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.

How bloody ridiculous.

Nope

no way , & the idea makes me tbh

No. I think the idea is both ridiculous and quite nasty TBH.

no

If this deluded woman-hating bullshit actually became law, it would lead increased numbers of wholly preventable infant deaths.
Women too ashamed to seek help, women refused the prescription because doctors think they are lazy or selfish, women who have been given prescriptions being unable to find anywhere to fill them... and women who really shouldn't be bf struggling on while their babies dehydrate...
As someone said fufther up the thread, the best way to increase BF is to support the mothers who are keen but struggling, and leave the ones who DON'T WANT TO BF alone.

No.

What a fool idea.

No - the thing is OP I can see where you are coming from, in theory it makes sense, free formula for those who need it and less stigma about using it as it is seen as a necessity.

But in the real world, it wouldn't work like that. As people have said doctors don't need to waste their time prescribing formula. Doctors are overworked as it is and often not very well informed about breastfeeding. Restricting access is not a good idea as it could be dangerous for babies - someone I know has to get special prescription-only formula for her DD and has to be very organised and order it weeks in advance, and often has to ring up multiple times to get a repeat prescription. What if she were a less organised person?

And not to mention the idea of free choice and the issue of mothers feeding their babies inappropriate milk substitutes.

If you look at the figures as they stand it's clear the problem we have isn't persuading women to start breastfeeding, it's supporting them to continue. Better to concentrate our efforts on that I think than to spend time and money persuading someone to do something they don't want to do.

ooh yes, lets hand over even more control of our bodies to the male-dominated and largely misogynistic medical establishment

what a brainwave

No freakin way! How sinister! I can see it now, a black market in formula milk...people 'claiming' formula and then selling on their prescriptions !

Seriously though, I breastfed my DS for just 4 weeks before I gave up through lack of support and a baby that was struggling to regain his birth weight - I cried with guilt, but was so relieved to see him start to thrive. I breastfed DD exclusively for 4 months, then mixed fed for a further 3 (cause I had to go back to work), before she lost complete interest and switched completeky to formula. I again felt guilt. Mothers suffer enough with guilt - ENOUGH with the guilt tripping I say....we all only want to do our best and what works for some may not work for others. Our situations are all unique!

Dd was 4 weeks prem, weighing in at 4lb. (PE & IUGR). Regular formula did barely anything for her, after 3 days out of hospital she was still around 4lb (and we stayed in for a week).

I ff because I had sod all help to establish bf.

Her SCBU nurse put her on a special build up formula. It was script only. What a hassle! I was given a script for 2 a time. To make sure I never ran out I would get a script a week. So, email drs practice for Rx. More times that not the dr would ring/email & ask why she was on it. Then he would write it, I'd have to collect. then go into the only chemist in the town who stocked it (out of 6), which ironically was Tesco! They may have had some, may not. It was hit & miss. I only ever almost ran out once in the 9 months she was on it. Thankfully i got a call from Tesco to say they had it in, the morning I used the second to last feed.

Can you imagine if the chemists had to stock every formula, and the amount of tins they would have to stock? I very much doubt they would have the room, let alone the time to run this.

How will drs cope? You can barely get an appointment as an emergency as it is, how would having to see a huge % of new mothers for a Rx help them? And then you would have to wait several weeks. The reception staff would have to field more req via writing/email etc, the dr would spend more time writing scripts than he/she would seeing pts!

Doing this is not going to be the answer. What would help is more help for mothers to establish feeding. I said I wanted to bf, was given a leaflet to read! It just didn't happen!

And you know what, I could walk to my drs. I could walk to the town to get dds formula.

What if a mother lived rural & didn't have access to a car?

Stupid idea, impossible to put into action.

absolutely not ! what a ridicolous idea

the cost of providing the 24 /7 , 365 day a year proper, trained breastfeeding support on PN wards and in the community, retraining doctos and HVs so the right advice was give etc etc would cost millions more in resources

women would simply feel punished and sidelined and would create horrible feeling

i find that petitsions like this show what little understanding some people have of the real issues behind low breastfeeding rates or lack of continuing with breastfeeding

No because it's a waste of NHS resources which could be better allocated

I doubt the petitioner has even consulted GP's on this. I imagine most would be horrified at the prospect.

