Is the 6 month guideline to breastfeed unrealistic?

[GodisaDj]

Have just read this

I know it's the Daily Fail but it's irritated me.

I personally don't feel the target of 6 months is unrealistic, am I in the minority?

(hope the link works as it looks like it opens an old article about bf babies being less settled, but did open the right one for me)

I don't think it is unreasonable. I managed to BF my first child for 6 months, despite being a 16yo Lone Parent with NO family support, living in a Bed and Breakfast to start with!

I didn't feed DS1 for as long, only 4 months, but that was because I found it impossible to express, and he was in nursery at 4mo while I was at Uni.

I didn't feed DS2 for long, despite my intentions of feeding for 6mo, because I went on meds that were incompatible with BF.

However, as a Lone Parent with 4dc, I managed to BF DS3 for over 1yr, until I had to go back onto the meds that were incompatible with BF.

So no, IMO, it ISN'T unreasonable, but in certain circumstances it may be too difficult due to exterior issues (attending Uni), or impossible (meds incompatibility).

I think it would help if people were more straight at ante-natal classes about BF. I found the experience with mine at odd with what I knew of my friends experiences.

I have heard that they don't want to put people off... But surely people are more likely to persist if they know that the early weeks can be difficult.

I think these ideas underestimate women, really.

"I really think that support post-natally in hosp and at home if you need it is the key.

That is expensive though."

That is why there are loads of breast feeding peer supporters being trained so they can support in and out of hospital. Once we are trained we volunteer our time and therefore don't cost the NHS or new mums. Unfortunately in our area, which is a very low area for breastfeeding at 6 months and beyond, we can't provide around the clock cover but we are getting there.

And I am very honest with new mums at how difficult it can be. I also suggest to them they should take each feed as iot comes, lon term targets are hard to realise but thinking 'i will do this next feed and see how i feel' is much more helpful.

I am sure you are great Debs and I'm so pleased that your area is carrying out that initiative. I just wish that it were national. Although having said that my births were 4 years ago and 2 years ago so hopefully things have improved here (not feeling confident on that one!!!).

I agree with Sardine and Shagmund that the studies (including this one) seem to only include babies who are exclusively without fail breastfed, with nothing else touching their lips in the whole of 6 months, and hence that makes the whole study a bit pointless and in fact untruthful. That's like saying some children at school had bad attendance because they attended school everyday but were then quarantined by the doctor and the school when they caught chickenpox - well, that's still 100% attendance in my book, being kept home by the school or doctor doesn't count. Babies who have an occasional bottle of formula with a babysitter or have to start solids at 5 months 2 weeks should be included too - because you're looking at how the baby gets his or her regular milk, not one-off occasions. And anyone who knows anything about weaning knows that babies do not gain that much weight or calories from the first few purees they try anyway, most of the calories will still be coming from the breast milk. It's hard to know who initiates these studies - they get published because the data has been collected but they serve very little purpose other than to act as guilt trips or emotional propaganda. What they should be doing studies on is how many women found a severe lack of breastfeeding knowledge and support when they tried to get it, how good or bad clinicians are at detecting and treating thrush in BFing babies, how different people approach lack of weight gain in babies etc etc - there is still far too little knowledge among health care professionals about breastfeeding, too few trained and knowledgeable professionals who can give useful support and advice to mothers wanting to BF.

I think sometimes there is also a feeling that in order to continue BF into 6 months, or even one year, that one must adopt a certain culture or lifesyle - some of the charities like La Leche and NCT sometimes put out literature or videos that give this impression. That if you want to BF exclusively, you must buy a sling and use that everyday, you must breastfeed in public even when it may not be convenient for you or you might get a hard time from people around you, you mustn't express milk or let anyone else feed baby a bottle of expressed milk, and you must also have baby in bed with you to feed in your sleep, even if you are at risk of squashing baby. This can be VERY offputting to many young mums or mums who are just trying to get round the idea of BF in the first place. It is perfectly ok not to do any of those things, and if expressing milk means you can have some rest while the baby's dad or another relative or friend looks after baby for a while, then that's a good thing.

I had all the support going but still could not BF. Felt very bad about it and 6-month guideline was not helpful to me as I felt I had "failed" despite trying the best I could and having plenty of the right support.

kipper yes that is a point.

Maybe if they showed non-glossy non-MC type women sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a biscuit, browsing a magazine or watching telly with their feet up, and feeding, it would be more appealing!

That is what is actually involved for much of the time! I never pranced around with great hair and an "tribal" patterned sling

No one has mentioned G. Ford et al (are you allowed to mention her on mn?).
I know people who have tried to bf on a three or four hourly schedule, 10 minutes each side. Then when that doesn't work they blame their poor quality milk or the baby ("she's not a good feeder").

Is it really that hard or frowned upon? Not trying to be dismissive but fed first to just over 2 yrs (though just a comfort feed going to bed or when upset) and second to about 6 mths. It was hard in the beginning but never really experienced any negativity or dodgy comments that I couldn't handle. Never a problem when out and about and I did it everywhere.

gladysleap that "milk quality" stuff is the one thing that really annoys me! Wtf do they actually mean by it anyway?! Women are so insecure about so many things, it's a ridiculous thing to plant in someone's mind! Grrr!

Apologies as am on phone and can't scroll back up, but I think the poster above who says its the pressure to get back to "normal" is spot on! Yes it is hard, bf-ing my dd1 was an effing nightmare for at least the first 12 weeks! But esp with first babies, for the majority of people, there is nothing else that needs doing other than focussing on feeding, and getting some sleep where you can! But we're expected to lose weight, get back to looking normal ASAP etc. there was a lovely quote on here ages ago that I often think of when I'm getting a bit bogged down with dd2 not sleeping or whatever..."you are raising a human being not managing an inconvenience"!

As others have said, it's not getting to 6 months that's difficult. Once feeding is established, it's a piece of piss to keep going.

It's those first few weeks of establishing latch, huge, painful, swollen breasts, bad advice and little support from HCPs - so many women give up before they've even started.

I also think that mix feeding needs to be promoted more. It worked for me, it's worked for many of my friends. I bf all day, but gave both my DDs a bottle at bedtime when I was tired and had low supply, but they were especially hungry. Sometimes the bottle was ebm, sometimes it was formula. But it made bedtime so much easier for everyone.

I realise that there is a danger that baby will experience nipple confusion etc etc. But surely if the choice is giving up bf entirely, or giving mix feeding a go where most feeds are still bm, it's worth taking a chance! I don't get this whole "it has to be one or the other* mentality.

I agree with all of that annie.

Although my little buggers darlings never would take a bottle, despite me trying

I agree with Sardine and Annie both - mixed feeding (usually DHs or one of the grandmums would give a bottle of expressed milk for one or two of the feeds while mum got some rest/sanity/a meal/a bath/all of the above) helped quite a few of us. But for two friends, their babies also refused the bottle - one thought it was because she introduced it too late (6 months, and she was more or less a La Leche poster girl - sling, hippie-and-proud-of-it type) but she didn't get too worried about it, she just continued nursing. Another baby was really picky (still is!) and refused all brands of teats until her dad surfed online and got NUK ones delivered from abroad, which she then willingly fed from (I think he's the sort of guy who felt "I won't be defeated till we've tried everything!") - this was at a time when NUK wasn't widely available in the UK.