Baby Milk for Hospital

[BakewellGin1]

Advised that I need to take milk into hospital...
Which is best in your opinion ?
Also approx how many ?
Thank You

@Ambs81
Shut up shut up shut uppppppp

Not the thread for your ramblings.

Goodness me.

No one is disputing the benefits of breastfeeding.

What is certain though is that fed is best.

I had premature babies - I breastfed them both until 6 months. I'm now pregnant with twins.

Both of my premies needed additional feeding as they were severely jaundiced - colostrum wasn't sufficient and they weren't great feeders they simply needed fluids to flush the bilirubin from their system. I was grateful for the formula - it helped my very poorly babies before my milk came in.

Formula is a fantastic alternative - it has a job and serves a purpose to provide choice. Choice that sits with the mother. It is her choice - yes better to be informed but she was asking a question about formula she didn't need the agenda being rammed down her throat.

OP I used aptamil. Whether you are FF by choice, because of previous experience or just being prepared is nobody else's business.

Are you really saying bf causes suicidal tendancies?
Do you not think its more likely you felt suicidal, and had post natal depression, and happened to be breastfeeding?

DMER effects less than 0.5% of women, and is usually resolved within 4-6 weeks of breastfeeding.

DMER is not postnatal depression, and shouldn't be blurred - they are very seperate conditions.

@Ambs81 I didn’t have piles after giving birth because I listened to my midwife and didn’t force when I needed too. You clearly went against medical advice and have damaged your body and risked your baby. And then all that trouble pooing that could have been solved with a healthy diet and exercise. Women all over the world give birth without all this crying about piles.

See how you sound when talking about something you know nothing about?
Also what happens if a baby doesn’t get colostrum? What quantifiable damage is done?

Ambs81 I am truly saddened that you work for a charity that looks after vulnerable mothers. Your judgy bullshit has no place on this thread as op was not asking for advice on breastfeeding. If you truly believe it is better for a child to have a suicidal mother and be bf than have a happy mother and be ff then I feel sorry for you, your dislike of new mothers and their choices must run deep.

Btw in other countries if a woman struggled with bf there would be donor milk, not just baby forced down on mother’s breast whatever the outcome.

Goats milk formula is best for newborns in my opinion

Some of these posts are really showing Mumsnet at its worst I'm sorry you're getting a hard time OP, feed your baby however you feel is best for you and your family and don't let anyone make you feel bad for that choice. There are some newborn starter sets with pre sterilised bottles and teats which are handy to take with you, I think a few brands do them and they're all pretty much of a much.

And yes breastfeeding made me depressed. Nothing else. Wasn’t sleep deprived, didn’t have PND, was absolutley fine and happy the moment I stopped breastfeeding. Why is that so hard for you to understand? You’re actually coming across like you have very little knowledge of breastfeeding.

Some posters talk so much rubbish. There are amazing formulas in supermarkets and chemists and they give babies an excellent start in life. Aptamil was popular with my babies and friends. I fed mine formula from day one - healthy babies and happy parents.

that's unusual, most hospitals won't give any out

My hospital did. As did several others where people I know gave birth. What are you basing the ‘most hospitals’ assumption on?

It's funny how 'breast is best' but EVERY mother I know of excluding
One has gone through absolute hell breast feeding their children, especially in the first 12 weeks after birth. A lady I know FF her first, due to complications at birth & baby refusing to latch, but he was an absolute dream baby very content, slept through the night from an early age, had a predictable feeding schedule. Her second she's breast fed and has had a nightmare with it, up every hour in the night feeding, constantly cluster feeding all day long so she feels permanently stuck to the sofa, not able to get on with her day to day routine with her toddler as a result, baby suffering terrible reflux and doctors keep blaming her diet even through she's cut out everything they have suggested, baby has lost lots of weight due to the vomiting after feeds. She's said herself it's made the newborn stage 50 x harder than with her first & now because baby is used to breast he will not latch to a bottle teat (she's tried every bottle on the market!! so £££'s wasted) so she's at a loss as to what to try next.

I FF my son from birth because guess what I DIDN'T WANT TO breast feed and he is a very intelligent, healthy and active 3 year old now with no health issues whatsoever, he's rarely unwell so has a good immune system. He was a content baby, fed in a perfect routine every day, and was sleeping through the night from4 months old.

Let people get on with their own life choices and stop making out that breast feeding is 'the best thing ever' when for some people it absolutely is not.

