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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

We have had Hilary Jones, now hear what Kevin Harrington, obstetrician at The Portland has to say about breastmilk......

58 replies

BCLass · 27/04/2009 11:53

'The breastfeeding police frown on the use of cabergoline,' he told the Sunday Times.

'But for some women their breasts are an important part of their sexuality and they don't want to use them to provide milk.

'There is not enough difference between breast milk and infant formula to make a fuss about it.'

Admitedly from The Daily Mail

As a scientist, surely he cannot, logically, come to that conclusion??

Hey Ho, at least it was 'breasfeeding police' and not 'breastfeeding Nazi's'

OP posts:

BelleWatling · 27/04/2009 13:06

Just hold onto the bit in The Whole Woman where Germaine Greer said comparing an Obstetrician to a Neurologist is like comparing a plumber to a Nasa Engineer...

This is the second anti-BF article in The Times in as many weeks. Does Rupert Murdoch hold shares in SMA?

Pannacotta · 27/04/2009 13:14

I haven't read either article but have read far too pieces many in the Times which have been very negagtive about breastfeeding.

I totally agree with coochicoo's post, it is very sad that an intrinsic part of child rearing (in many cultures at least if not in the UK) is often so rubbished by our press, both broadsheet and tabloid.

aurorec · 27/04/2009 13:26

I thought sagging breast were a result of age pregnancy?

Not surprised at all about the French woman's comments. As I mentioned before I'm French and a family freak in that I nursed DD till she self-weaned and DS is still exclusively BFed (he's 7 1/2 months and refuses to try solids ).
I know plenty of women in France who have taken that drug- some of them relatives. It's very commonly given over there as BFing is considered a 'weird' lifestyle choice- no-one ever discuss the health benefits, only the physical constraints to the mother.
As far as I can tell BF is absolutely NOT the norm in France and is not recommendeed at any stage of the pregnancy.

hunkermunker · 27/04/2009 16:55

It's pregnancy, not breastfeeding, that has the effect on breasts

aurorec · 27/04/2009 17:17

I knew it!!! Thanks hunkermunker!

Divvy · 27/04/2009 17:20

Since when has formula milk contained stem cells then?

19fran76 · 27/04/2009 17:23

I am still breast-feeding my eight month old baby & I must admit that the more I read articles/hear views such as this/am bombarded with formula advertising the more 'militant' I feel & the longer I feel inclined to continue this arrangement. I didn't start out with this frame of mind but have found becoming increasingly politicised has been an inevitable response to what can often feel like hostility for making this choice. As other posters have said, it is saddening but it also angers me that our culture is so far removed from being truly supportive of mothers & babies.

SesIsCountingdowntheweeks · 27/04/2009 17:26

Am gobsmacked!!!
Due to give birth to DC1 in 2 weeks and really want to make a success of BF for at least 6 months. These articles do nothing to encourage me or any family/friends that don't understand.
Fortunately it won't put me off but my parents are already a bit negative about me BF so I just hope they don't see these!

StealthPolarBear · 27/04/2009 17:59

Good luck Sesis - stick with MN and you'll get lots of support if you need it, hopefully you won't!
I knew bf wasn't as widely spread as here but didn't realise that was backed up ( for want of a better phrase) by their health system1 Does it not occur to them that the WHO guidance is there for a reason?!

SesIsCountingdowntheweeks · 27/04/2009 18:05

Thanks Stealth

StealthPolarBear · 27/04/2009 18:07

good luck with the birth as well of course

TotalChaos · 27/04/2009 18:19

Only read the Daily Mail one not the Times one. I am utterly puzzled. As there doesn't seem to be any real evidence that women who don't breastfeed at all are offered or ask for this sort of medication unless there are exceptional circumstances. And the risks of the medication aren't mentioned at all.

chandellina · 27/04/2009 18:31

the headline said women are shunning BFing to "stay trim." Read the article and apparently trim means perky boobs. ??

no mention of BFing actually helping to lose baby weight.

Wonderstuff · 27/04/2009 18:43

19fran76 I feel exactly the same as you. Didn't realise until I had my dd and bf how bfing was such a political issue. Times Article was awful, DM at least had some medics disagreeing. I can see that this drug would be a godsend if you lost a baby before your milk came in, but can't see the point of it otherwise. A cynic might think that Harringtn had links to Pfizer??

Wonderstuff · 27/04/2009 18:52

Also why no mention of health benefits for women bfing?

aurorec · 27/04/2009 18:54

Wonderstuff the drug is for women who don't want to nurse at all- it stops the milk coming in so you avoid engorged breasts/blocked ducts etc.
That's why it's so popular.

TheOldestCat · 27/04/2009 18:56

Uh-oh, it's us pesky WOHMs who are to blame (for everything according to the Daily HEll, I know):

"It is also being used by career women who want to make a swift return to work, but do not want to have to cope with expressing milk from their engorged breasts when they do so."

I LOVED nipping to the first-aid room at work to express milk from my 'engorged breasts' when I went back to work - best break I got all day.

Wonderstuff · 27/04/2009 19:00

I get that I just don't understand putting yourself at risk when milk drys up pretty quick naturally if you don't initiate bfing. But then I also don't get why you'd make an 'informed' choice to not bf because your husband regarded your tits as his property...

lljkk · 27/04/2009 19:01

But breastfeeding gives you BIGGER boobs.
Ok, maybe not after you finish, but it definitely boosts bra size until you stop.
DH has been overjoyed about me feeding 4 babies.

Haribosmummy · 27/04/2009 19:06

Well, I'm no expert, but I gave birth to DS at the portland and can absolutely say there is no real emphasis on breastfeeding.

In fact, I was TOLD (by Paed) to mix feed DS from birth.

I'd also go to say (though it's a personal opinion) that solely breastfeeding was looked down on.

But, that said, I'm going back to the portland for this baby too!!

tiktok · 27/04/2009 19:19

Look, everyone....don't believe everything you read in the papers. Cabergoline is not widely used at all - it's a story got up from just about nothing.

StealthPolarBear · 27/04/2009 19:27

TBH that's not really the issue for me, and I know very little about it. The thing that makes me angry is the media use any excuse they can to trot out the same old myths about bf.

tiktok · 27/04/2009 19:29

SPB, I agree - it's disturbing that a nothing story can be trotted out as a backdrop for stupidity and myth

goodnightmoon · 27/04/2009 19:36

it would be a valid story (not well presented, but valid) if it had actually been able to establish that this is a growing trend, or otherwise newsworthy.

There was no data on usage at all, and the so-called increase was solely anecdotal.

19fran76 · 27/04/2009 21:05

Daily Mail is found to be more reasonable than The Times...what strange times we're living in Hey, Wonderstuff, good to feel others share some of the same feelings. SPF, I agree, it's the excuse to have a pop at bf, dressed up as 'journalism' that's annoying.

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