Would you sign a petition to make formula only available on prescription?

[FourArms]

I've just been sent a link to this petition.

I don't think there is any way this would happen now in the UK, but would it be better than the current situation?

The further petition details are:

Breastfeeding has always, and will always be the best way to feed a baby. If Infant Formula Milk is only available on prescription, it will mean that a mother will have to physically talk to her doctor about any issues (including physical, emotional and mental)she has with breastfeeding. This will mean that the incidence of breastfeeding will increase and the level of support that women have with their breastfeeding will also increase. It will also mean that there will be fewer illnesses in babies and young children, costing the NHS millions less in resources, and leading to a generally healthier population.

it is exactly this kind of monomaniac over zealous war cry to sign dodgy petition that causes rifts and angst.

judgemental and divisive.forcing mums to attend gp for a non prescriptom item reducing choice and adding bureaucracy does not help anyone.

No way!

It will cost the NHS millions in formula costs, as GPs will have to dish it out to stop people inadvertently starving their babies, and children get free prescrptions.

As people say, much better to help people bf longer and possibly make it a criminal offence to ask a bf mother to stop doing so or move on.

Scottishmummy - "it is exactly this kind of monomaniac over zealous war cry to sign dodgy petition that causes rifts and angst." Has anyone on here actually called on anyone to sign the petition? The OP asked whether it would be a better situation, and as far as I can see everyone on the thread has said that they wouldn't sign...

No one on mumsnet has 'called for' signatures for this petition - not even the OP.

All posters on this thread agree it is a bad idea, for a variety of reasons.

The petition itself has a handful of signatories only - just 22.

Most posters on this thread manage to express their opinion that it's a bad idea without using abusive language, without hearing 'monomaniac war cries', and without seeing imagined 'bombastic and sanctimnious' calls to bf.

A few posters have managed to work up an outraged head of steam, nevertheless....bit daft, really.

No.

So stupid! I'm lucky that I live in an area with really good bf support but still had times when I felt my bf probs were heading me towards PND. On the days when i couldn't express enough and the thought of having to do every agonising hour long feed took me to a very dark place, the cartons of formula I could just go over to Sainsbury's and buy kept me going to exclusive bf. If I'd had to go to the GP's every time that happened, I would have cracked up and it's likely my baby would now be fully formula fed. I always wanted to and intended to bf, and it was the community support available that helped me achieve this goal, not the fact that I wasn't ALLOWED formula as I didn't have a medical need (or did I? who decides?) I find it hard to understand women who choose not to give bf a go at all, but can fully empathise with those that can't for whatever reason. But at the end of the day, I support the right to choose. The fact that formula is available to anyone who wants to buy it at any shop doesn't phase me at all. It's not breast milk, but it is designed especially for babies and will not make them ill or ruin their life! What does phase me is the lack of time and training that hopital mw's have in helping you to get bf establised, or hearing a HV at a clinic telling a mum to start mix feeding as her baby has put on weight slowly with no mention of how to improve her bf technique or sending her to the bf group happening IN THE NEXT ROOM!!!

I agree completely that formula should be prescripton only. It should only be used if medicaly neccessary, not just because mum can't try, won't try breastfeeding. I find it ridiculous that you can choose to not nourish your baby yourself and find the usual excuses/reasons mothers use formula milk to be utterly utterly selfish. Sorry everyone, I know my views are strong but it really annoys me!!!

mums need support and non-judgemental listening.someone listening to,and taking their narrative seriously not rubbishing it as "find the usual excuses/reasons mothers use formula milk to be utterly utterly selfish".have you thought maybe the same reasons are repeatedly cited because they are actual lived experience,not excuses/reasons

your misplaced judgemental ire is unhelpful

no wonder bf zealots like you get people goat.with such sweeping generalisations eg if only they tried harder no excuses

in health their is no one size fit all. no mantras

only individuals and their lived unique experience.

the trick is how to support mums not pillory them

brightyoungthing - please read the thread.

Even if you think it's a good idea in principle, reading the thread will show you why it's a bad idea in practice (and introduce you to why it's actually not a good idea in principle).

Nothing wrong with having strong views. But yours are based on a lack of knowledge. Hope you will open your mind and heart and see how wrong you are.

You're not living up to your name brightyoungthing.

However, I would still like to see a generic formula available on prescription to those who need it. Although I do accept that some doctors/health authorities would use it as a get out instead of providing proper breastfeeding support.

Brightyoung thing at your comments

no way. How bizarre. Another way to make mums feel guilty.

How bizarre that there are so many men among the signatories and one from a F4J style organisation.

I would sign a petition to get the government to pump (heh) more money into providing trained bfing advisors to every woman who wants to try - in hospital and at home. The support is dismal at the moment and is the reason so many fail at it

No

There are many reasons why a woman can't breastfeed you make it sound like its a choice thing - both my first two sons were very ill with Breastminlk jaundice and the 'professionals' (midwifes etc) told me to continue bfding at all costs - that my eldest would work through it.

