Baby Milk Price Hike!

PrincessPlaty

pigpen wrote: »

so many people breastfeed in other European countries because hospitals do not provide free milk, nor do they ram a bottle in the mothers hand the second things look a bit like needing work..

Thats exactly what the hospital tried to do with my DS when i had him 4 weeks ago, I had had pethedine and he was a very sleepy baby and he wasnt interested in feeding at all for the first few hours the first thing they wanted to do was give him a top up with a bottle!!!
:mad:

happyfili

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

Its not the breastfeeding mum's fault, its not the government's fault, its the formula companies who determine the price.D.

Yes and no...formula milk aimed at 6 months and less can't be advertised in any way...the 6 months plus formula box is about the same price as the newborn - 3months and the 3 months - 6months in Boots....

The price of the box / carton is pretty much the same be it the baby or toddler version...I'm sure there's not a great deal of difference...it was about 6 quid when my LO was a baby, I'm sure it's gone up in cost now.

But bottle feeding does have so many benefits..yes breastfeeding has many too but why the government have a ban on any positive info regarding bottle feeding is very Orwellian to me

skintchick

happyfili wrote: »

Hi, I agree completely with what you are saying, and also disagree too...I was told breastfeeding was the best and natural etc etc and which is why I did it...my little girl was latched onto my nipples for most of the first week :rotfl:

What i didn't like was the a) lack of information about the problems that I expect a lot of mothers come across whilst trying to breastfeed. It may be natural but it doesn't make it easy.

b) because the government support breastfeeding (which I agree with) why do they ban the promotion of alternatives? According to your statistics only 1% of 6 month year old babies are breastfed, yet there is no information (as in official info) available to them? isn't that frightening?

c) Being a first time mother you are full of guilt about everything you do anyway...whether it be you had a 4 vodka and cokes when you were 3 weeks gone and had no idea you are preggers...shouldn't we support our mothers rather than make them feel guilty all the time and make information available to them?

Just a few thoughts

I agree it isn;t easy - I think I made it clear that I had a lot of problems myself with Bfing - but I also think it worth making an effort for. I'm not saying anyone on here didn't make an effort, because i'm not in possession of everyone's detailed stories, but all of the women I know IRL who are formula feeding do it for their own convenience, not because they couldn;t BF.

Is it frightening there's no info for the 99 per cent of women who don;t BF at 6 months? Not to me, no. I find it far more worrying that women don;t BF. I agree with the policy not to promote formula and I would disagree there's no info on formula anyway - health professionals seem to talk to mums about it from what I see at my local clinic, and I find it more if an issue that there is a terrible lack of help and support for breastfeeding.

As for the quote I've made bold - yes, yes, yes! But I'd say info and help and support for breastfeeding, not formula.

I guess we are looking at the issue from different sides of the coin (to ix metaphors).

MrsTine wrote: »

Really? Because as a dane who's lived in Norway and worked in Sweden I can assure you I saw just as many women formula feeding when I was working there as I do here... But if you can find some official statistics on it I'm all eyes

Then again Norway, Denmark and Sweden also have a far superiod maternity pay system (12 months full pay) but a harsher unemployment system. There is also a 54% income tax in Denmark to pay for that...
Yes women are women but you're comparing apples and pears on this one.

I have to say that I disagree thoroughly about "almost all BFing problems can be resolved with the right help". Sorry but no. What right help would have helped me keep my daughter from trying to forcibly remove my nipple from my breast whenever I fed her???
Feely I'm glad that with a lot of support from on here and your mum and your HV you managed to get Toby to breast feed - I cheered for you that day I truely did! - but please do not try and patronise those of us who had to stop for emotional, physical, medical or whatever reason was important enough for us to have to give up or give up trying to breastfeed our children! Ofcourse we know breast is best - I think all bar those who should honestly have been made to take an IQ test before being allowed to procreate know that breast is best. HOWEVER not all mums can for whatever reason to her cope with breast feeding. There are a few who choose not to for the wrong reasons (don't want saggy boobs, think it's gross etc) but I think I have yet to actually meet a mum in the flesh who didn't feel like a failure to one level or another for having to give up. I've yet to meet one of those who did it for selfish reasons although I have heard of them. So... majority to me seem to have gone that route because of circumstance, not because it was easiest.

I think that MWs and HVs are right to promote breasfeeding - I think it should be encouraged at all oppertunerties and I hope one day that all the hang ups of our culture vanish so that BFing mums don't get stared at or even asked to leave cafe's etc - and likewise I lookforward to the day when it's not breastfeeding cafe's but "mums and dads cafe" where both parents are welcomed and formula feeding mums aren't made to feel like devils spawn for not breast feeding.

So in short... good on you for breast feeding, very happy for you, please stop trying to tell those of us who couldn't carry on that "with the right help you could have" because you're not helping even if (and I truely don't think so) you may be right.

Mrs Tine - I quoted my friend as it being what she said because I haven;t looked up official figures for countries other than the UK.

