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

another one doubting the stat's. i was with my grand daughter when she received (late) immunizations at 18 months of age. the nurse automatically ticked the "not breastfeeding" box in the red book. i corrected her and said yes my daughter continues to bf, then she (almost crossed out the tick) as she said "not exclusively". so data collection is an issue. next is the older buildings are not friendly to strollers and the necessary space to feed children.

Fastingmum123 I think your feeling is what my DP meant - he thinks English people are shy and awkward in any case and bfeeding is such a focus and so visible that everyone staring and having an opinion (whether positive or negative) puts women off.

Oh god mini that's horrendous!

Mini that's awful.

Lapharisienne I think your right I'm the kind of person who walks out if a changing room is communal so think my prudishness plays a big part and sure I'm not the only one.

As lots of people have mentioned it, I've had a had a look at the actual article just to check where the UK data comes from, and it is indeed from the Infant Feeding Survey 2010. You can read about how this data is compiled here:

www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB08694

"The survey is based on an initial representative sample of mothers who were selected from all births registered during August and October 2010 in the UK. Three stages of data collection were conducted with Stage 1 being carried out when babies were around four to ten weeks old, Stage 2 when they were around four to six months old, and Stage 3 when they were around eight to ten months old. A total of 10,768 mothers completed and returned all three questionnaires."

So there we go! Nowt to do with the old red books after all, and no problem that no one has asked me since the 6 week check with either of my babies.

Mini, that article is horrible. My own sex drive took a nose dive after birth and took quite a while to recover.
I did wonder at the time if it was a natural part of the cycle- i.e no desire for sex because you had a baby to care for and another pregnancy too soon would not be desirable.

I started breastfeeding with no expectations of success. No one else in my family breastfed their children. The first few weeks were tough- sore nipples, abscess, poor latch.
Yet somehow I'm still breastfeeding my 2 year old. I would never have thought I would be 'one of those mothers' but it still feels very natural. It is definitely led by her. The discourse around feeding an older baby/child is very warped- mostly because so few people breastfeed. No-one apart from my DH and a supportive older sister know she is still feeding.

I'd be willing to bet that any post-natal drop in sex drive has far more to do with the lack of sleep caused by a new born than the mothers feeding choices.

as someone who only bf her first I have to agree I think it's down to sleep deprivation as I had absolutely no interest afterwards with any of them for a good while. As I said before though I think the pressure to be back to normal is immense I know my dp couldn't get his head round why i wasn't up for it even a couple of weeks after the birth. (He's a bit of a knob though)

It'll be a combination of lack of sleep and the fact that breastfeeding usually suppresses ovulation.

once condition that impacts the production of breast milk is underactive thyroid

something many woman have and is not discovered for some years

I hardly produced any milk which is not unusual (or more the norm) when it is not treated

but have been told on more than one occasion by experts in bf I would have if I had continued and ff yet experts in thyroid conditions (medically trained) will say different

Yes to thyroid problems, and that seems more prevalent in the West.

However, I'm not sure that thyroid problems usually result in the sort of breastfeeding problems that make any breastfeeding impossible.

"yet experts in thyroid conditions (medically trained) will say different" - it's a tough one. Many medical specialists and generalists know diddly squat about the realiities of breastfeeding with a particular condition, or it can be optimised despite a mother (or baby) having health complications which impact on breastfeeding.

Re sex - a mother who is breastfeeding has a different hormonal profile than one who isn't. This can impact in all sorts of areas - emotions, vaginal secretions, sleep patterns. I really wouldn't be surprised if the hormones involved in breastfeeding result in a lower sex drive. After all, nature doesn't want us to become pregnant again when we're still nurturing a small child with our bodies!

"I started breastfeeding with no expectations of success. No one else in my family breastfed their children. The first few weeks were tough- sore nipples, abscess, poor latch.
Yet somehow I'm still breastfeeding my 2 year old."

It does creep up on yo!

it can and often does reduce milk supply as your hormones are effected

on top of that most people with an underactive thyroid will not have it treated until the levels reach a certain point (which is lower in the uk than in many countries)

a woman going to the gp with a young baby suffering from ut symptom's is far more likely to be told that its normal lack of sleep, changes in hormones and so on or suffering from pnd and be put on ad's

so on top of the quite normal changes and feeling tired you are beyond that your body just cant to work in the way it should be. also we are having children later and there seems to be an increase in women with thyroid problems after pregnancy in older women

Re Norway just having the expectation, I think that does make a difference. I think individual choice is more important though so I'm glad we don't have that in the UK

I'm surprised at that. I know a a few people who did it past a year. Many people stop because they want their bodies back. I think that's a valid reason.

What a silly link. I found breast feeding easy. I live in London and have easy access to fresh clean water. I breast fed exclusively to 6 months and then gradually declined it as I weaned onto food. Once established I stopped breastfeeding. I suspect Senegal has far worse water!!!!

Are I see someone has already added the link yes the data comes from the infant feeding serval. Which by the way they have now so funding for.

This is a really important serval as it give us a lot of useful data.

I was very surprised at how low we where in comparison to the USA considering we have much better maternity leave then the states. Women own have to go back to work much sooner there. But then then doing have better right for pumping at work maybe that is key.

Also definitions of exclusive breastfeeding are not always helpful, lots of people I know give one nighttime bottle of formula or leave a baby sitter with a emergency carton of formula if you haven't expressed enough. What are the figures for substantively breastfeed to six months?

I'm with you on the poor treatment of thyroid problems. I'm on thyroxine myself! 5 years of breastfeeding under the belt though...

Sorry misread the thread, this is about 12 months not exclusively to six months

To be honest I don't give a monkeys what other parents do or don't do as it has no immediate impact on my life.

Myself with DD1 I couldn't breastfeed as she wouldn't take and I had no support. DS1 I breastfed for 6 months until I weaned and returned to work, this was the same with DD2. I couldn't get enough milk from expressing, I tried but couldn't and I work almost 20 miles away from my childminder so not like I can leave to breastfeed my children

Apologies for not having rad the whole thread.

I just want to say that if the government has a problem with women not breastfeeding for longer, then they need to take the pressure off with regard to work and money.

A lot of people go back to work during their child's first year. I'm not sure if it's through choice or necessity but I suspect a lot of them feel it is necessary - perhaps they have a large mortgage to pay, or would lose their job.

It may not be fashionable but sometimes I long for the days when people (women, I suppose) were allowed to stay at home with their children, and the other person in the marriage earned sufficient to afford a home and enough to eat and so on.

Running a home is hard work, as is looking after children. Someone needs to do it.

I had/have thyroid problems untreated till ds was 6 months old. I breastfed. Had never heard this was an issue.

it is not necessarily a problem for all women but it can be a problem and often is

and one that can very easily be overlooked as symptom's are often put down to other things tiredness, dry skin, hair falling out, metabolism not working, low mood are easy symptom's to overlook and for some the problem is not recognised for years

if you are aware and on medication and the right dose (which can also take sometime to get to) then it shouldn't be a problem

Out of curiousity, people who breastfed longer than a few months, did you not find it a massive pain? I never wanted to bf more than a few weeks/months because I found it really inconvenient (as well as painful but that's a different issue) and I wanted my body back after hating being pregnant. I can't imagine how upset id have felt if someone be had said I had to bf for a long time.

So to those of you who have done it, I'm curious if you feel like this and ignore it or you see it completely differently?