GMTV a Midwife says "promoting Breast Feeding is bad"

[Blah11]

I dont think hospitals should run FF classes but they should atleast give information in the hospital when the mother says she chooses to FF.

No, I don't either and I agree. Promoting BF and not FF is the best way to go about things I think. I think 'lessons' on FF should be aimed at mothers who already have babies and have chosen to FF, not the pregnant women.

Just a quick question.....what if you can't BF for some reason, and literally you're sent home 12 hours after you give birth with no knowledge whatsoever of how to FF? Surely that's dangerous for LO and for Mum & Dad....wouldn't it be better for all parents to be offered the information during ante-natal care? If they choose not to take it that's their decision but I for one would want to know all about it, hence why I asked.

I do SCUBA diving (obviously not at the moment) but one thing that's always touted is 'increased redundancy'. You take more information and equipment than you normally need, but in that remote chance you may need it, it's there and ready to help you to survive.

The midwife comes on day2, and you should ask in the hospital.
That's another thing that kind of annoys me.. if people want info then ask for it! Don't just expect the MWs in the labour suite to remember when they're running about delivering babies and what not.

+ no, it wouldn't be better to offer it during antenatal IMO.

 

[sparkswillfly]

If a woman chooses to FF for whatever reason then she should be able to get information in the hospital once the baby is born. I dont think a class is needed, and if there was one it would just be seen to be promoting FF.

 

[asacia]

Just a quick question.....what if you can't BF for some reason, and literally you're sent home 12 hours after you give birth with no knowledge whatsoever of how to FF? Surely that's dangerous for LO and for Mum & Dad....wouldn't it be better for all parents to be offered the information during ante-natal care? If they choose not to take it that's their decision but I for one would want to know all about it, hence why I asked.

I do SCUBA diving (obviously not at the moment) but one thing that's always touted is 'increased redundancy'. You take more information and equipment than you normally need, but in that remote chance you may need it, it's there and ready to help you to survive.

Most breastfeeding problems can be overcome, and giving a bit of time to those problems, without resorting to formula, rarely has any negative effect.

It is perfectly possible to just hand express colostrum for a healthy, full term newborn, while seeking support to overcome problems.

As long as the baby is monitored closely, if baby doesn't latch on in the first 24 hours, I don't think it is an emergency that requires formula.

There are rarely any circumstances where there wouldn't be enough time for someone to nip out and buy formula, and have a quick lesson from a midwife. If the situation is so dire the baby needs feeding, I'd imagine he'd be tube fed?

Having formula 'just in case' often means Mums turn to it in a moment of weakness, which they later regret.

 

[Blah11]

Also, since there is no info on FF during pregnancy, it would probably make more mothers atleast try to BF even if its just for the first few feeds. Atleast the baby would get her antibodies.

 

[aimee-lou]

Fair enough.

I just think that a little knowledge can go a long way and having the information at your disposal would be helpful for a lot of people. People always talk about the power of choice and how people should be free....the whole thing about 'no-one can force you to do anything' during childbirth, it's your baby etc etc etc seems a bit hypocritical when people just seem to ignore formula feeding as an option completely.

 

[sparkswillfly]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

 

[Blah11]

Fair enough.

I just think that a little knowledge can go a long way and having the information at your disposal would be helpful for a lot of people. People always talk about the power of choice and how people should be free....the whole thing about 'no-one can force you to do anything' during childbirth, it's your baby etc etc etc seems a bit hypocritical when people just seem to ignore formula feeding as an option completely.

I don't know, I just think FF should be seen as a last resort more than an option. Yes, it's your baby and your baby should drink your milk and not a baby cows milk... Sorry, I'm just not gonna agree with you on this one

 

[aimee-lou]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

It's all about freedom to make the best decision for you and your baby. While it's not on the same scale IMO not providing food for someone in hospital be they a baby, or a new mother, is awful! Should new mothers bring their own meals, or have to order take-away?