Why does it seem to frustrate certain individuals when a mother (they don't know) decides to FF her baby?

Do they gain some secret Tesco club card points that I don't know about, when they've left their nasty comments?

Or do they gain some good standing from the Church of the engorged boob! Look, Breastfeeding leader, I've spread the word from the boob bible on Mumsnet that no one should ever FF because it's marketed and because we should all live in the 16th century and let our babies starve because the alternatives are evil! Now I've left my comment I can reap my reward of nipple cream, cabbage leaves and breast pads!

Please try and breastfeed at the hospital - they will help you. Unless there's medical reasons, after3-4 weeks it's a lot simpler than bottles and a lot cheaper!

You don’t have a choice about having a Poo

Only read the first page as I can't be doing with the reactions to a concerned woman, about to give birth, wanting to be prepared that I'm sure feature heavily. So apologies if this has already been said.

OP to answer your actual question, it was my experience that as the official NHS reccomendation is for breast feeding there're no facilities in the postnatal ward for sterilising bottles / getting boiling water to make up powder - they really don't want you to. So whatever you take needs to be in the little bottles with the sterile teats included.

Once I was off the 'you just had a baby, stop fussing, of course everything's fine off you go with a pat on the head' postnatal ward and on the ward for babies that were actually ill there was formula provided if it was needed.

I hope that helps.

How did I know from the title that there would be a load of FF-bashing going on. OP asked about FF brands, not if it was better than her breast milk.

OP - I use SMA for DD, she's been FF since day 2 and is growing and developing wonderfully. I just went for what was in the local Tesco Express, I think I would try Aptamil next time though.

@nothisispatrick

Any hospital which has, or is working towards, UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation will not supply formula unless it’s medically indicated.

According to UNICEF, the following proportion of births take place in maternity units with full accreditation:

“Births taking place in fully accredited hospitals

England 60%
Northern Ireland 100%
Scotland 100%
Wales 90%”

The vast majority of women are therefore giving birth in hospitals which do not routinely supply formula.

Ambs81 I am truly saddened that you work for a charity that looks after vulnerable mothers

Quite

How worrying

Let’s hope all the posters patronising the op continue their perfect parenting journeys throughout their child’s life.
As breastfeeding is such a small part of the rest of the child’s life and the decisions that you make and nutrition you provide for your children.

’d rather a FF baby and a happy mother than a bf baby and depressed mother. Bf was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, everyone in th house, including my baby, were much happier and more relaxed from the day I decided to stop.
I found the difference incredible. I carried on until 14 months as DS fed to sleep and it was so fraught and then we suddenly stopped and it was like a cloud had lifted. I feel like myself again and as you say we're all much happier. I cannot believe the difference it has made to everything, especially my relationship with DS.

@Ambs81 you're just like a human haemorrhoid with your opinions on this thread - irritating, difficult to get rid of and generally a pain in the arse

Does a woman's decision to formula feed their baby bother you? No? Then jog on

I was (am?) hoping to try breastfeeding with dc2 after happily using formula for DD.

The responses on this thread from the Breastfeeding Gestapo are seriously putting me off even trying. I know it’s likely I’ll need a hand hold and support when it gets tough, but if the tone of these posts are a signal of the “BF at all costs” attitude towards things, I’ll be straight on to formula.

Aptimil ready made starter pack comes with the teats so that is very convenient.
If you have a problem and the baby needs a bottle feed that is pretty much what the hospital will give you anyway.
You can contact your NHS local contact for breastfeeding and ask for some 1ml syringes and advice about expressing colostrum prior to birth and take that to hospital as well.
Giving a bottle can sometimes mean the baby takes to breastfeeding less quickly, but personally I bottle fed my baby expressed and formula milk for 9 months before moving to actual breastfeeding and she worked out how to do it fine. (Slightly unusual medical reasons admittedly for such an odd pattern of feeding).
Best wishes for your pregnancy!

Penny - you are going to give it a go . Don’t be put off by ‘ the tit nazis’ . Some hospitals run breast feeding support clinics in the community postbatally - check if yours does . When I had mine I had the attitude I’ll give it a go and if it works hurrah , if not I’ll get the bottle out as the kid needs food . Without feeling any less worthy or a Mum regardless of feeding type . I realise that many are not as pragmatic as me for no doubt a variety of reasons .

ThanksItHasPockets

I just googled it and my hospital has this status and has done since 2015. I was given formula when I asked as I was struggling with feeding, this was in September 2018z