When I delivered my 3rd DS, there was a young mother in hospital stressed out of her mind (not good for BM) that her baby was becoming sicker and sicker by the day as she breast fed. Her DS like my first DS ended up in special care after losing over 15% of their body weight. The advice offered to both of us was to continue to BF. When my DS was six weeks old I was told by a very brave peadiatrician (sp?) not to BF him for a week - the midwives were furious but the difference was almost immediate.

When my second DS was born I tried to feed him again but by day three he followed the same pattern and neead special care treatment. Formula was introduced much more quickly, however when DS three was born I ignored the pressure from the Midwives and (because I already had children I think they were happier to let me get on with it) and I breast fed, but intoduced a top up formula feed.

Interstingly, for the first three days he took a full formula feed after 30minutes 'feeding' off me - which led me to belive that he hadn't actually been getting anything from me at all (possibily the same thing had happened with the other two and dehydration and jaundice had combined to send them in to special care?) After that he fed well off me and took slighly less of his formula - but he still needed phototherapy.

One of the midwives had actually mentioned that in different cultures, the mothers refused to let the babies anywhere near their breasts for the first three days until their milk was in, thier babies were bottle fed during this time and then placed on the breast.

Whilst it is accepted and well known that BF is normally the 'best' thing for the babies, there are the exception to the rule and sometimes it isn't completly possible. This isn't a new thing (wetnurses have been around for years!) what is new is the pressure that new mums often feel to BF.

You know what it's like - you want to feel like you are doing the best thing for your baby and often that is just to follow your own instinct and not be pressurised, a sick baby is a very worrying thing to deal with and sometimes it is out of your control. We should be able be objective about it and accept that sometimes, for some mums, breast isn't the best....

There are enough things in the media/society to make us feel like a failure and all I know is that if it was down to the midwives who worked with me on the delivery of my first DS, I wouldn't have received a prescription for formula.

Thankfully we live in a society where freedom of choice (for whatever reason) still exists and I wouldn't like to see that changed.

Would this not mean that all formula would be paid for by the NHS, there is now way that will ever happen

No no no.

I tried and tried and tried to bf ds1, had loads of help, but he just wouldn't do it. It broke my heart to give him formula, but he thrived on it.

Tried again with ds2, and he took to it like a duck to water, no probs at all and no help needed.

I believe that bm is better for babies, but life isn't the pepsi challenge, and there are times when it isn't possible. Even when the mother chooses formula, she is still responding to the needs of her child.

Ds's are now 7 and 4, ds 1 now has eczema (ff) but ds2 who was exclusivly bf'd gets asthma, bf isn't a cure all

brightyoungthing Tue 23-Feb-10 21:12:21
"I agree completely that formula should be prescripton only. It should only be used if medicaly neccessary"

Ah ha, and what about when the doctors do not know that there is a medical necessity? It took 10 years(!) before a specialist finally worked out that the reason breastfeeding had worked so badly for my dd was because of a medical condition she had. 10 years would be a bit of a long time to wait for a prescription, don't you think?

Momentarily distracted there: was really coming back to the thread to say how nice it is to see so many sensible and measured opinions.

I find all the comments about women needing more support to BF are completely ridiculous. How much support do women need to do the most natural job in the world?? Obviously there are medical conditions where women will need good support and advice to help them BF more effectively, but on the whole we should just get on with it and accept that it is a job, 24/7, and it is hard but hey-the babies didn't pop out by accident did they? Sometimes I wonder how people think the human race managed to evolve at all! I was breastfed for a year and have no allergies, no eczema, and was always a healthy child. My mother did not BF my younger sister on the GP's advice as she was large, and my sister is allergic to everything, has eczema and was always ill.
I think this evidence is why I disagree with selective FF !!!!

Brightyoungthing, have you ever breastfed?

Of course it's natural, it's the most natural thing in the world. Doesn't necessarily make it easy though...

BYT, you clearly have not read the thread or read or talked much to other women about infant feeding. You need to inform yourself more.

I spend a lot of time on mumsnet trying to counter claims that there are many posters here who are judgemental and who are naive about the realities of infant feeding...there are only a few of them, but you are among them. It makes people who have had problems bf feel angry, and it makes people like me who try to support bf and who know there are situations where it is difficult and painful and unrewarding roll their eyes and sigh.

Do stop it.

Wow BYT -- so pleased for you, but a bit more humility and less, um, what's the word? Smug, that's it.

BYT - I was ff and have no allergies, no eczema, blah blah blah. So what. And I chose to ff my own child. So what squared. If you spend much time reading this site you will see though that plenty of women passionately wanted to bf and had all sorts of difficulties, and did genuinely need support. Some are still beating themselves up about it years later. How many children have you bf? Not that it matters, really, as your attitude sucks either way. What if you have a daughter who wants to bf and she can't for some reason. Will you get humphy with her and tell her just to get on with doing 'the most natural thing in the world'? Because that would be really constructive.