And that's the problem...there is no consistency at all and parents are left confused and unable to prepare which can only cause anxiety.

 

[Blah11]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

I remember a year ago or something there was a huge debate on BnB about this. I find it ridiculous that people expect them to hand out formula You don't expect the hospital to provide nappies, wipes, clothes, etc etc so why formula?

 

[Blah11]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

It's all about freedom to make the best decision for you and your baby. While it's not on the same scale IMO not providing food for someone in hospital be they a baby, or a new mother, is awful! Should new mothers bring their own meals, or have to order take-away?

And that's the problem...there is no consistency at all and parents are left confused and unable to prepare which can only cause anxiety.

lol I think there's a huge difference between bringing a tin of formula and mixing it with hot water or a few cartons of milk, and having to bring in spuds, steak and brocolli and fry/boil/roast them

 

[aimee-lou]

Fair enough.

I just think that a little knowledge can go a long way and having the information at your disposal would be helpful for a lot of people. People always talk about the power of choice and how people should be free....the whole thing about 'no-one can force you to do anything' during childbirth, it's your baby etc etc etc seems a bit hypocritical when people just seem to ignore formula feeding as an option completely.

I don't know, I just think FF should be seen as a last resort more than an option. Yes, it's your baby and your baby should drink your milk and not a baby cows milk... Sorry, I'm just not gonna agree with you on this one

No I know...it's a very contentious issue which I think is why there is so little consistency in how people have experienced their tuition etc. It's a shame that there isn't an un-biased way to please everyone and not be seen to the pressurising anyone....however, this is the fun bit of living in a country like the UK. We'd be complaining more if we had no health service and no source of advice and help. We just have to make of it what we can and take from it what we need.

 

[asacia]

It's all about freedom to make the best decision for you and your baby. While it's not on the same scale IMO not providing food for someone in hospital be they a baby, or a new mother, is awful! Should new mothers bring their own meals, or have to order take-away?

And that's the problem...there is no consistency at all and parents are left confused and unable to prepare which can only cause anxiety.

I think it is easy enough to prepare, if you are going to FF from birth, when you go on the tour of the Delivery Suite, ask the staff if they provide formula. If they don't, then buy some, if they do, don't take any with you.

 

[Lu28]

I didn't see this programme but I have to say I agree with what seems to have been said. I really do think that breastfeeding should always be encouraged but I have found that if this is done too vigorously, it makes those who need / choose to ff feel really bad about it. In our antenatal classes (in Dublin) they asked who intended to bf - now after 30 minutes of being told exactly why bf was best and why there really wasn't any excuse not to bf, no-one admitted that they intended to ff so no information was given as it "wasn't necessary". Now I don't believe for a second that in a room of 20 women, no-one intended to ff but they were obviously too embarrassed to admit it and therefore left without the necessary information.

I agree that if you decide you want to bf, then the midwives need to be quite strict with you to encourage you in the very early difficult days but this shouldn't be to the detriment of those who ff. Yes, it would be nice if the rates of bfing were higher but that's no reason to attempt to force it on people.

I topped Aisling up with formula for the first few weeks due to poor latch etc and I was ridiculously confused about formula, was it water or formula that went into the bottle first, how did I keep it sterile etc etc I was expressing for the most part and I know technically I could have expressed so she exclusively had breastmilk but I had a massive case of the baby blues and had to move countries when she was 3 weeks old and I know it would have tipped me over the edge.

Sorry for the long ramble, I just think it's so important to balance encouraging bfing with making people feel bad if they ff, every mother needs to make their own decisions and as long as baby is happy, healthy and well fed then that's all that matters in the grand scheme of things

 

[aimee-lou]

It's all about freedom to make the best decision for you and your baby. While it's not on the same scale IMO not providing food for someone in hospital be they a baby, or a new mother, is awful! Should new mothers bring their own meals, or have to order take-away?

