hospitals stopping providing formula

[alice&bump]

at antenatal last night the midwife told us that as of 1st sept our hospital is no longer providing formula. apparently its a nationwide thing to promote breastfeeding and is gona be introduced everywhere. i cant see how just cos the hospital arent providing formula its gona make you reconsider how you feed tho!! probs just more cost cutting.

what you've got to do is take in cartons and then put them in the fridge with your name on, but as soon as any goes in a bottle then it has to be thrown if its not used. dont know if thats any different to what normally happens lol!!

but yea, i'd check with midwives to safeguard against not having milk, but i'm sure they'd tell you if there was gona be a change!

 

[tiggertea]

omg - that's a bit harsh - even by NHS standards!
how you choose to feed should surely be a personal choice, not something forced on you by the lack of options available. grrrrrr!

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

at my hospital they never gave it when i went in with brendan either, they didnt give you anything, no nappies, no formula, no maternity pads! u have to take everything in yourself

 

[Hevz]

I'm really into breastfeeding but I'm imagining the chaos....strilisers everywhere. People all trying to get pre-boiled water to mix bottles etc


Like the midwives job isn't hard enough without people pestering them for water for the bottle, asking how many scoops to use etc


I'm not sure it'll make people more likely to breastfeed....maybe just more likely to have a home birth or even discharge themselves too early from hospital when it's possibly not safe for them to leave.


What hospital was that Alice?

 

[Vickie]

What happens to mothers who have problems breast feeding

 

[Hevz]

What happens to mothers who have problems breast feeding

Well they'll have to have more breastfeeding support etc for a start coz at the moment they're so stretched that people often don't get the support they need right at the beginning in hospital. I know that is the way locally here coz I'm a breastmate peer support councillor and have a lot of dealings with Mum's who were encouraged to give baby a bit of extra milk via a bottle in pregnancy and now their baby's are suffering from nipple confusion and struggling to latch onto Mummy's breast

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

Well they'll have to have more breastfeeding support etc for a start coz at the moment they're so stretched that people often don't get the support they need right at the beginning in hospital. I know that is the way locally here coz I'm a breastmate peer support councillor and have a lot of dealings with Mum's who were encouraged to give baby a bit of extra milk via a bottle in pregnancy and now their baby's are suffering from nipple confusion and struggling to latch onto Mummy's breast

this is the problem i had with brendan i only lasted 3 days breastfeeding, no MW had the time to show me or help me and i was in pain and in the end i was really strugglin and crying everytime i fed him and bleedin more than i had milk lol! i kept asking for help but getting dismissed, this time im going to make sure i get more help!

 

[nikky0907]

This is completely crazy!
It's a personal choice and should be treated as such!

Thank god,there's no such thing over here but it still makes me mad!

 

[Hevz]

Well they'll have to have more breastfeeding support etc for a start coz at the moment they're so stretched that people often don't get the support they need right at the beginning in hospital. I know that is the way locally here coz I'm a breastmate peer support councillor and have a lot of dealings with Mum's who were encouraged to give baby a bit of extra milk via a bottle in pregnancy and now their baby's are suffering from nipple confusion and struggling to latch onto Mummy's breast

this is the problem i had with brendan i only lasted 3 days breastfeeding, no MW had the time to show me or help me and i was in pain and in the end i was really strugglin and crying everytime i fed him and bleedin more than i had milk lol! i kept asking for help but getting dismissed, this time im going to make sure i get more help!

Find out now about breastfeeding support in your area and if there's a lactation consultant that you can speak to....before birth as the more info you have under your belt the easier it will be for you....also easier for you to realise if something's not right (like latching on like you had last time). Find out if there's a number you can ring 24hours a day


Good luck babe xxxxxxxxx

 

[Tilly]

My opinion on this is really different.

It's my baby, my responsibility to feed it, provide everything it needs whilst we are there. Charlie - you're saying "no nappies, no formula, no maternity pads" but it's not for them to provide for you? I took all of my own stuff.. what makes you any different? *not meant to sound harsh, just want your view*

If this is the case, then when I have my next baby I will just take some small bottles of the SMA, or the cartons.. not a problem. I do agree on the breastfeeding though, no one offered me good support whilst I was there - they were useless!

 

[alice&bump]

What hospital was that Alice?

