Why do the government push breastfeeding but.....

[kayzisexpecting]

don't train midwifes/HVs etc?

My friend had twins 2 weeks ago and has been breastfeeding them. They have lost weight which she worried about and was planning to change to ff until she read in a magazine that a lot of babies lose weight in their first week or so. So she decided to keep at it with the help of the midwife. Now she has been discharged from the midwife's care and has the HV coming round. The HV has told her she would be better either BF just 1 baby or to FF both.

My friend was quite upset about this and has tried talking to HV about it, who insists the best thing would be to stop BF both twins. She rang La Leche League who have told her it's perfectly possible to BF twins. She is now very confused and has actually made an appointment to see the MW again to get her opinion. I said I's ask for opinions on here.

Thanks.

Perhaps the government assumes, like many, that women don't need help with breast feeding......

I know very little about this, but I've heard TAMBA (Twins and /multiple Birth Association) might be of some use.

The whole issue of HVs etc is long and broad and I'm not sure addressing it will be of much help to someone who is stuggling here and now. I'm sure she's got enough battles to fight!

It is infuriating. The mis-information is apalling.

The HV's excuse is that the government keep changing their minds about BF and FF and she recieves no training.

bonkers. Surely the easiest approach with twins would be to breast feed both as you can feed them both at the same time? Really odd to suggest only feeding one as how would you choose which baby should get the best milk and which had to have formula. My advice would be to tell her to trust her instincts and get help from pro-breast feeding professionals such as the helpful midwife rather than listening to people who tell her to stop instead of supporting her in continuing

You need Marsy.

Try posting the thread again but with something about bf-ing twins int he title, and she'll probably pop up!

I love the idea of ff one and bf the other. "You look a bit nicer, you get the breastmilk". WTF?!

yes well, she could make it her business to read research papers and attempt to keep up to date with real information instead of making it up

the HV i mean

I will do that Suburban. Thanks.

Of course it is possible to bf twins.
Am very cross that such crap advice should have been given. I am not a bf expert, but I know two sets of fully bf twins. I would avoid that midwife live the plague tbh.

kayz - try showing this to your friend.

I will show her that and I'll pass on your details. I just hope she gets some good advice from the MW.

i know of three different twin/mother bf relationships.

only one twin initially latched so both were put onto formula.

both were bf till 6m.

only one latched. (the other had reflux and some other problems) and so one was mixed/ff one bf.

the second two had really good advice and first none at all.

Go to yahoo attachment parenting multiples. They have hundreds of women breastfeeding twins on there only too willing to offer support. One really crucial thing for your friend to do is to learn how to feed both together- crucial for the inevitable evening marathons.

I BF twins for 7 months (stopped when I went back to work). I struggled a lot at first, they were prem and small and dropped weight in the first week (one briefly to under 4lb). Mostly I got the same advice, its difficult with one, try topping them up etc. Talking to someone who has done it though really does help.

Personally, I don't think the Govt push breast feeding enough IMO. I got very little support from my HV or MW - one MW said to me on the ward 'I haven't got the time to give you any special attention' particularly as every other mother on the ward was bottle feeding. Plenty of time to show FF mums how to sterlise bottles though.

There is only 1 MW round here and she is wonderful and very helpful. She kinda makes up for useless HV's so she should get good help when she goes to see her on Thursday.

God that hv deserves to be reported

~That is so crap advice

Best of luck to your friend, a friend of mine breastfed her twins and it was a bit of a struggle to start with but in the longterm was a lot easier than mixing up two lots of bottles and paying the double formula bill. It's a shame your friend was unlucky on the HV front. Mine was excellent, she told me right from the start that babies usually lose some weight to start off with and was very up to date. She made me feel really good about bf and had lots of informative brochures. She even set up a local bf support group where experienced mums helped new mums. I wish that everyone had hvs like mine and think that bf rates would be a lot higher if they did.

Quick update.

MW told friend that it is entirely her decision. If she feels comfortable BF both twins then she should carry on. But if she is finding it too hard she shouldn't be ashamed to top up with formula.