Do you think that hospitals should provide formula milk?

[BethK]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

If as a mother my child went into hospital would I have to supply her meals?

 

[Janidog]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

So after a emergency c-section are you expecting me to get out of bed and sterlize the bottle etc.....??????? Or maybe you are expecting a midwife to do it whilst she is looking after other mums???

My son was in for 5days therefore a patient therefore he should have food provided for him by the hospital

 

[XfairyhopesX]

ive already said if it was the way things were done id have no prob with it - the point is you dont expect and old dear to take a pack up BECAUSE SHE CAN BUY IT!!! shes in hosp and everyone is treated THE SAME!!!

 

[smelly07]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

And you have no help what so ever in regards to providing for YOUR baby?

 

[ShanandBoc]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

Um, so you're opposed for food being provided for your child in hospital if they were admitted at say 2 or 3 then?? No different

 

[Kota]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

If as a mother my child went into hospital would I have to supply her meals?

I really don't see how thats even comparable. If your child went into hospital at any other time, I imagine it would be because they were ill, in an accident, otherwise hurt or injured etc. the of course the hospital would (and should) provide them with meals.

But at birth, if you KNOW that you don't want to BF, and you KNOW that you will be FF from birth, why would you not be prepared for that yourself? You know they'll need clothes, you take in clothes, you know they'll need nappies, you take in nappies, you know you'll need maternity pads for yourself, you take them in yourself. Why would you not take formula in yourself if you KNOW that you're going to need it.

 

[ellie]

But its not about whether the NHS supplies meals for mothers and other patients and therefore should supply a meal for the baby. It's about you as the mother, bringing in all the supplies that you know you will need for your baby, hat, vest, sleep suit, mittens, nappies, wipes, and (oh yeah, as I know I'll be FF from birth as thats what I've decided to do), formula.
No one has said that it shouldn't be available if medically needed, or in the event of a mother who is intending on BF'ing, having problems and her baby needing feeding.
But lets face it, there are hundreds of women who make the choice, while they are pregnant, that for whatever reason, they DO NOT WANT to BF. You see it on this forum alone almost every day that some mothers never had the intention of BF'ing. or after struggling with BF'ing for a first baby, won't bother trying with a second and will go straight to FF.
So WHY should the NHS (or any other countries medical system) foot the bill for those people?

I wouldnt have expected to get any free breastpads or maternity pads or anything like that. And the 'babies are patients so should get meals' doesn't make sense either, yes they are patients but as soon as you give birth you as mother assume responsibility for their care and feeding, and I really don't get why it's such a big deal if someone has DECIDED to FF and will have supplies already, surely? And lots have been researching the ready made stuff so its' not that hard surely?

I also don't understand why some are insisting on turning this into a 'bfers are sanctimonius and ff'ers are marginalised' thing, that's only in people's own heads and nothing to do with reality There's tons of people on here saying it should be provided, but some don't seem able to see that and seem to want to take everything as a personal attack

On the other hand ... some might say, we pay a fair amount of NI and taxes towards the NHS so we are 'paying' for it all anyway ... but still the NHS cannot cope with the massive demands on its resources, as so many people take it for granted and think they should do everything. If there's one critcism I have of a nationalised health service, its that people forget its value and demand too much of it, and don't flipping well appreciate how hard its working or what they do get and moan that they don't have more

 

[Kota]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

So after a emergency c-section are you expecting me to get out of bed and sterlize the bottle etc.....??????? Or maybe you are expecting a midwife to do it whilst she is looking after other mums???

My son was in for 5days therefore a patient therefore he should have food provided for him by the hospital

a c-section mum needing a bottle made up will always get first treatment over a mother that gave birth naturally and is breastfeeding. It's part of the reason they like to discharge people so quickly after birth if there is no issues and baby is feeding well. So that the MW's are available to provide the additional support needed to mothers in your situation.

 

[NG09]

Why has this turned into a 'them and us' discussion again? I don't get it. It would appear that some bf'ing mummy's have the hump becaus ff'ing mummy's are given formula for free. Seriously.. why do you even care?????

 

[Janidog]

These BF v FF debates always remind me of another two debates ........

Tubs v clinchers

or

shimano v campag

Also gets the same reaction

 

[ShanandBoc]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

If as a mother my child went into hospital would I have to supply her meals?

I really don't see how thats even comparable. If your child went into hospital at any other time, I imagine it would be because they were ill, in an accident, otherwise hurt or injured etc. the of course the hospital would (and should) provide them with meals.

But at birth, if you KNOW that you don't want to BF, and you KNOW that you will be FF from birth, why would you not be prepared for that yourself? You know they'll need clothes, you take in clothes, you know they'll need nappies, you take in nappies, you know you'll need maternity pads for yourself, you take them in yourself. Why would you not take formula in yourself if you KNOW that you're going to need it.

Some newborn babies may very well be ill.

I dont see what that has to do with it tbh. A patient is a patient, whatever they are in for. As a new mum i wasnt ill during my hospital stay, but like my baby i was still required to be there for medical care.

The issue here is clearly people having a problem with formula, nothing else. Very sad.

 

[Kota]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

And you have no help what so ever in regards to providing for YOUR baby?

Irrelevant surely?

More to the point though, I take responsibility for the choices I make in regards to my baby. From the day he was born, If I'd made a choice to do with his care, then I had the things I needed to provide that without expecting someone else to hand them to me simply because it was there.

