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.

I can't decide what you're getting out of this.

Under different names you keep popping up to tell us we're wrong no matter what we say.

Not this again 🙄

Honestly naff off with your 'women FF because of pressure from marketing companies'.

I loathed BF. I had every single support available to humanity, including privately paid help. But 'support' doesn't fix the shock of PND and the sense of being trapped by the needs of your baby.

My very pro BF mother finally begged me to stop and to give my son a bottle as I was totally lost.

It's laughable now that he's a teenager to think my entire self worth and mental health hinged on the method he received his milk.

I wish I could go back and reassure that sad, empty soul that her son would thrive on love, care and attention and that a few months on blimmin aptamil would very soon be utterly irrelevant.

Why why why do women do this to themselves and to each other.

I tried twice and the force of my son's razor gums crushing my nipples with every bite left me literally screaming and writhing in pain. I didn't try again. I was too frightened.

I don't know if I produce milk but I know for damn sure that I cannot breast feed. I definitely wanted to and I was depressed and guilty about it for weeks afterwards. We had nothing in the house for bottle feeding. My husband had to go out and buy everything we needed the day after our son was born.

It's cruel to imply that most of us claiming we can't breastfeed actually just didn't want to.

@OzzyOzworn you told your experience, I told men. You do you n yours I do me and mine.

The whole point if this is the article wasn't about feeding or choices about feeding. It was a frigging advert.
You bore off.

But I didn’t say bottle was best. Stop pushing your agenda and opinions about bf.

so true it’s so so unimportant xx

I've been awake -thanks to Ds almost 3, since about one am. He's never slept a night through, preferring to wake every 30min to two hours. I'm so tired.

maybe time to give up @Merryweather80

I don't see how that's contradictory. Mothers shouldn't feel guilty about however they chose to feed, no excuses or reason needed. Also, breast is best. Women are free to choose whichever they want.

Read the article. It's there right through. Others have quoted various sections.

Why are you singling me out? Lots of posters have said the same. It's ok to have an opinion. Why pick on individuals whose opinions differ?

Not until he chooses to. Read the WHO guidelines on it.

Again. Stop singling me out.
Everyone can express their opinion. Does not make mine or yours right just right for you.

Statistically only 5% can't. Most do not get support.
Read the WHO guidelines on it. The info is all there.

Like I said. You make a choice either seeks help, or ff feed.

You do you. I'll do me.
Stop singling me out.

I would support her decision as long as she had done her research and tried it.

If its not for you it's not for you. It's a choice.
You clearly have guilt. Leave me alone.

That study shows less than a 5% increased risk of breast cancer if you don’t breastfeed. So bf has a much smaller impact on the risk of developing breast cancer than other issues, like obesity, smoking, alcohol, air pollution, etc.

It’s also a low quality study, as it’s not a gold-standard randomised controlled trial, which generally in medicine are required in abundance before advice is changed.

By all means make people aware of it, but you should be careful to put it in context, so readers get a truthful idea of the scale and likelihood of any benefit and can put it in context against the totality of their lives and risk factors for all issues, eg mental health risks.

So your three year old who still breastfeeds has “never” slept through the night and instead wakes every thirty minute to two hours.

have you researched the importance of sleep for brain development in children @Merryweather80 ?

And if she hadn’t “done her research”.

She just did not wish to breastfeed.

What then?

I breastfed

no guilt

no pride

no thoughts on fortunate versus breastfeeding whatsoever

but I don’t like people being made to feel like shit

Formula

Spot on

You are the one who's bullying here. People have a choice they are not stupid. It's up to individual choice. Breast was not best for my baby. No way. Bottle was best. I had much more sleep so did the baby I had a routine. I was not exhausted from being used as a human dummy all night and my baby was happy and healthy Thanks

Whatever.....

Yes. Thank you I have.

I'd never have reached 20 months of breastfeeding if I hadn't combi fed. So I'm all for discussing all options available if that means that mothers can continu breastfeeding. I agree that night feeding is exhausting, so totally think that if someone feels that they can continu breastfeeding during the day if their partner helps with a formula bottle at night, what's wrong with that?

I think that being to rigid in the "all or nothing breastfeeding camp" is what sets women up to fail. There is a huge grey area between exclusively breastfeeding on demand and exclusively formula feeding.

Formulas are not all the same. The instructions on the packet don’t tell you how much and how often to feed your own individual baby. Teats and bottles are definitely not all the same.

I wasn’t able to breastfeed or to express enough. I absolutely did not get anywhere enough practical or emotional support to move forward to feeding with expressed milk + formula, which was the only possibility for me. NCT and LLL were only interested in endlessly telling me I should be trying to breastfeed, which I desperately tried to do for a long time. but just couldn’t. My twins were premature, tiny and never able to latch. There was no acknowledgment whatsoever that some of us just cannot produce enough milk and have no alternative to give formula. It was constantly suggested that I wasn’t trying hard enough. It was incredibly distressing and I felt like a complete failure.

I agree that breast is best, I agree that bottle manufacturers shouldn’t be sponsoring feeding articles on MN. But I thought the article itself was reasonably balanced, and doesn’t promote formula feeding or discourage breastfeeding.

I imagine you found it quite disturbing give your 3 year old has never had a full nights sleep and wakes every 3 mins to 2 hours. I wish you and your DS well, as I imagine the sleep situation must be crippling for you