Annabel Karmel wants people to post questions to Clare Byam- Cook - dare you!

[RubyBlueberry]

Have been on AK forum for a while (twas good for baby food recipes) and today she has sent everybody messages asking to post BF questions ... to Clare Byam Cook .... DOUBLE DARE YOU!!

Look here this page

I think experts who sell their advice are goverened by a different set of rules and marketing legalities. Alot of it is based on experience, which is hard to supervise.
I wonder if mums seeing CBC have a contract/disclaimer?

some great advice on the site btw.

Im waffling now, so i will leave you to it, nice chatting.

"This is just a thought... but the average new mum would recieve advice about BFing from Midwife/HV/Friends/family.... both midwife and HV advice should be your standard DOH guidelines... then if mums having issues, HV should give info/refer on to BF support of some kind..."

A lot of mums won't go researching when t goes wrong (see the stats on infant feeding). If you've turned to your family (and not had total duff advice as a lot of women find) and then your MW (who also didn't give you duff advice) and then your HV (again assuming she gave good advice) and then your GP (if you're very fortunate they give you good advice) how old is this baby that's potentially starving because your P&A is off which is why you've seen all these experts? Chances are along the way a lot of people have said the baby needs a bottle, mum has probably turned to it (milk bottle!) already and if all those people, medical professionals at that, giving "good" advice hasn't fixed the problem ten chances are the baby is no longer going to be breastfed.

"Experts who sell their advice are governed by a different set of rules and marketing legalities," you say, Goldie.

I've no idea what the law is, but anyone selling their advice has a moral obligation and responsibility to make sure their advice is sound, safe and helpful.

It's when advice is based on 'experience' - rather than a mainly knowledge-based, observation-based tick-box form, the sort you would get taking your car in for a service or MOT - that supervision is even more needed. It's not difficult to supervise this at all - I am baffled that you think it is! Of course you have to be part of an organistion or professional body that regards training and supervision as an important part of quality control.

I've just been having a bit of a google and although it's really old I thought you may be interested in this article on CBC www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/3305138/Breastfeeding-made-easy.html
The one thing that really stuck out to me was "A mother of two teenagers, Byam-Cook bottle-fed her babies because she didn't have enough milk, and has a briskly anti-establishment attitude to the prevailing JMO but I think it explains a lot.

^A mother of two teenagers, Byam-Cook bottle-fed her babies because she didn't have enough milk, and has a briskly anti-establishment attitude to the prevailing wisdom that breast is best.

"Midwives discourage women from occasionally using a bottle because a young baby will get 'confused' between the nipple and the teat. This is utter nonsense, and I can't understand why midwives are so out of date. The theory has been disproved by several studies."^

What studies is she referring to?

I have no issues with her latching on 'technique' as far as I can see in the article, and I do think it's essential for new mothers to be shown how to latch on their newborn properly- but surely her supply ideas are all wrong?

If a newborn nurses for hours isn't it to establish the milk supply? As I previously mentioned DS cluster-fed for about 8 hours less than 24 hours after birth- my milk came less than 12 hours later.
If I'd listened to her I would have given him a bottle instead- what would have been the point of that? It would have filled him up and discouraged himfrom nursing and delayed my milk coming in- and affected my supply. Not a good thing as far as I can see.

aurorec - I know of no studies which 'disprove' the confusion thing, and I would not be as dogmatic as saying that it is 'utter rubbish' but not everyone thinks bottle teats should be avoided because of this reason:

www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/breastfeeding/problemsandsolutions/nippleconfusion/

My experience is that if bf is going well, and the mum keeps it up, then babies can cope ok with both techniques.

However giving formula can certainly undermine confidence and milk supply at the mother's end of things.

You're right about frequent feeding, naturally enough.

Ohhhhhhhh... knowing CBCs personal breastfeeding history makes so much sense to me now. I no longer feel angry at her (her book was v unhelpful to me as first time mum, MWs tried to warn me but I didn't listen) but now I just feel sorry for her. She must just have a bee in her bonnet about low supply for personal reasons. As someone with a bee in her own bonnet I can relate to that. Even though I am still BFing a 14mo.

I think the reason the slebs like her is that she is bossy and is not in awe of them. However, I do think it a little of her to list her celebrity clients on her books. Why is a celebrity endorsement better than stats like "X% of women seen were still exclusively BFing at 6mo"... wait... don't answer that... I feel another rant coming on...

WHY is BFing support so crap generally? If it was men BFing I tell you, there would be BFing professionals (I mean in the sporting sense that that is where the earn their salaries from) in every town, there would be detailed instructions available rather than this "ooh it's natural it's lovely" floatiness, there would be online support via webcam videolink, there would be no squickiness about baring breasts in public...

Sorry don't know where that came from, feel better now I've got it off my chest (no pun intended). No offence meant to tiktok or any other of the excellent BFCs but - you ought to be paid a LOT more for your work. That is why CBC gets respect from certain quarters - b/c she charges hard cash. BFCs should be like dentists or physiotherapists - with the option of working for NHS for reasonable(ish) pay or setting up on their own, and under a gov-appointed regulatory body not a voluntary organisation. I think the competition would be a healthy wake up call to CBC and her like.

Sally, your diatribe reminds me of the famous article by Gloria Steinem written about 35 years ago.

If men could menstruate

lol I like it.
esp the last sentence.

LOVE that article!

I thought of this one as soon as I read that:

IF MEN HAD BABIES...

• Maternity leave would last two years....with full pay.

• There would be a cure for stretch marks.

• Natural childbirth would become obsolete.

• Morning sickness would rank as the nation's #1 health problem.

• All methods of birth control would be 100% effective.

• Children would be kept in the hospital until toilet trained.

• Men would be eager to talk about commitment.

• They wouldn't think twins were so cute.

• Sons would have to be home from dates by 10:00 PM.

• Briefcases would be used as diaper bags.

• Paternity suits would be a fashion line of clothes.

• They'd stay in bed during the entire pregnancy.

• Restaurants would include ice cream and pickles as main entree's.

• Women would rule the world.

Loving this thread