Thats my whole point here, that if you make the informed decision to FF from birth, then you take on the responsibility of providing the required stuff to do that. It's not up to anyone else to pay your way.

 

[ellie]

Anyway, 50-odd pages has sort of said that:

- Some people think that formula should be seen as food the same way as meals are provided for any other patient. As we (in the uk) have an NHS we do not pay directly for this at the time (to quote cameron recently lol) and so as newborn babies are patients they should get the same thing e.g. 'free food'.

- Some people think that if you have chosen to FF from birth then your baby's food is something you should bring in with all the other supplies that any new mum would need to take into hospital; after all, if you have chosen to BF from birth you're planning to do the same, it's just that boobs don't cost money, and formula & bottles etc does. This seems to be about a fear that hospitals will discourage breastfeeding, if some people knew there was free stuff on offer they'd take it. But most women will have considered the options and made a decision before birth anyway.

- Everyone has said that formula should (and in fact is!) available for emergencies and shouldn't be paid for at the time.

- Lots of people think that the NHS is strapped and there ought to be other ways it can save money other than making people pay for or bring in their own formula. But lots of people think that doing that would save the NHS some money. Lots of us care because lots of us worry about the state of it and its future, and thinking about our own experience of post birth becuase it's recent and relevant makes us feel we have a bit more of a handle on what might be done better, instead of thinking where for example neurosurgeons might make better use of their brain surgery budgets


I can't imagine that even 1000 more pages would convince anyone to change their viewpoint or say much different than that ... I must do some work now ...

 

[charli87]

i havent read other replies as no doubt its turned sour as always but imo the hospital should have some for people who struggle with breastfeeding but it shouldnt be given out to people who just refuse to even try breastfeeding. I personally feel the nhs should be spendind money on staff etc in the maternity ward rather than formula for people that have already decided they aren't going to breastfeed, thats my opinion as i feel if they gave it out to everyone people wouldnt perciveer(sp?) with breastfeeding as it doesnt always work straight away it can take time and some practise

 

[NG09]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

And you have no help what so ever in regards to providing for YOUR baby?

Irrelevant surely?

More to the point though, I take responsibility for the choices I make in regards to my baby. From the day he was born, If I'd made a choice to do with his care, then I had the things I needed to provide that without expecting someone else to hand them to me simply because it was there.

Thats my whole point here, that if you make the informed decision to FF from birth, then you take on the responsibility of providing the required stuff to do that. It's not up to anyone else to pay your way.

So we should pay into a system so you can have all the help you need from lactation specialists etc and we should have to pay for a few measly bottles of formula because we choose to FF???

 

[ShanandBoc]

And Ellie who and how would u determine who needed formula as an emergency and who didnt?

 

[louandivy]

Okay a few bottles of formula which you can otherwise afford is TOTALLY different to lactaction specialists, who some women depend on to actually breastfeed successfully. (I'm not even anti-free formula but thats a stupid comparison)

 

[louandivy]

wait WTF am i doing arguing about milk on the internet when the sun is shining, i'm off!

 

[ShanandBoc]

i havent read other replies as no doubt its turned sour as always but imo the hospital should have some for people who struggle with breastfeeding but it shouldnt be given out to people who just refuse to even try breastfeeding. I personally feel the nhs should be spendind money on staff etc in the maternity ward rather than formula for people that have already decided they aren't going to breastfeed, thats my opinion as i feel if they gave it out to everyone people wouldnt perciveer(sp?) with breastfeeding as it doesnt always work straight away it can take time and some practise

But you have NO idea why that person may not want to even try bf. I have heard of a few mothers that couldnt bear the thought of it due to sexual abuse etc

 

[Kota]

and as a mother, you should be responsible for providing that food for YOUR baby, however that may be, Not relying on someone else to do it for you.

If as a mother my child went into hospital would I have to supply her meals?

I really don't see how thats even comparable. If your child went into hospital at any other time, I imagine it would be because they were ill, in an accident, otherwise hurt or injured etc. the of course the hospital would (and should) provide them with meals.

But at birth, if you KNOW that you don't want to BF, and you KNOW that you will be FF from birth, why would you not be prepared for that yourself? You know they'll need clothes, you take in clothes, you know they'll need nappies, you take in nappies, you know you'll need maternity pads for yourself, you take them in yourself. Why would you not take formula in yourself if you KNOW that you're going to need it.

Some newborn babies may very well be ill.

I dont see what that has to do with it tbh. A patient is a patient, whatever they are in for. As a new mum i wasnt ill during my hospital stay, but like my baby i was still required to be there for medical care.

The issue here is clearly people having a problem with formula, nothing else. Very sad.

well I hope that you're not implying I have a problem with formula. For whats its worth, it kept my son out of special care when he was born. Because like many, I had a baby that wouldn't feed, wouldn't latch, was jaundice, and was about to get VERY ill. Formula stopped that from happening, and allowed us to be discharged the next day.
He was combi fed for 5wks until a medical professional FINALLY listened to me and his 90% tongue tie was diagnosed and snipped and we were able to begin the very hard process to get him a breast fed baby.

Every step of the way here I've said that it should be available when medically needed.

I DO NOT have an issue with formula, I DO NOT have an issue with FF mummies. What I DO have issues with, is people expecting everything to be handed to them, that they could so easily provide for themselves, if they've made the CHOICE to do so. Rather then take the responsibility for the choice they've made, they expect the NHS to fork out hundreds of thousands more each year on formula because Joe Blogs doesn't think they should have to supply it for the first day their baby is alive.