Definitions of "exclusive" breast-feeding

[SouthernLights]

I fully admit this is a bit of a guilt-indulging thread, so if you don't want to read my self-flagellating nonsense please feel free to move on.

I always thought of myself as having "exclusively" breast-fed DD until she was about 6 months old, when we started introducing regular bottles of formula because I was back to work. However, I've been reading some other bits and pieces on here that have made me look again at the definition, and now I feel like I didn't make as much of an effort as I could have.

So her feeding history is this:

• Drip feed in SCBU for the first 12 hours because I fell asleep after a long labour and EMCS, and no one woke me up to express as per my request
• 2 formula feeds in SCBU the second day, because her blood sugar was low and because she was jaundiced and sleepy, it was tricky to get her to latch properly and suckle for long (nurse insisted, telling me it was either FF or put her back on the drip)
• 3 top-up FFs on the ward the third day, from a cup, after BFing, which brought her blood sugar up to an "acceptable" level and MW agreed she didn't need it anymore
• 1 bottle of EBM a day from 4 weeks
• baby rice with EBM once a day from 17 weeks
• fruit purees from 21 weeks
• occasional ready-mix FF from 5 months, if DH ran out of EBM before I got home from work
• gradual introduction of soy formula (dairy was exacerbating eczema) from 6 months, replacing one BF with formula every couple of weeks
• just dropped the last BF at 8 months

Do I at least qualify for "predominantly" breastfeeding?

Again, sorry for the "poor-me" attitude here but I just wanted to vent it so it didn't build up.

Well she's not been exclusively breast fed, but a lot of that seems to be down to the tough start that you had.

She has certainly been predominantly breast fed and it will have done her a lot of good too!

You should feel proud of yourself.

The ebm I'd count, it's still breastmilk! I'd think of the formula she had in the first few days as medicine {hug}, and so breastfed until the baby rice came in at 17 weeks.
I'm not a medical person so no idea if it could have been avoided but such a shame no-one woke you to express. There might not have been any need for the formula if they had done

I agree - you have managed to breast feed loads, even though you both had a tough start. Every single feed you gave her was helping her so stop feeling guilty!

My LO has had 1 FF (DH ran out of expressed milk) in 6 months and I spent ages feeling guily about it - then I realised it was really daft so I stopped . Be proud of what you have achieved and stop worrying about what you didn't do.

Every breastfeed makes a difference.

SouthernLights, you can get definitions from here:

www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/infant_feeding_definitions.pdf

EBM or direct from the source is not an issue in the definitions.

Does that help?

Why be critical of yourself?

These definitions are technical - not aimed at individual mothers to judge themselves by, or judge their 'performance'. They are for researchers who are writing papers, so there is consistency in the terminology across the world and in different situations.

There is no 'qualification' you need to get, honestly

Tiktok - it doesn't have one for a baby who has received a few formula feeds in the past but is then back on exclusive breastmilk. Would they be classed as "partial breastfeeding" - so classed the same as a baby who is receiveng 4 bottles of formula a day and some breastfeeds?
(I know it doesn't really matter as in you don't get a medal for exclusive breastfeeding but for research purposes surely it makes a difference?)

I'd say, after a rocky start, exclusively bf til 17 weeks.

But every feed counts.

You breastfed her til 8 months, which is brilliant!

goingnowhere, you're right.

I don't know what the category would be!

goingnowhere, as that has been the feeding pattern for my baby too, I'd like a category which recognises it.

Oh yes, there is a sixth circle of hell for mothers who negligently fall asleep after giving birth and thereby FAIL the exclusively-breast-fed test. Yes indeed.

LOL @ Quattrocento!

Tiktok - thank you so much, your BFing information as always extremely useful. Why be critical of myself? Because that's what mothers do, isn't it? I was talking with a colleague at today who was saying how guilty she feels about deserting her poor babies (DD 2.5 yrs, DS 1 yr) - she works 2 nights a week - and that made me feel bad about not feeling guilty for working full time nights and trying to be a mum at the same time!

That's why I think MN is so vital - lots of support for parents who are trying to live up to an ideal and beating themselves up when they fall short of perfection.

I like goingnowhere's definition of early days formula as "medicine". And thank you all for your reassurance!