And that's the problem...there is no consistency at all and parents are left confused and unable to prepare which can only cause anxiety.

I think it is easy enough to prepare, if you are going to FF from birth, when you go on the tour of the Delivery Suite, ask the staff if they provide formula. If they don't, then buy some, if they do, don't take any with you.

Ahh now you see, another lack of consistency here. I can't have a tour and my MW doens't know if they provide or not! I will have to call at some point and be pro-active about this, but other people may not be as confident/capable/prepared as me. As I said before.....devil's advocate, me!

 

[aimee-lou]

I didn't see this programme but I have to say I agree with what seems to have been said. I really do think that breastfeeding should always be encouraged but I have found that if this is done too vigorously, it makes those who need / choose to ff feel really bad about it. In our antenatal classes (in Dublin) they asked who intended to bf - now after 30 minutes of being told exactly why bf was best and why there really wasn't any excuse not to bf, no-one admitted that they intended to ff so no information was given as it "wasn't necessary". Now I don't believe for a second that in a room of 20 women, no-one intended to ff but they were obviously too embarrassed to admit it and therefore left without the necessary information.

I agree that if you decide you want to bf, then the midwives need to be quite strict with you to encourage you in the very early difficult days but this shouldn't be to the detriment of those who ff. Yes, it would be nice if the rates of bfing were higher but that's no reason to attempt to force it on people.

I topped Aisling up with formula for the first few weeks due to poor latch etc and I was ridiculously confused about formula, was it water or formula that went into the bottle first, how did I keep it sterile etc etc I was expressing for the most part and I know technically I could have expressed so she exclusively had breastmilk but I had a massive case of the baby blues and had to move countries when she was 3 weeks old and I know it would have tipped me over the edge.

Sorry for the long ramble, I just think it's so important to balance encouraging bfing with making people feel bad if they ff, every mother needs to make their own decisions and as long as baby is happy, healthy and well fed then that's all that matters in the grand scheme of things

Agreed!

 

[lesleyann]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

I remember a year ago or something there was a huge debate on BnB about this. I find it ridiculous that people expect them to hand out formula You don't expect the hospital to provide nappies, wipes, clothes, etc etc so why formula?

My hospital hands it all out lol even offered to change all his nappies and bath him for me and they offered to baby sit if i wanted to go out side for a walk but they never even gave me advice or help on FF when i asked even though kyle could not latch on, it was BF and get help or FF and heres a bottle all ready made up.. The way a couple of people in this thread want it, would be pushing more and more on BF which can make people get PND because there baby cannot BF.. Is it really worth saying no formula and no help so that women get PND?? i dont think so, its about freedom to pick and we should have a right to have all the info on everything and not be pushed more into one thing just because the goverment say so.


Also we where not aloud a tour of the delivery suit so ask these questions and my midwife went on mat leave when i was 24weeks ish and my new midwife rang me 2days after i had kyle to ask about giving me a swep if i had not all ready have him.. I had been seeing random midwifes who said they would do something to then never see them again

 

[sparkswillfly]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

I remember a year ago or something there was a huge debate on BnB about this. I find it ridiculous that people expect them to hand out formula You don't expect the hospital to provide nappies, wipes, clothes, etc etc so why formula?

My hospital hands it all out lol even offered to change all his nappies and bath him for me and they offered to baby sit if i wanted to go out side for a walk but they never even gave me advice or help on FF when i asked even though kyle could not latch on, it was BF and get help or FF and heres a bottle all ready made up.. The way a couple of people in this thread want it, would be pushing more and more on BF which can make people get PND because there baby cannot BF.. Is it really worth saying no formula and no help so that women get PND?? i dont think so, its about freedom to pick and we should have a right to have all the info on everything and not be pushed more into one thing just because the goverment say so.

Nobody has said no help should be available at all.

