"'Breast is best' bias blamed for hundreds of dehydrated babies"

[beef]

let battle commence!

I'm saying nowt!

To contrast it with another option for a storyline. I just thought you dismissed the numbers too lightly.

Quite Soupdragon. Breastfeeding doesn't cause dehydration, poor support for new mums does.
In what way exactly is formula more thirst-quenching than breast milk? Ds had some formula feeds after I had to have further surgery post-delivery and I remember it being much thicker than breast milk.
Both mine were born in weather like this and neither of them developed dehydration. The support I had wasn't brilliant but I was clearly told to feed more in hot weather.
I do agree though that IME a few bottles did not cause problems with establishing breastfeeding in the end.
I am appalled at the slant on this. Clare Byam-Cook is an unorthodox b/f adviser to say the least so it's predictable they've cited her, and it's one doctor's viewpoint. I hate to be ageist but "35 years' experience as a paediatrician" means he might be carrying some rather outdated opinions on b/f with him on his rounds...

I would like to know if the babies who were admitted with dehydration were breastfed on demand, or to a schedule.

But the numbers are fairly meaningless unless you know how many babies are born in that timeframe.

I@m not dismissing the problem

Caligua, I was wondering that.

The reason we don't need to give formula to prevent dehydration is because it's not natural (and I'm not slating bottle feeding here so don't jump on me!). We didn't evolve with a bottle of formula in our hands did we? We are designed to feed our babies and given the proper support, most would be able to manage this (nb I'm not claiming everyone can do it). On another thread it was stated that breastmilk is low in Vit D because we evolved in a hotter/sunnier climate so, given the proper support to esablish breastfeeding and feeding on demand, we should not need to give water or formula in hot weather.

The problem is the support in establishing breastfeeding, not the hot weather and a reluctance to give formula or water.

[caveats: formula is great where there is a real problem or where maternal choice is not to breasfeed. Not everyone can breastfeed even with mountains of support. The size of norks can go down as well as up - you may not get back as much as you put in.]

I don't know but the article in the times on the same subject matter says

"Fifty per cent of 503 new mothers surveyed agreed with the statement ?Women are put under pressure to breast-feed?, against 29 per cent who disagreed."

I thought the first milk when you bf is the thirst-clenching milk and then comes the thicker milk. I never needed to add water at all in the hot summers for mine. Also think the problem is not proper support and lack of confidence in own milk too. Wish TikTok was here to explain.

I mean, I do think the problem is lack of support....

babies dont need to be bottle fed...mothers need to be taught how to breast feed properly!

instead of midwives and HV's spending their time trying to make new mothers feel pressurised into doing something that may not be right for them they should actualy DISCUSS the ptions and show them the correct way of breastfeeding so that if that is the CHOICE the mother makes it will be done properly.

mothers need to realise that whilst bottles come with handy measure's along the side boobs dont..the only way you will know if your baby is getting enough milk is for it to be laying full tummied and content after a feed.
it takes a fair amount of judgment that firsttime mothers may not feel comfortable making.

it is unfair and this article just adds more pressure to a new mother.

and i am a bottle feeder!

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what a load of fucking bollocks!
Tossers

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oh they'll all go fucking ballistic

I've been out all day.

With an exclusively bfed 6mo tomorrow baby who shows no signs of dehydration AND I expressed a full 200ml for the milk bank this morning on top of bfeeding him whenever he wanted it today.

Bfeeding causes dehydration my ARSE!

Fucking shit scaremongery article written with An Agenda by somebody who Knows Nothing.

Bfeeding support is what's needed, not telling people BREASTFEEDING (failure) is responsible for scary stuff happening to babies.

Anyway (she says, walking scarily close to a ruck), babies who are exclusively ffed are more likely to be admitted to hospital with a whole range of things wrong - where's that in the badly written piece of shit article, huh?

Telegraph write a lot of shit about b/feeding.
I once (before MN entered my life) read a whole article about some supposedly super duper new formula for prem. babies.
No mention of b/feeding apaprt from one sentence at end.

It was basically a fucking advert!!!!!!

Was wondering when you would come along hunker

Everyone was ignoring me when i was pumpkinpimp....except Pruni......

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50% of 503 mothers that lived where? Just out of interest.

my 17mobnth old was constantly clamouring for more feeds today. so i gave them to her.

I think we should all print this thread off and send it to the torygraph and ask them to run a pro-bfing article for a change.

Going back to my previous post (someway down this thread!) and to answer Caligula's question - dd2 was breastfed on demand. Now, I am assuming, because no-one actually told me, that the reason she was dehydrated was because my milk had not come in after 4 days.

Maybe colostrum alone was not sufficient for length of time - I don't know. Maybe the latch wasn't quite right. Maybe the fact I suffered a pph had some impact. The whole point is, I was a 2nd time mum who had successfully breastfed her first dd, and I was feeding on demand, and dd2 still ended up with jaundice and dehydration.

I do know though, that if I had been advised to give formula I would most likely have kicked against it because I'm bloody-minded, but, the whole experience was hell because they gave her a lumbar puncture and pumped her full of antibiotics just in case she had meningitis, so if I had been told that giving her one or two bottles of formula whilst I was waiting for my milk to come in would have prevented the whole thing, then, yes, I would have done it.

Not saying that the article isn't full of holes though .

one of my colleagues who is b/feeding a 4 month old (and expressing) at the moment, said to me, " I've noticed for the past few days that my milk looks really watery, I suppose that's to stop him getting dehydrated in this heat. Isn't the human body a wonderful thing?"

Yes it is!

DD1 was readmitted to hospital 3 days old as she had jaundice and despite my best efforts refused the breast altogether as she was too sleepy to feed. When we were readmitted she was under the lights and I was told she needed milk asap formula was mentioned but I expressed for her despite being told it was hard work!! I kept offering her the boob before the bottle of EBM and she got the hang of it, I'm sure if it wasn't for my sheer bloodimindedness she would have been on bottles. The support was utterly rubbish. It was well she needs milk or she will be tube-fed, nice for a first time mother!

With DD2 it was completely different I was much more experienced and she's nearly 6 months totally breastfed and so big and healthy, no dehydration there.

Makes me laugh it's the shit advice and lack of support not bloody breastfeeding that's the problem.