THe nipple thing - well, from what I hear it happens to every mum! My DD definitely started doing that at 4 months and still does and yes, it DOEs hurt! But I've managed to get her to stop doing it so much, and I know when she is going to now so I can hold the back of her head to stop her hurting me - obviously it made you stop BFing but it isn;t *really* a good reason IMO, albeit a valid one for you.

Having said that, it was your decision, and whether I think it's a good one or not is by the by - I don;t want anyone to feel guilty for what they have done in the past or have chosen to do now, but it remains true that women in this country give up breastfeeding very readily, and I believe it is important that the powers that be look into that and try and reverse it.

Not because mums are bad people but because they need help and support especially in the early days and currently they don;t get it.

THe problem is that this is such an emotive subject because who wants to think they've not done the best by their child? I still feel guilty for giving DD Calpol because I didn;t know there was plain paracetamol suspension available and now I've filled her with E numbers.

I think as a mother the guilt is neverending - ultimately we all do our best, and any anger and finger-pointing from my direction is aimed at the authorities for not supporting people enough, not at mums just trying to do their best.

xmaslolly76

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

its not the government's fault, its the formula companies who determine the price.

D.

Thats not strictly true although i agree as with most things you need to buy for a baby the companies just see pound signs as its not something you can go without they hike the price up knowing you have to buy it ( so i heard the formula companies refer to baby milk as liquid gold due to high profit margins). You were able to get cheaper baby formula from the clinics until the government put the new rules in place. It didnt save an enourmous amount probably about £1 a tin/box but its still a saving most new moms would apprieciate

skintchick

happyfili wrote: »

Yes and no...formula milk aimed at 6 months and less can't be advertised in any way...the 6 months plus formula box is about the same price as the newborn - 3months and the 3 months - 6months in Boots....

The price of the box / carton is pretty much the same be it the baby or toddler version...I'm sure there's not a great deal of difference...it was about 6 quid when my LO was a baby, I'm sure it's gone up in cost now.

But bottle feeding does have so many benefits..yes breastfeeding has many too but why the government have a ban on any positive info regarding bottle feeding is very Orwellian to me

Does it? Can you share them with me?

PrincessPlaty

skintchick wrote: »

health professionals seem to talk to mums about it from what I see at my local clinic, and I find it more if an issue that there is a terrible lack of help and support for breastfeeding.

It must be different in different parts of the country then at 2 and a half weeks my health visitor made me feel awful because DS had only put on 6oz in a week honestly i sat there and cried my eyes out thinking what i was doing wasnt good enough and was so tempted to stop!
Week 3 he had put on 10oz week 4 he has put on 4oz, however i wont be going back to clinic to get him weighed as im not going to be made to feel like that again, instead we will be going to see the nurse attached to my gp who is more than happy to weigh him for me :cool:

There seems to be a huge issue where retraining or some training at all would be highly beneficial. If HV's are making mums feel like this it is no wonder more and more are turning to formula.

PrincessPlaty

skintchick wrote: »

Does it? Can you share them with me?

http://www.womens-health.co.uk/bottle.html

Thats just the first link that comes up on google!

happyfili

skintchick wrote: »

Does it? Can you share them with me?

Absolutely:

1. Peace of mind for mother

2 Guaranteed and safe amount of nutrients

3 Help from the extended family and friends to feed baby and lessen the pressure on mam

skintchick

PrincessPlaty wrote: »

It must be different in different parts of the country then at 2 and a half weeks my health visitor made me feel awful because DS had only put on 6oz in a week honestly i sat there and cried my eyes out thinking what i was doing wasnt good enough and was so tempted to stop!
Week 3 he had put on 10oz week 4 he has put on 4oz, however i wont be going back to clinic to get him weighed as im not going to be made to feel like that again, instead we will be going to see the nurse attached to my gp who is more than happy to weigh him for me :cool:

There seems to be a huge issue where retraining or some training at all would be highly beneficial. If HV's are making mums feel like this it is no wonder more and more are turning to formula.

HVs are obsessed with weight gain!I know it's important that babies gain weight but they do seem to take it too far. I have a friend whose baby is not gaining (not losing either) and she wants to BF but they are pushing her to use formula - that's what makes me mad.

You are right to get him weighted elsewhere - you know if your baby is healthy and happy and you don;t need pressure from HVs if the nurse will do ti for you instead.

They all need new training IMO.

xmaslolly76

Skinty you were always fab when you were on the Preganancy thread and i know you helped alot of people with breast feeding.

You are right in saying there is not enough knowledge or support out there to help mothers. I've no doubt that with the proper help i more than likely could have breast fed my bubs for a lot longer than i managed but with the responce i was getting which i detailed in a previous post from the so called professionals what are we meant to do let our babies go hungry. I sat for hrs often in tears trying to get bubs to take my breast i even went as far as squirting the milk into his mouth to see if that would encourage him but to no avail he just would not suck he just sat there with the breast latched to his mouth. The daft thing is he knew what to do as the very first time he was fed he did it perfectly and even now after being on formula for months he will still route for my breast.