Why have rules and regulations in regards to babies changed so much?

[majidmania]

I was talking to my mum today who gave me an insight on how we were brought up.

• Formula was okay to give back then
• midwives used to help you bathe the baby in hospital (no one showed me or cared what I was doing)
• she used to only have one bottle that she had to wash every time, in time for the next feed
• there was no kettle then so used to have to boil the water and the baby just had to wait
• if the baby threw up, the clothes were left on as you didn’t have the luxury of having loads of clothes to change into
• we slept in the same bed as my parents, Moses baskets were a luxury
• there was mould and leaks and all sorts back then in the house and in the bedroom
• we got weaned at 3 months

We all turned okay. Got abit of eczema and that’s it.

@NonaGrey didn't do anyone else harm though?

I was born in the 60's I don't think it was normal then, my parents were not in poverty there was just enough always
what has changed

1. you fed a baby every 4 hours whether breast or formula by the clock not on demand bottles were sterilised with boiling water
2. in own cot from day 1

3, sleeping through from 11-6 was thought of as normal by about 8 weeks old 4, terry nappies which were washed with washable liners and plastic pants on top 5 babies wore nighties not babygros 6 people had prams not buggies 7 it was perfectly ok to leave baby outside shops when you went in (you would never have got a silver cross pram in most shops) sleeping outside in a pram was normal 8 babies didn't sleep on backs but side/tummy 9 weaning with baby rice etc was earlier 10 because of hand washing nappies most people toilet trained at 18 months to 2 years not age 3 11. babies had bibs/ muslins so they were washed rather than clothes 12 while central heating was not as common as now, mould leaks etc were not my experience 13 pregnant women were encouraged to have half pint of stout a day to build them up but my mum said she couldn't bear it

I'm a 70s baby and the main differences

• no disposable nappies.
• weaning age was earlier
• car seats
• fed to a routine not on demand

Your upbringing sounds like a post war situation rather than the 80s!

I was formula fed as my mum wasn't well enough to bf.
She had a washing machine and washed clothes when dirty.
I was in a cot from day 1. Moses blankets aren't the law these days you know.

Justwinging what's Ok for adults and what’s ok for children are not the same thing.

Children’s brains and bodies are developing as they age and iron is important for proper growth and development. That’s why drinking tea is not advised.

I think it's more poverty than the norm. I was born in the 80s and my parents did things very diffetently; as did their group of friends. It very much depended on tour lifestyle I think.

@majidmania

Also, I had my sons in 2011 and 2013. Both times, the midwives brought a little baby bath on wheels into the ward and showed me how to give them a bath.

I was born in Yorkshire in the 1970's too OP but I had my own cot, was formula fed, had clean clothes, had my own cot etc. Definitely had more than one bottle... and we were definitely not rich!

I'm an 80s baby and grew up in a small (but pretty affluent) village in South Wales. Nothing you've said rings true for me.

I was breastfed then bottle fed and I think my mum used milton.
I was in hospital with my
Mum for ten days. Born by caesarean.
Hospital taught bathing etc.
Had my own Moses basket / cot.
My mum used a silver cross pram.
I had lots of white frilly dresses. Was sick multiple times a day as a baby and my mum said she layered bibs so she could remove the top ones.
Mum used cloth nappies but had a washing machine. She also bought a tumble dryer when I was 18months old (which still works! It's in the garage now).
Went on a foreign holiday at 1yo.

I think from what you've said, your childhood was poor as I presumed you were a 50s baby rather than
80s baby.

Incidentally, as an aside, I bf my babies and my ds was on the boob constantly. My 93yo Nanna told me that when my aunt (her first child) was born in 1950 she was told to only feed the baby every six hours! My great grandma (born 1895) visited her, and my
Aunt was screaming from hunger. My
Great grandma told my Nanna to ignore the ridiculous advice of the midwives and feed on demand. My Nanna says she still feels regret thinking of the incident - that she didn't trust her instincts and instead relied on hospital advice.

My mum used Milton too!

My children were born in the eighties and while the first two points are correct I don't recognise any of the others as being normal or the 80's at all.
I had a set of bottles and a steriliser, water with Milton first, then a steam steriliser.
I had a kettle, and an electric bottle warmer.
I had a Moses basket, which the baby slept in downstairs in the day and then in my bedroom at night.
No mould or leaks.
Weaned at four months.

I think either you were very, very poor or your mum is exaggerating quite a bit.

Were you parented adequately throughout your childhood or were clean clothes and your own bed never really a priority?

I don’t think the eczema was due to weaning at 3 months as we all seem to have got it in adulthood and mine was more dermatitis. All my dads family have it so could have been inherited.

Breastfeeding reduces things like eczema into adulthood so it possibly could have not occurred or been less severe if breastfed. Or not, you will obviously never know.

As studies are carried out and we learn more, then advice and guidance changes accordingly. Then it’s up to each individual parent to choose what they follow. It’s surely better to know all the facts though before making a decision.