 

[asacia]

My hospital hands it all out lol even offered to change all his nappies and bath him for me and they offered to baby sit if i wanted to go out side for a walk but they never even gave me advice or help on FF when i asked even though kyle could not latch on, it was BF and get help or FF and heres a bottle all ready made up.. The way a couple of people in this thread want it, would be pushing more and more on BF which can make people get PND because there baby cannot BF.. Is it really worth saying no formula and no help so that women get PND?? i dont think so, its about freedom to pick and we should have a right to have all the info on everything and not be pushed more into one thing just because the goverment say so.

I just don't want women to go through what I went through. Had I not had a support structure in place, and was very clued up about BF'ing, my LO would be FF now, and I'd feel worse. Yes, it was agony spending 7 hours a day expressing, it was draining, yes I felt like a complete failure. But I did it, and I feel so much better now. We had so many problems, but we cracked them, and LO and I are much, much happier. In a lot of cases, Formula is the easy way out, and I wish women were encouraged to get through the hard bit, and reap the benefits of overcoming those issues and having a happy, healthy BF'ing relationship. Very few problems are unovercomable.

I don't think Formula should be provided by hospitals, much like nappies shouldn't be.

I think information, by way of leaflet, should be handed out on request to Mums who choose to Formula feed.

One thing I would like, would be a leaflet given to all Mums, detailling where to get BF'ing support from. MWs and HVs aren't really adequate. Every woman should have access to a fully trained breastfeeding counsellor.

 

[Blah11]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

I remember a year ago or something there was a huge debate on BnB about this. I find it ridiculous that people expect them to hand out formula You don't expect the hospital to provide nappies, wipes, clothes, etc etc so why formula?

My hospital hands it all out lol even offered to change all his nappies and bath him for me and they offered to baby sit if i wanted to go out side for a walk but they never even gave me advice or help on FF when i asked even though kyle could not latch on, it was BF and get help or FF and heres a bottle all ready made up.. The way a couple of people in this thread want it, would be pushing more and more on BF which can make people get PND because there baby cannot BF.. Is it really worth saying no formula and no help so that women get PND?? i dont think so, its about freedom to pick and we should have a right to have all the info on everything and not be pushed more into one thing just because the goverment say so.

I think if you're gonna get PND, you'll get it whether you can BF or not.

It's not as if this is a new thing and the government has just decided that breast is best I don't know why the country ended up with so many FF mothers at all because it's not always been like that obviously. Like I said, I really do think it should be a last resort more than a BF or FF choice and that BF should be seen as the norm because lets face it, we have boobies to feed our babies. If for whatever reason the mother can't BF then of course give them help and info on FFing their baby, but only after help has been offered to remedy the reason they can't BF IYKWIM?

 

[lesleyann]

If a mother chooses to FF from birth then I dont see a problem with them having to bring their own formula to the hospital.

As long as hospitals are consistant and the mothers are aware of this.

I remember a year ago or something there was a huge debate on BnB about this. I find it ridiculous that people expect them to hand out formula You don't expect the hospital to provide nappies, wipes, clothes, etc etc so why formula?

My hospital hands it all out lol even offered to change all his nappies and bath him for me and they offered to baby sit if i wanted to go out side for a walk but they never even gave me advice or help on FF when i asked even though kyle could not latch on, it was BF and get help or FF and heres a bottle all ready made up.. The way a couple of people in this thread want it, would be pushing more and more on BF which can make people get PND because there baby cannot BF.. Is it really worth saying no formula and no help so that women get PND?? i dont think so, its about freedom to pick and we should have a right to have all the info on everything and not be pushed more into one thing just because the goverment say so.

Nobody has said no help should be available at all.

No its just the way they dont want formula to be given out and they dont want FF to have a group or a class to all go to and they should not be given FF info before they have there baby only once they have there baby ect but BF info should be given out during pregnancy ?? it just shoves BF in your face and makes some people very upset that they cannot BF when they wanted to and tried to, yet more people want to push BF even more and removed more things about FF