The UK has a breastfeeding rate at 12 months of 0.5% apparently - worst in the world.

[minifingerz]

Whereas 99.4% of women in Senegal, where there is widespread poverty, double the UK average family size, no maternity leave and minimal medical or midwifery support for postnatal mothers, are still going.

Those statistics are mind-boggling, given that most of the 82% of women who start off breastfeeding in the UK state medical reasons for not being able to continue breastfeeding.

Does beg the question - how is this possible?

here

My understanding is that in Norway there is simply an expectation that everyone will breastfeed

That's not particularly good for individual choice is it.

Surely any reduction in risk is a good thing? We can encourage breastfeeding and acknowledge a reduction in risk without having to feel bad/guilty for our choices. I think encouraging and supporting breastfeeding is hugely important because of the proven benefits, even though I am pleased that DD is intelligent, healthy and developmentally ahead having been given formula. It's not mutually exclusive and it's a much better use of energy than when I used to insist bf was useless :)

Ovaries I think it's important to support bf but I don't think we should encourage anyone's choice. Breast milk is obviously better nutritionally but a small reduction in risk isn't a reason in itself to do something. At least not in my opinion.

The last I heard (and not sure whether it is still the case) but formula is prescription only in Norway. Or at least, it is far far less accessible than here. Personally, I think this is probably the right way to go.

"formula is prescription only in Norway. Or at least, it is far far less accessible than here. Personally, I think this is probably the right way to go."

Yes, great strategy if you want people to feed their babies cow's milk and wean them on to solids much earlier.

People don't do that in Norway

OP - I really don't understand what your problem is with women stopping breastfeeding when they no longer want to do it.

I breastfed DC1 for 4 months and DC2 for 8 months. What is it to you?

Making formula prescription-only is absolutely not the way to go.

Adele so you want to force people to bf? What?!

In the 1970s BF rates were as low in Norway as they are in the UK today. With a total ban on formula advertising, making it far less accessible and ultimately desirable, along with good maternity pay and social acceptance of BF, it now has the highest rates in the world. How can anyone say it doesn't work? It clearly did there .

What's the stigma levels like for the small percentage that FF?

High. BF is considered the norm.

"People don't do that in Norway"

You know that... how exactly?

I'll bet you good money that if you restrict access to formula in the UK, you will see many babies being fed cow's milk and weaned on to solids earlier. If Big Brother the state then keeps tabs on who breastfeeds and who doesn't, I bet many women giving cow's milk & solids to their babies will say they are exclusively breastfeeding, too.

It might work Adele, the ethics are something else.

If you wouldn't like someone to judge you and make it harder to bf, don't do that to people who don't.

Because they don't. How would you know otherwise? Exactly?

"Because they don't"

Yeah, OK. I accept defeat against that superlative argument

Adeleslostbeehive - this is what I was getting at, exactly.

Need who cares how people feel as long as they bf

Cote there is no point trying to converse with someone who is saying people will start wearing earlier for no reason other than she thinks it might happen is there?

Norways rates of PND are pretty low (just read a study which compares them with Ireland and it was about 10% lower) but don't let that stop you guessing what might happen here!

Yeah so on the basis of high stigma, prescription only formula is a bad idea. Unless mums getting PND because of said stigma is just collateral damage?

Adele the whole culture of Norway is different which can change PND rates.

But why do you think those women who do get pnd in Norway are the small number of formula feeders and why do you think they have pnd as a result of their feeding situation? Seems like a really odd leap to connect the two without any knowledge.

If youre Ff for medical reasons, there isnt stigma (that's what formula is for there) but there isn't much understanding of women
Who chose to ff without trying BF, no.