"Bottle-fed babies being put 'at risk' due to lack of information for mothers" - says the Telegraph, missing the point SPECTACULARLY

[hunkermunker]

"The obsession with promoting breastfeeding could be putting babies health at risk as mothers are not being given enough information about how to bottle feed their children, according to researchers."

Or, how about - midwives and health visitors are often not able to support breastfeeding well enough due to a lack of training and perhaps, just perhaps, the answer is not giving more information about bottlefeeding (because that's clearly not what the mothers want to do), it's giving better training to health professionals and raising awareness in mothers of how to tell that their babies are feeding effectively?

I see Clare Byam-Cook is spouting her drivel again. When will the papers quote someone who actually knows about bf?!

As for this:

"One midwife described the situation as "two-tier care" because breastfeeding mothers are given "wholehearted support", while bottle feeders were "left to it"."

Really? If this is the case, why aren't more women bfing at six weeks?

Of COURSE I am for safe bottlefeeding and women being shown how to make up feeds safely if they want to bottlefeed - but saying that the answer to women not breastfeeding for as long as they want is to show them how to make up bottles - seriously, how dense do you have to be to think that?!

[jimbobsmummy]

Well Duchesse I got none of that.I had no information at all. And I had my baby in the regional womens hospital, which has the largest number of deliveries of any hospital in the UK per year.

Not one of my 10 NCT friends got any of it either (I have asked them).

All I got was 'encouragement' (haha) to breastfeed even when it was clearly making my baby ill. But no support to do so. And total negativity about the very real need to mix feed him, yet with not one word about how to do it correctly.

[Babieseverywhere]

Jimbobsmummy, Did you not get a copy of the NHS Birth to Five booklet, which the NHS claim they give to all mums ?

I have two copies, one for each child. Through TBH I can't remember who gave me them, I think it was my midwife.

Certainly those mothers who get this book have the information needed as on[[http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_074889.pdf Birth to Five Pages 14 to 17 are clear concise instructions on formula feeding.

[Babieseverywhere]

Jimbobsmummy, Did you not get a copy of the NHS Birth to Five booklet, which the NHS claim they give to all mums ?

I have two copies, one for each child. Through TBH I can't remember who gave me them, I think it was my midwife.

Certainly those mothers who get this book have the information needed as on Birth to Five Pages 14 to 17 are clear concise instructions on formula feeding.

[jimbobsmummy]

Yes I did get the birth to five book. It was given to me when the health visitor came for the first time - this was when DS was 18 days old (as we weren't discharged by the midwife till then.) I'd figured it out by myself by then.

But even if I had been given it early enough to be of any use, who has time to sit and read a big book with a few day old baby to find what you need? And I still think the instructions in there are not really helpful and still don't explain why you have to do things the way you do.

For example. It says don't let the kettle cool for more than half an hour. This is very confusing,. If they explained the reason behind it, then it would make more sense and more people would do it right.

Also some bits are just wrong. It says don't add too much powder 'because it might make you baby constipated'. This is wrong, and potentially dangerous.

[Babieseverywhere]

I can see why this book was not helpful to you in the early weeks, as you didn't have it early enough.

That said the instructions are hardly an excessive length even for a new mum, barely two pages of clear instructions with photos.

I agree that it doesn't explain WHY you should do things this way. It is instructions onto HOW to make a bottle up safely. If a new mum wanted to read up why guidelines have been set as they have been. There are plenty of research and DOH documents on the web.

"It says don't let the kettle cool for more than half an hour."


"Also some bits are just wrong. It says don't add too much powder 'because it might make you baby constipated'. This is wrong, and potentially dangerous."

[jimbobsmummy]

People often misread it as 'boil the kettle then let it cool for half an hour' - which they then think well that takes forever, how on earth does that work in the middle of the night. Can't be doing with that... Or because it doesn't explain why you need to do it, people make up the bottles with boiling water as instructed, but then let it cool and add the powder later.

What it means is this 'Formula is not sterile. To make it safe and avoid illness in your baby you need to mix the powder for each bottle with water that is than 70 degrees - freshly boiled, or from a kettle that boiled no more than half an hour ago'. Why doesn't it say that?

