Hospital bans free formula. What do you think?

[Foogirl]

At mine you can, its £50+ a night and your OH still cant even stay

ooh, interesting. I must look into that!

Cheaper than travel inn!

 

[midori1999]

The point is, in some cases, giving formula (especially while donated breast milk is in short supply) could be a serious medical emergency. Hospitals are there to provide medical treatment, so when formula is a medical necessity, they should supply it.

In fact, if people should bring their own formula or pay for any formula they use in hospital, do you think they should pay for donated breastmilk too? It costs each NICU around £100 a litre, much more than formula.

 

[OmarsMum]

They don't offer free formula here. If you want to FF, you bring it with you. I didn't have milk to BF, Omar was jaundiced & couldn't latch on, there was no milk when I tried to express, I had a bfing consultant for 2 hours with no success, when they agreed to formula feed him it was by a syringe & we had to pay for it.

 

[midori1999]

They don't offer free formula here. If you want to FF, you bring it with you. I didn't have milk to BF, Omar was jaundiced & couldn't latch on, there was no milk when I tried to express, I had a bfing consultant for 2 hours with no success, when they agreed to formula feed him it was by a syringe & we had to pay for it.

Sorry to be naive, but do you have the equivalent to the NHS where you are?

 

[Mrmojo1971]

At mine you can, its £50+ a night and your OH still cant even stay

ooh, interesting. I must look into that!

Cheaper than travel inn!

£75 a night at St Mary's but you're not guaranteed a room will be available as priority is based on medical need.

I would have been happy to pay (after a previous bad experience on a maternity ward at another hospital) but they very nicely let me have a private room free of charge.

 

[OmarsMum]

They don't offer free formula here. If you want to FF, you bring it with you. I didn't have milk to BF, Omar was jaundiced & couldn't latch on, there was no milk when I tried to express, I had a bfing consultant for 2 hours with no success, when they agreed to formula feed him it was by a syringe & we had to pay for it.

Sorry to be naive, but do you have the equivalent to the NHS where you are?

No, we only have MOH that governs government hospitals & clinics. Locals are covered free of charge under MOH but expats have to have private insurance or pay cash for their services.

But their rules apply to locals & expats equally.

 

[aliss]

Where I gave birth (British Columbia) there was no free formula either unless a medical necessity (and lactation consultants/pumping was always considered as the next option, not formula). The province also has high breastfeeding rates compared to other western nations and provinces. The doctors/nurses/midwives do not even discuss your preferred choice of feeding, it is assumed BF.

TBH I was surprised to hear that any hospital gives out formula for those who choose it (as opposed to medical need), but that's only because of what I'm used to.

 

[OmarsMum]

Where I gave birth (British Columbia) there was no free formula either unless a medical necessity (and lactation consultants/pumping was always considered as the next option, not formula). The province also has high breastfeeding rates compared to other western nations and provinces. The doctors/nurses/midwives do not even discuss your preferred choice of feeding, it is assumed BF.

TBH I was surprised to hear that any hospital gives out formula for those who choose it (as opposed to medical need), but that's only because of what I'm used to.

It's the same here, they don't ask about your feeding plan, the 1st thing they do is sending a MW or a nurse to teach you how to BF.

 

[MikaylasMummy]

I agree with the last few posts.I believe the hospital should have formula on hand for medical necessity..ie if the baby is severely dehydrated(my lo was and landed in special care cos of lack of supply but we only gave one bottle of formula and they just
Got me to pump all day and night as well as feed) or if something happens post nataly to the mother..I nearly ended up with an emergency hysterectomy and had this taken place I could only imagine little one would be desperate for a feed while mum was away in surgery and recovering..however I totally agree should ppl choose to ff they should provide it themselves or pay.

 

[Foogirl]

The point is, in some cases, giving formula (especially while donated breast milk is in short supply) could be a serious medical emergency. Hospitals are there to provide medical treatment, so when formula is a medical necessity, they should supply it.

In fact, if people should bring their own formula or pay for any formula they use in hospital, do you think they should pay for donated breastmilk too? It costs each NICU around £100 a litre, much more than formula.

I've already said different rules do, and should, apply in NICU. Not least because I don't think i'vee met a preemie mum who was at the hospital bag packing stage when they had had their babies. I certainly thought I had a good bit of time to sort it out

But not only that, in NICU the babies are admitted patients and should be entitled to be fed, just as any other patient is.

Interesting question re: donated milk though, maybe if people were paid to donate milk, more would do it. Although I can see that could bring it's own problems. Are there not some private milk banks that do buy and sell it? I thought I had read that somewhere. Or was that just the thing about making ice cream from it?

 

[midori1999]

Medical necessity doesn't always require an NICU (or SCBU) stay though, so only providing formula in those and not in maternity wards would mean more babies being admitted to NICU etc which would raise costs to the NHS and mean babies were unecessarily separated from their mothers, not to mention taking up extremely valuable beds.

I do see what you're trying to say, but I don't personally think it's sensible to not have any formula at all in maternity wards. I do agree though, that if people intend to FF, they should provide that formula themselves.

I also agree that more people might donate milk if they were paid for it. I think that just reflects what a sad, selfish society we live in.

 

[prgirl_cesca]

I think they should give out free formula; it's every womans right to choose how they feed their children and I don't think they should be forced into / shunned into breastfeeding x

This.

When my son was rushed into the paedeatric ward for breathing difficulties I didn't bring any bottles with me as it was such a rush and they provided free formula for me which was a godsend.

