Bottle feeding culture in the UK

[TeenyQueen]

This morning I saw a Facebook photo of my former colleague's newborn baby being bottle fed by her older sister (toddler). I suppose it was a cute photo, but I fundamentally disagree with the idea that anyone should be able to bottle feed a baby. What I mean is not just the baby's parents but all sorts of friends and relatives. Isn't infant feeding part of bonding? When did it become a 'thing' for siblings to feed a newborn?

I have three issues with this. 1. Breastfeeding mums are still being told that breastfeeding in public is undesirable and photos of breastfeeding are censored on social media (but it's ok to have pictures of bottle feeding).

1. We seem to be moving away from this idea that feeding a baby is part of social interaction and bonding between the baby and parent.
2. We're teaching young children that bottle feeding is the normal and usual thing to do and breastfeeding is not.

FYI the baby was in a completely wrong position for feeding anyway and didn't look very comfortable.

Any thoughts?

I think the half as likely to die figure related not just to SIDS but to childhood cancers, eg leukemia.

Sorry, really unpleasant and sad topic, but if people wrongly state there are no health impacts, it needs to be said.

Oh give over!! You do realise the child most probably never fed the baby the whole bottle don't you? And I keep hearing breast feeding photos are banned on social media but I've seen loads on all social media so is it maybe just something someone says when they want to start a argument over how to feed a baby...... in this case someone else's baby?!?! FYI I bottle fed all my children and they're all happy and healthy and I feel no guilt over it.

Why is everyone so obsessed with what other women do or don't do with their breasts 🙄

I bottle fed my son, you know why? Because I wanted to. I had no medical reasons or anything like that, I just didn't fancy it.

He gained weight, was a pretty average baby and sleeper, has no allergies or health conditions .

Do what you want with your babies, and let other people do what they want with their breasts and babies. It's not up to society to control women's mammary gland use.

I think the health benefits are inflated. A lot of the figures they trot out are comparing ff children with bf from different families and other factors come in to play. Show me some data on children fed in different ways from the same families. I'm one of three, my older siblings were bad and I was ff. They both are morbidly over weight, have asthma and allergies, One has a chronic health condition and neither went to university. I've got a pretty healthy bmi and educated to masters level. I'm sure there are health benefits. I would hope so otherwise I wasted 6 months of my life torturing myself through breastfeeding but I don't think the benefits are quite as dramatic as people make out.

Lots of thoughts here but I really disagree with the idea that bf is a burden. Is feeding a baby really such an arduous task? I loved the early days, not having to do any housework but sitting on the sofa with drinks and snacks, feeding my newborn and going through my favourite box sets.

I also enjoy sitting on my arse for hours a day with my first. The second time round I had to breastfeed on the go as I had a young toddler to take care of as well. Obviously this only worked because I was willing to effectively stay at hone only venturing out to places likes cafes with baby changing facilities for a couple of years. Not everyone has that option.

@Leah00 can you link any that don't conclude that there needs to be more research because other factors are likely to have more of an influence? Sibling studies which is probably the closest to ensuring similar factors actually show an increased chance of asthma in the BF child. I don't think that's the case overall, but there are studies that statistically prove it. I'm not saying BFing doesn't have benefits, because of course it does. But some claims are unsubstantiated and that's not fair.

A 2014 study by Brunel University and UNICEF UK found that increasing rates at bf for at least 4 months from 7% to 45% would save the NHS at least £40 million per year. National breastfeeding rates are a public health issue, hence people are interested in this topic. Low bf rates indicate a lack of awareness and support, which again is a national health issue. This has been clearly highlighted on this thread with statements saying that bf and ff are pretty much the same anyway so we might as well ff because it's easier and less hassle for the mum. Then again I've seen what some children have in their school lunch boxes so I'm not entirely surprised thst overall a lot of parents have little awareness of healthy nutrition.

I will say that no one will say or has said that infant formula is bad. It's fantastic that formula exists as a backup for babies who can't be breastfed. No one will also say that babies must be breastfed for 6 months, any amount of breastmilk is better than no breastmilk at all and the first few weeks are by far the most important in terms of the immune system and gut health. It's also perfectly possible to combi feed by using some formula if the mum needs a break. On this forum it's been mentioned many times that bf mums get exhausted and suffer from mental health problems, hence formula is automatically better. If that were the case bf friendly countries like Sweden would have much higher rate of PND, which isn't the case. A Swedish study found that the biggest risk factor for PND was being a single parent.

