/2005 13:13

I have fed ds all over the place, on buses, trains, shops, in cafes and art galleries and even now he is getting quite big (9 months but HUGE) the worst I have got is a strange look. Maybe I am just lucky.

Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 13:13

It's happened to me, and one of my friends who was breastfeeding an older child of about 15 months who got told that it was child abuse because the baby was old enough to know what was going on!!...I also got told I was suffocating my child because I would put him under a sheet after the first two episodes!

Fastasleep · 28/02/2005 13:14

Come to think of it the suffocating comment came from my mum!!

Beansmum · 28/02/2005 13:17

I think it would be a lot easier if grannies were banned from commenting! So many people have stories of the stupid things their mums or MILs have said

FairyMum · 28/02/2005 13:21

I have also fed everywhere. Have had plenty of comments,but it really doesn't bother me. I think the Birtish are very uptight anyway and just laugh about it to me Swedish friends.

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