I'm not sure how I feel about it on maternity wards. My hospital weren't going to discharge me because I hadn't established breastfeeding yet - I was exhausted, emotional, tired, lonely and battling with a baby who was so poor at latching the midwives couldn't either help. I asked for formula and they gave it to me. I am so grateful to have the chance to have got it, but sometimes I wonder if I may have been able to breastfeed eventually had I not have got that option. However remembering how hysterical I was when they told me they were not going to let me home until he fed I have to be grateful to have got the formula.

 

[Natsku]

Where I gave birth (British Columbia) there was no free formula either unless a medical necessity (and lactation consultants/pumping was always considered as the next option, not formula). The province also has high breastfeeding rates compared to other western nations and provinces. The doctors/nurses/midwives do not even discuss your preferred choice of feeding, it is assumed BF.

TBH I was surprised to hear that any hospital gives out formula for those who choose it (as opposed to medical need), but that's only because of what I'm used to.

It's the same here, they don't ask about your feeding plan, the 1st thing they do is sending a MW or a nurse to teach you how to BF.

Same here as well. After they finished stitching me up the midwife said "right its time to breastfeed now" and helped Maria latch on. She didn't even consider that I might not want to breastfeed.

 

[special_kala]

I dont see how not providing formula/selling it is forcing people to breast feed. Its not like they are bannning formula from hospitals.

If someone chooses to formula feed then why should they not provide the milk? I provide my babies milk so why shouldnt they?

 

[elfy_p]

I'm having my baby at this hospital in November and have noticed from antenatal visits just how pro-bf they are. There is never any acknowledgement that some mums struggle and just can't do it. All the pro-bf propaganda they have is about how wonderful bf is and how its good for you and baby. Tell me something I don't know! Sure, mums should bf if they can but it shouldnt be made into such a big deal.
I went through pure hell trying to bf my son (he's now nearly 10), everything that could go wrong did, and I was given absolutely no help or support at all. When I had my daughter a year later I didnt want to try bf-ing out of fear, and hospital refused to discharge me as they thought I wouldnt bf if I went home. After failing both my babies, I went through 4 years of severe PND, self harming and antidepressants.
Whether things have changed, and St Mary's will give me the support I need, will have to wait to find out. I'm just concerned that despite them being so pro-bf, the support will be lacking if you have problems.
I was asked at St Mary's if I wanted to come to antenatal classes, and the midwife looked so shocked when I said I wouldnt be coming because all these classes are is misleading and nothing but propaganda.
I would love to be able to breastfeed this time around, I'm so desperate for it to work out, but given my past experience I know its possible that it wont happen and I'll have proved to be a bad mother to another child.

 

[Carly2310]

I plan to formula feed this baby as I did the previous two, at the moment I'm lucky as my hospital provide milk, however if they didn't I'd be more than happy to provide my own. I think that the choice should lie with the mother, but I don't see an issue with having to provide the formula, it's not the NHS's job to fund it I suppose, it's my baby and my decision to feed her that way therefor it's my responcibility to provide that milk.
I have to pay for it when I leave the hospital so why not while I'm in there?
That's how I see it anyway....

 

[Lightworker]

Elfy-P: - I think that is a misuse of the word "propaganda" though.

ETA- OOps, my mistake..I usually attach negative connotations with the word propaganda in so far as it is involved in manipulative tactics. I just checked and its original form does not necessarily imply negative tactics. My bad x

 

[moomin_troll]

surely if a place is pro breastfeeding that means they are more likely to offer help and support?
but i find that really depends on the midwives u get. i got no bf help with my first and i gave up. with my second i only had 1 mw out of 4 who helped me n it made all the difference

 

[Foogirl]

Medical necessity doesn't always require an NICU (or SCBU) stay though, so only providing formula in those and not in maternity wards would mean more babies being admitted to NICU etc which would raise costs to the NHS and mean babies were unecessarily separated from their mothers, not to mention taking up extremely valuable beds.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say a baby who is not BFing well and therefore needs formula but might be a wee while delayed in getting it will end up in NNICU. Newborn babies can go quite some time without a full feed. There are also alternatives to give for dehydration.

I just don't consider formula as something that is ever given through "medical necessity" Unless it is a Neocate or something similar.

 

[midori1999]

Medical necessity doesn't always require an NICU (or SCBU) stay though, so only providing formula in those and not in maternity wards would mean more babies being admitted to NICU etc which would raise costs to the NHS and mean babies were unecessarily separated from their mothers, not to mention taking up extremely valuable beds.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say a baby who is not BFing well and therefore needs formula but might be a wee while delayed in getting it will end up in NNICU. Newborn babies can go quite some time without a full feed. There are also alternatives to give for dehydration.

I just don't consider formula as something that is ever given through "medical necessity" Unless it is a Neocate or something similar.

Maybe that is because your experience isn't broad enough then?

My baby was at risk of low blood sugar (something that can be extremely dangerous and life threatening in infants) and although it became borderline, had it been too low then one of the options would have been to give formula, but in my hospital she wouldn't have had to go to NICU for that, another option would have been to go to NICU and have a glucose drip put in. Now, obviously when trying to establish BF, it is helpful to have your baby next to you at all times, not in an NICU cot, and so maybe in my/her case, giving formula would have been less detrimental to BF than her going to NICU.

My daughter also needed IV antibitoics after her birth. She was admitted as an in patient, but stayed in maternity with me, thank goodness. So, by your theory, as an in patient she should have recieved formula anyway, had that been my choice.