Mumsnet undermining breastfeeding again.

[Redebs]

Just read the Mumsnet article on caring for newborn babies. It's sponsored by a bottle manufacturer.

Much of it is misinformation that will seriously interfere with mothers' success with breastfeeding. For example trying to get a feeding routine for a two month old baby. This is totally against normal practice for on demand breastfeeding.

Anyone aiming for regular naps will be seriously frustrated and will think there is something wrong with them and their baby. Night feeding is treated as if it's a massive burden that should be shared by using a bottle.The massively negative impact of inaccurate information and expectations is aimed at discouraging breastfeeding.

There's a 'helpful' link to another article on 'combination feeding' aka introducing formula, along with references to a whole lot of bottle feeding products you should buy.

The WHO condemns companies that use misinformation and pressure on mothers not to breastfeed. While it may be subtly disguised, that is exactly what articles like this are doing.

And for money.

BFing information should include the possibility of it not working and any benefits given should be evidence-based and not subjective. Instead of lots of cutesy inaccurate fluff.

I was told antenatally low supply didn't exist and that a vanishingly tiny number of women couldn't BF at all (implication was 1 in thousands). The actual figure is about 5% for not at all and more like up to 40% of first time mums will have delayed milk and will need to supplement, at least for a short time. That's a LOT of women.

In drug reactions, something that affects more than 10% of people is 'common' so women need to be informed of common problems like milk delay, low supply, mastitis, nipple pain etc

Ye their kids got more worried than a minor decreased risk of leukaemia with that dad. 😳

Great idea x

Good
But it did worry me what garbage he'd come out with in front of friends let alone a future partner.

My DD is now lower primary school and knows that breasts make milk but that sometimes they don't work and clever people invented bottle milk too.

I got the opposite experience. I had formula pushed and pushed despite me giving it as requested and it doing nothing to solve the issue. All it did was make him sick.

You see it often on here too. Woman posts a bf question and gets lots of 'it's ok to stop' or 'have you tried a bottle'

It's not always of course. It's not all HCPs that push breastfeeding either. I know one that told a woman that her perfectly normal nipples were wrong and that she'd never be able to breastfeed with them ... that's no better really is it?

It's a lottery of whether you get good advice or not.

Women need unbiased information that isn't an advert and that they can relate to their own circumstances. That is what is missing.

The mad thing is, despite the fact you breastfed for 3 years, you won’t count in the ‘1% breastfed at 6 months’ statistic because your baby had a small amount of formula at the beginning. It shows how misleading it is, and that the picture is likely much brighter. When you look at the rates of babies receiving any breast milk, 30% are at 6 months. So while it’s not the ‘majority’ it’s not as vanishingly rare as posters want to believe on here. Pretty normal in fact.

Whereas in Sweden, often held up as a breastfeeding Nirvana, don’t use that method - they simply look at a baby’s main feeding method, the odd bottle of formula doesn’t mean the baby isn’t ‘breastfed’. Hence their stats looking so wonderful. Weirdly in Sweden parents are actually more likely to give the odd bottle in the early days, and carry on breastfeeding - showing that if mum gets some decent sleep in the first couple of months, and feels less under pressure, she’s more likely to continue breastfeeding. Whereas MN doctrine would assume a few bottles would ‘ruin her supply’ and cause ‘nipple confusion’.

So that may assuage Twizbe’s fears and help her sleep at night 😉

yes I think that would be great so informative to give various choices then make your mind up see how it goes and enjoy:)

Well that would be true ‘choice’ wouldn’t it, as long as the information was factual? Oh wait, it’s not really about choice is it?

Do Swedish kids make it to adult hood though?😂

@Moonicorn why did you mention me in that comment? I've not said anything about not giving the odd bottle here or there or the stats about breastfeeding ....

genuinely interested where I have attacked @Twizbe

Unless you regard asking her how she’d respond if her daughter chose not to babysit

and indicating that the fact she combi fed her first child and then was able to EBF her second because her daughter refused to accept anything silicone… was rather relevant to the debate

no name calling. No personal attacks. So where is the “attack”?

Not only that I believe they’re taller and healthier than we are! 😬

Because I thought you would find it interesting, you seem to be very into breastfeeding as a subject.

No need to go through posts

insert user name
insert keyword “EBF” “combi”

and dad’s your uncle!

Yes that would be fab. Supporting all choices whether woman can’t OR won’t bf OR ff. how could anyone argue with that. Enjoy your bf ing and your mate enjoy her ff ing and everyone is happy 😀

And that’s an attack?

I just quoted your post 🤷‍♀️

And better looking according to stats. Makes me wonder what they put in the formula. I may start on it (I was bf for 18 months btw and have the most awful immunity purely fyi)

Oh not necessarily you, but multiple other posters made very nasty comments towards twizbe on that page. Also towards another poster who has not come back to the thread for daring to choose breastfeed into toddlerhood and have health issues.

I just had a giggle with my friend who bf 2 kids for a fair while and she said it’s true it gives a v slight decrease in breast cancer risk Yey but she said a warning to you all that (her words): “your spaniels ears t*ts will need silicone implants after and that will raise the chances so hedge your bets” she also added “I love those implants more than my kids” don’t worry guys she’s (half) joking 😂😂

Let’s just embrace both shall we. Those who want to bf enjoy those who want to ff enjoy and the kids will all grow up uglier than the Swiss and ruin it all with booze anyway so good luck to them ehy 😂

I am SO glad I was completely unaware of mumsnet 13 years ago when I gave birth.

as a consequence, I gave breastfeeding next to no thought prior to the birth.

then, following the birth the midwife asked if I planned to breastfeed or bottle. Didn’t strike me a loaded question in the slightest. I said I’d give breast a whirl. I did and my baby took it to it. Had he not, it would have been bottle without a backward glance.

I was blissfully unaware that some women froth about the issue.

So now “not necessarily” me.

but in your op I abused the poster for most of page 18? 😐

Did she. I BF my DD until she was 2 and my breasts look exactly the same as they did pre pregnancy.

Also one of things that I loved about BFing, after years of having men talk at my chest, was knowing that I was using my breasts for their intended purpose. It felt powerful. The very last thing I would have done afterwards was modify them for the male gaze.

I think we all know we can or could do both but ads help to keep us informed I guess:)