"I do agree with greenmonkies though that it should be available on prescription for people who can't (rather than won't) b/feed rather than them having to pay for it. That's a good idea"

How fucking judgemental! Penalising a BABY because their mother chooses not to breastfeed? Fucking ludicrous behaviour!

Until you have been through trying to get a BASIC food source on Rx for your baby, you have NO right to deny ANY woman the most basic of human rights...to be able to feed how they want!

Absolutely ridiculous, waste of NHS resources, waste of mothers time, and absolutely unnecessary. Just imagine how long you'd have to wait for a doctors appointment with all these mums taking up appointments to get their formula prescription. There is NO way Drs would agree to this

"Can you imagine if the chemists had to stock every formula, and the amount of tins they would have to stock? I very much doubt they would have the room, let alone the time to run this"

Not to mention, if the baby reacted to the first Rx formula...mum would have to make an appointment, explain to dr why she wanted to change, get rx, get it filled....and then if they still don't settle on it...over & over it goes.

My friends dd reacted to 2 formulas before they found the right one. Friend had sever PND. Having to take her baby to the dr week after week would have made her life unbearable. Not to mention her daughter would have been v sick while waiting for a formula that she thrived on!

I can't believe some WOMEN, mothers at that...think this is the solution!

I notice it only has 9 signatures! No way would I sign this.

Really don't agree with the tenuous statement that it would automatically increase b/fing rates. How? By forcing people to do something they're not happy to do? I don't agree with that at all.

No no no no no. My body my choice. I had a really nice time breastfeeding my daughter (still do, a bit, at almost 15 mo) but if I'd not wanted to, or struggled? I can only imagine how awful that experience would have been, having this child sucking on me without my consent. Ugh.

I knew a woman who believed this, about the prescription, and it always struck me as...interesting that she was blind to one of the main factors in her ability to breastfeed her children for years; her husband could afford to keep the household while she stayed at home.

Not all women can afford to stay at home for a year, the length of time recommended before switching to cow's milk. Women who have to go back to work aren't always given the facilities or resources to express milk - and the lower your SES, the more likely you are to be in a job that doesn't have that support.

I went back at 5mo and expressed milk to keep my daughter exclusively bf, but I'm not a shift worker, I have a private office, and I could afford the expensive bottles and pumps needed to be able to do that.

But being poor isn't exactly a medical condition, so how is going to see a GP going to help with that?

Well said SolidGoldBrass, and just out of intrest Greenmonkies, why shouldn't formula be sold at corner shops? Who is likely to walk to the corner shop, discover theres no formula and say, "Ah bollocks to it, go on then, I'll start breastfeeding!"? It's a bit patronising to assume that people choose to formula feed for reasons of convenience! What's convenient about it? And even if it is for that reason, it's nobody's business but that mother. Not allowing it to be sold in local shops just makes yet MORE hard work for a new mother.

what would be better also would be more info, less biased info about formula

taht some brands aren't better than others/closer/closest to breastmilk, that filling formula with fatty acids , fish oils and such like is not necessarily a good thing, taht nighttime milk with extra starch is not necessary, that hungry baby milk can constipate your baby etc etc etc

one maybe two brands, at a lower price, that are available everywhere would be better

and less biased advice from HCPs about certain formulas

the woman who has writeen this petition presupposes that the doctor , HV or MW the woman discusses breastfeeding with will have correct up to date knowledge..

which is utterly naive !

this has made be terribly cross

shall we make drugs for labour less available, that a woman would have to say, pay for her own pethidine or epidural, coz if she just had some more advice or tried a bit harder, she could mange without??

the petition is so patronising ,ill thought out and stupid

Not a cat in Hell's chance.

No way - this is a stupid idea.

No way

I BF for only 2.5 weeks, just could not get my head around the agony of it (labour was a doddle compared). I had loads of help and support but it was too much. I feel so guilty still and DS is 25 weeks now, it would have made me feel even worse to have to go and be judged by a GP as to whether or not I was suffering enough to have a prescription.