@TeenyQueen

I think that at least some of the mental health problems caused by being unable to breastfeed is at least partially due to the attitude that if you gave up breastfeeding you just weren't trying enough.
I had this attitude from my health visitors.
I dont know what the support is like in other countries, but here they're trying so hard to be good that it's bad.

For instance as I said before I was told pumping wouldn't be possible, I guess in an attempt to try and make me stick with breastfeeding. I remember thinking that I just wasn't being listened to at all by my health visitor who acted like my pain, and the stress that breastfeeding was causing me AND my baby was entirely secondary to getting me to try more so they could tick the "EBF" box.

@TeenyQueen - formula doesn’t exist as a backup for those who can’t breastfeed. It’s also an alternative for those of us who didn’t want to.

@Parker231 sure, and that's valid. What Im curious about is what leads people to still not breastfeed despite the health benefits.

Because they don't want to or can't, what's so hard to understand about that, honestly? No one needs to explain themselves, but surely you can think of several scenarios why someone might not breastfeed, unless you completely lack empathy. Lots of women in my baby group refused to give their babies vitamin D which was sad, because although it's recommended for BF babies they couldn't comprehend that their breast milk didn't contain everything their baby needed.

Nutritional formula gives a baby everything they need. it’s easy to get into a routine , DH can feed, shared night feeds. No issues with bonding.

I have a advantage over some posters. My DT’s are now 20 so I can see the benefits. They were healthy babies, no allergies, weight problems or stomach issues. They are now about to graduate Uni with hopefully both getting Firsts.

There are pluses and minuses to both - everyone educates themselves and makes their own choice. Perhaps I was lucky no pressure from anyone, guilt or questioning as to choices made. Perhaps this is a more recent thing or greatest on Mn. The method of feeding your DC’s becomes insignificant when you consider all the decisions you make during their baby years, childhood and teenage years. Bf v ff isn’t one of the major decisions you will have to made although it might seem it at the time.

@sqirrelfriends because they don’t want to. What leads parents to let their under 2’s watch TV despite WHO guidance advising otherwise?

*Parker231

@TeenyQueen- formula doesn’t exist as a backup for those who can’t breastfeed. It’s also an alternative for those of us who didn’t want to*

And that is, partially, why a lot of us are saying that there is a bottle feeding culture in this country.

And that is, partially, why a lot of us are saying that there is a bottle feeding culture in this country.

That may be the case, but I like living somewhere where women have the choice to be honest. Most women know the (negligible) benefits, and are capable of making their own decisions.

@Sipperskipper I'm sure most of those parents have had to make that decision based on need rather than wanting their child to watch tv. I know that's the situation in my case and my colleagues cases as we still have to do a full days work in the lockdown, none of us feel great about it.

In the case of formula vs breastmilk the benefits are clear. Right off the bat I decided I would always do the best thing for my child. That's not slinging mud or judgement, it's just the truth.

People can feed their DC’s how they want. There is plenty of information available and everyone can make their own choice. We’re not all the same in how we want to bring our DC’s. We used private schools - our choice. We decided on ff - our choice. I don’t understand why it’s difficult to understand why people can make their own minds up.

I'm sure most of those parents have had to make that decision based on need rather than wanting their child to watch tv.

Lmao that's the best thing I've read on here in ages, what a crock of shit.

@sqirrelfriends - your comment is making a judgement as you are saying that someone who decides to use formula isn’t doing the best for their DC.

I have used formula - nothing wrong with my decision and yes, my DC’s were given the best start to their lives.

@Parker231 and this is the bottle feeding culture in the UK I was talking about. In lots of other European countries ff is mostly only done when bf isn't possible. The decades of aggressive advertising and promotion by formula manufacturers in the UK clearly shows in people's attitudes to infant feeding. It's interesting that you mention that ff helped you get into a routine. For a long time mothers were told to feed baby every 4 hours whereas we now understand the importance of responsive feeding and reading baby's cues. Culturally we still expect that baby's should be in a steady routine straight away, sleep through the night asap and generally cause as little hassle as possible. This goes against current knowledge of child development, we now understand that babies learn to sleep in their own pace and they don't need a fixed feeding schedule.

@Parker231, absolutely. I'm just wondering if there is a cultural element, even among developed countries our BF rates are low. I know from friends who FF that's it's just the done thing in their family and that's why they chose that option.

@Sandybval the real crock of shit is your comment - "Most women know the (negligible) benefits" clearly you don't

@sqirrelfriends - my DMil bf my DH, my DM ff one and bf one. My DSis bf and my DSil didn’t. It’s a choice - I don’t see the problem.

@Parker231, it's not a problem and I never said it was.

You were judgemental in your comment!