Yes, it is of course vital that the right amount of powder is added. But the risk is not constipation. That can happen but it isn't serious. The risks are over/underfeeding. Also rarely but dangerously, it risks causing imbalance in the salts in the baby's blood if done frequently. This can cause serious illness including renal failure in severe cases.

[Babieseverywhere]

So it is not that the information is wrong but is lacking certain detail which you feel is essential. This is only the basic 'make a bottle safely' information, there is a detailed version of this information. A bottle feeding leaflet This should be given out to all mothers who are bottle feeding, by whom and at what point I am unsure. Did you ever get a copy of this one ?

Sadly some mothers will ignore the guidelines about making up feeds as needed and using water within 30 minutes of boiling, even knowing the reasons behind the guideline. Just read the many posts on the breast and bottle feeding thread to see many examples. Luckily the risks of not following the guidelines in the UK with good medical care are rare, though this must be scant comfort if your baby has a problem.

[Tigurr]

Blimey, I had had no idea the guidelines in the UK had changed. I had DD2 11 weeks ago here in Australia and bottle-fed from the start and nobody gave me any info so I just did what I did last time, almost 6 years ago (in the UK) = make up a whole day's worth of bottles of water, leave on the worktop and add the powder when necessary.

Shit

I need to google to see what the guidelines over here are.

[foxytocin]

follow the UK guidelines Tigurr. they are based on guidelines recommended by the WHO, ie everyone no matter where they live in the world.

[TotalChaos]

babieseverywhere - out of curiosity - how does one practically manage with a demand fed bottlefed baby in accordance with the new guidelines? do you have to make up each feed fresh by putting the kettle on, use boiling water, then cool the bottle before giving it?

[Tigurr]

I'll have to go re-read the guidelines again.

But to summarise, I can make the bottles up with water & powder in them and leave them in the back of the fridge? Is that right? It's just the "leaving bottles of water on the side and adding powder later" is a big no-no now?

It's confusing with different guidelines around the world. It's like when I was pregnant. First pregnancy was in the UK and the list of foods to avoid was quite small. This time around, my State's dept of Health has a sodding booklet listing out all the things I can't eat - a lot more stringent than the UK restrictions.

And then with weaning - it's 4-6 months here, like it was in the UK when I had DD1 almost 6 years ago.

I can't keep up LOL

[verylittlecarrot]

Tigurr - this is my understanding;

The powder is not sterile, and can contain very nasty bugs, so very hot water is needed to scald the powder and kill any bugs. Using boiled water that has already cooled too much will not kill the bacteria in the powder.

Not withstanding that, even if feeds are made this way, the advice is not to make up a day's worth in advance and store in the fridge, because bacteria can STILL continue to develop in made-up milk, even if refridgerated.

So it's make it using very hot water, cool it, and serve immediately, then discard quickly and repeat all over again for next feed. There are some suggestions on other threads for how to make this process as efficient as possible without increasing risk. You may want to do an archive search.

[Babieseverywhere]

Tigurr,

I read the guidelines to say what Carrot posted.

In addition the ready made cartons of forumla are sterile unlike formula powder. Some mothers use ready made forumla for speed at night or when outside the house. This forumla can be served cold or warmed to babies preference when used.

TotalChaos,
I do not know how to manage a demand fed bottlefed baby, maybe someone else will post.
"do you have to make up each feed fresh by putting the kettle on, use boiling water, then cool the bottle before giving it?"
That is what the guidelines say.

[LizzyBirdsworth]

I formula fed all of my three children and can categorically state that there was virtually no support from the midwife or hospital regarding bottle sterilisation, powder measures etc.

The level of support offered may well vary from one health authority to another. A little consistency and would be nice though.

[AvrilH]

I suspect the same hospitals that provide no support to breastfeeding mothers, provide no support to formula feeding mothers.

My hospital went a step further and refused feeding support of any kind to my high-risk baby

[hunkermunker]

TC, yes, you make up feeds fresh. But you only need to make sure the powder is mixed with the hot boiled water - you can add cooled boiled water once it's mixed. Or, if you make it up with all hot boiled water, you can stand it in a jug of cold water (which is far safer than using a jug of hot water) or run it under the tap.