Stepping Hill in Stockport. they used single use bottles and cartons of milk rather than having to mix it all up before, so there was no need for sterilisers before. they'll still provide the bottles, but just not the milk.

they're providing more breastfeeding support aswell, which it hink is another national thing, cos there's not enough support at all for it. dont know what they'd do if you planned on breastfeeding and couldnt tho

 

[Dragonfly]

at antenatal last night the midwife told us that as of 1st sept our hospital is no longer providing formula. apparently its a nationwide thing to promote breastfeeding and is gona be introduced everywhere. i cant see how just cos the hospital arent providing formula its gona make you reconsider how you feed tho!! probs just more cost cutting.

what you've got to do is take in cartons and then put them in the fridge with your name on, but as soon as any goes in a bottle then it has to be thrown if its not used. dont know if thats any different to what normally happens lol!!

but yea, i'd check with midwives to safeguard against not having milk, but i'm sure they'd tell you if there was gona be a change!

Ahhh Thats not to promote brest milk thats to save a few quid. I wont be able to brest feed as i will more likely be on meds after with depression as i cant go on anything now. But least I know to brng my own formula in with me.

 

[Hevz]

I breastfed and took medication for severe depression. I definitely think the breastfeeding helped me too as I felt so useless....this was one thing that I could do and was so proud that I was "growing" my baby by myself IYKWIM?

You may not want to breastfeed but though I'd let you know that it can still be possible just in case you thought it wasn't



Alice...Stepping Hill do have a lactation consultant and pretty good breastfeeding support luckily

 

[alice&bump]

out of interest hevz, do you know if its standard practise at stepping hill to keep you in longer if you're breastfeeding? i've been told at st mary's they try to get you out after about 6 hours after you've given birth, but my m/w told me that they'll keep me in for 24/48 hours as i'm breastfeeding. which does make sense, so you've got the hang etc. but i just cant help feeling its cos i'm younger. (i'm 20 and most people round here are in their 30s or older that are havin babies)

 

[keelykat]

I can see the idea behind it, but not supplying any formula at all seems a bit nasty. What happens if mom cant b-feed for genuine reasons ie medication (although i now know most meds can be safe for b-feeding these days)?

I know i havent had my baby yet and cant talk from experience, but the hopsital im going to does seem to be very supportive with b-feeding, they've got lots of classes and coffee mornings for support etc. and the midwife who did our hospital tour told us to stay in untill we are happy with established b-feeding and not to hesitate to ask for help if needed. Ive even been given the mobile number of the one lady who runs classes-who said ring her up if ive any problems etc. Im hoping they are as supportive as ive been told.

keely.

 

[Blah11]

I understand why they do things like this. Formula is SO expensive and I don't really see why the hospital should use their budget to feed your baby if you can afford to yourself. I work in a hospital and it really bugs me when patients don't have their own soap, shampoo, razors etc etc. Some don't even have clothes or shoes and we have to provide those too

 

[Neecee]

I can see the logic behind this, but what will the hospital do with premature babies or mothers who REALLY can't breastfeed? Maybe it would be better if they just kept some there as a very last resort, but the focus could still be on encouraging mothers to breast feed.

 

[Blah11]

This is completely crazy!
It's a personal choice and should be treated as such!

Thank god,there's no such thing over here but it still makes me mad!

no one said they aren't allowed to bottle feed! Just that the NHS wasn't going to pay for the formula.

 

[Blah11]

I can see the logic behind this, but what will the hospital do with premature babies or mothers who REALLY can't breastfeed? Maybe it would be better if they just kept some there as a very last resort, but the focus could still be on encouraging mothers to breast feed.

I think they'll have supplies for emergencies but after they know baby will be on formula, the parents probably need to bring some in.

 

[tiggertea]

I think they'll have supplies for emergencies but after they know baby will be on formula, the parents probably need to bring some in.

That would be a better idea - to still have the option there, even if there was a charge for the day's supply or whatever. Much more sensible than saying "we don't have any".


On a side note.... I'm still not entirely sure what we pay our National Insurance for.... the NHS don't even supply the basic care required most of the time (in my area at least), never mind the little extras to make a hospital stay easier, like a day's supply of baby formula, a couple of nappies, etc... (Sorry if this offends anyone but it's very close to my heart at the moment as I've had to invest in private care just to have the scans and bloods that should be "standard" on the NHS)