What you describe growing up does sound unusual for the 80s rather than ‘rules and regulations changing’.

I was born in the 60s and we had a kettle ....

We’re actually told to not bathe baby for the first few weeks as the stuff on their skin they’re born with (can’t remember what it’s called) is good for them.

In terms of bathing and changing nappies etc I think the reason the hospital don’t show you is that it’s actually fairly common sense stuff and so much information is available now in books, online, YouTube etc that they don’t really need to spend time on it.
I think they expect parents to be more proactive now and ask their midwife or HV about things they don’t understand, take more responsibility for themselves.
People also generally do a pre natal class such as NCt or NHS which covers the basics

In terms of advice changing, I think sometimes it’s not transparent why things might’ve happened because they’re just not on anyone’s radar.
For example, I have a friend who worked on the research that led to the advice that honey shouldn’t be given to children under 12 months.

Now you might say well we had honey and it was fine but in fact, babies were dying or becoming very ill with botulism for unexplained reasons for a very long time. Eventually, honey was identified as a culprit. Now as long as you exclude honey, your baby can’t be poisoned by it. Seems sensible to me!

Oh and nappies! My mum said there were no disposables with me, but by the time my siblings were born in the mid 80s they were available but very poor quality, they never stuck down properly. So mum used to wrap sellotape round and round it then cut the baby out when it was time to Change

I was born in the 80s and also brought up in poverty, however, my parents had a kettle and a washing machine. I do have a vague recollection of my mum sterilising my younger siblings bottles by boiling them on the hob and using tongs to remove them, I don't think people do that now. Clothing was also a lot more expensive in the past compared to today so everyone generally had less/had second hand. I was born just as disposables were being introduced but my parents used Terry toweling. I had a moses basket and a huge pram.

In contrast when my dd3 was born we lived in a flat with mould in our bedroom and I used Milton tablets and cold water to sterilise. I breastfed so didn't have a huge amount to sterilise on a regular basis so didn't see the point of say a microwave steamer. Despite weaning advice in the UK being 6 months (other countries vary) most people I know start before then, even before 17 weeks which is generally accepted as the youngest to start solids.

Breastfeeding is encouraged more now but by 6 weekish a baby is more likely to be formula fed than breastfed. My mil was very insistent that I should feed 15 mins from one breast then 15 from the other and no feeds for 4 hours.

A big difference now is the amount of maternity and paternity leave most people are entitled to and how quickly women are kicked out of hospital. There are so many threads on here about dms/mil/aunt's/grans getting arsey that the op doesn't want visitors at home having just given birth but they seem to forget that they had between 5-10 days in hospital with a baby who was taken to a nursery and were able, to some extent, recover before they went home and were bombarded with house visitors.

Formula was okay to give back then it still is but it is an expense. One could argue the cost of formula could be better spent on a second bottle and some cheap baby grows.
midwives used to help you bathe the baby in hospital (no one showed me or cared what I was doing) - I think we all know that there's more pressure on staff resources these days. It's sad but true.
she used to only have one bottle that she had to wash every time, in time for the next feed that's money, availability and choice.

there was no kettle then so used to have to boil the water and the baby just had to wait see above but this also applies to making drinks / washing up etc. Again the issue is poverty /choice
if the baby threw up, the clothes were left on as you didn’t have the luxury of having loads of clothes to change into I'm not sure I know anyone who would leave their child sodden in vomit. Unless you wore the same outfit all week before it was washed on say a Sunday then repeated you would have had more than one outfit at a time.

we slept in the same bed as my parents, Moses baskets were a luxury plenty of people cosleep but we are more aware of the dangers these days
there was mould and leaks and all sorts back then in the house and in the bedroom there still are. But yes housing standards in general have improved.
we got weaned at 3 months generally babies aren't due to better knowledge badu nderstanding although some are still

DD was born nearly 7 years ago and I did some of those things.

-she ended up formula fed
-no baths in hospital but we weren't there long
-had a moses(gift)basket but coslept anyways
-I didn't change her for every little bit of spittle or stain.
-i had a couple of bottles but kept them in the fridge.

• she had to wait for me to do her bottle with the kettle. Not the same amount but she waited.

-we have awful condensation and mould in the winter -weaned at 6 months.

majidmania you say you wouldn't have coped, I think you should give yourself more credit, you would have just got on with it as you would have needed to cope for your child.

It certainly wasn't the norm for the 80's, sounds like your mum had it hard and coped.

Yeah things are always changing, things have changed since my mates had kids 5 yrs ago.

The only thing really my mum said were different with us than with my DS

-You were encouraged to not have the baby in the room with you when you sleep. Her HV said put them in the bathroom if you only gave 1bedroom rather than in with you.

• they had bumpers on cots

-call it BLW -they stayed in hospital longer and shown how to care for baby.

BF was the norm but formula was ok to. I know what you mean about the whole breastfeeding thing, my mate was given a terrible time for not BF.

I think a lot of things change for the better as we learn, but we can get a bit too "nanny state' will certain things,