Baby Milk Price Hike!

skintchick

happyfili wrote: »

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

I don;t see those first two as 'benefits' exclusive to formula - Bfing gives peace of mind that baby is getting what it needs that is exclusively tailored to the baby thanks to the clever way that breastfeeding works.

As for number 3 - feeding my baby has never been a pressure and I simply do not understand why women want to pass over on the one thing that only they can do for a baby (breastfeed direct) - if they want one or two feeds to be done by someone else (although personally I don;t get why) then they could express milk.

I thought you were referring to health benefits for the baby, which was why I was curious.

All you've listed is to do with the woman's 'convenience' which IMo doesn;t rate more highly than the health and care needs of a baby.

EDIt - same goes for Princess' link too.

mrbrightside842

Why do people allow themselves to feel guilty over how they feed their babies? I bottlefed my kids, simply because I didn't want to breastfeed them. Nothing anyone says can make me feel guilty about that, as it was my choice. I can understand people feeling upset if they can't make that choice and are forced to bottlefeed when they wanted to breastfeed, but there's no need to feel guilt over it.

got-it-spend-it

Some (although incomplete) info on BF rates here http://ourtimes.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/world-breastfeeding-league-table/. Sweden is mentioned with a rate of 75% of mothers exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months.

Glamazon

Yet again any mention of Formula milk and it turns into a BF V FF debate - does my head in. :mad:

Skinty & feelie - :T to you both for perserving and overcoming your problems but I really don't think it's fair to keep harping on about how anyone that gives up before 6 months is not doing the best for their child. You may not say this directly but it's what you mean and it's getting very tiresome. You don't know individuals situations.

Skinty - Mrs Tine made her decision to stop BF and I don't know why you feel you have the need to say its not really a good reason. IMO it's a bl00dy good reason as is a baby refusing the nipple, milk supply running low, or baby not gaining weight. I have seen a baby at our local group that has put on 2lbs in 16 weeks - she is the size of a doll, gaunt and pale looking all because Mum refuses to give her anything than Breast.

ETA - That's 2lbs since birth and includes a drop of 1lb post birth so the child is 1lb heavier than her birth weight!
In this case, how can Breast be Best when the child is obviously not getting sufficient nutrition?

I personally think BF support in my area is excellent both at ante-natal and post-natal level. All MW's, HV's and even the nursery nurses who conduct the baby groups are all trained in BF support.

skintchick

xmaslolly - I hope I haven;t said that there are never people for whom Bfing is pretty much impossible, Your situation sounds awful and of course you have to feed a baby! Some babies don;t seem to 'get' how to do it, but I still think that in some cases (not saying in yours) that will be traceable to something around the birth. Separation from mum at birth is a known precursor to Bfing issues, and if babies are not put to the breast within an hour of birth they will find it much harder to get Bfing sorted later.

So it's a wider issue than seeing a woman at, say, 2 weeks with BFing problems - the care and support needs to start at least at baby's birth, and ideally sooner.

happyfili

skintchick wrote: »

I don;t see those first two as 'benefits' exclusive to formula - Bfing gives peace of mind that baby is getting what it needs that is exclusively tailored to the baby thanks to the clever way that breastfeeding works.

As for number 3 - feeding my baby has never been a pressure and I simply do not understand why women want to pass over on the one thing that only they can do for a baby (breastfeed direct) - if they want one or two feeds to be done by someone else (although personally I don;t get why) then they could express milk.

I thought you were referring to health benefits for the baby, which was why I was curious.

All you've listed is to do with the woman's 'convenience' which IMo doesn;t rate more highly than the health and care needs of a baby.

Well whoopy-doo for you for breezing through something that had most new mothers petrified. The fact that the health benefits are neglible and that most mothers struggle with BF allows you to take the moral high ground...well good for you. I didn't say that any benefit I mentioned was exclusive to formula and I think it's lazy thinking to assume that any mam who uses formula "can't be arsed".

Of course breast milk is the best thing you can give a baby...but ha'way...most people try and I don't know where you live, but I'm from one of the poorest areas in the country and I think your views are a bit shallow:beer:

got-it-spend-it

I think BF support seems to be very hit and miss depending on where you live. I have to say that the support I got in hospital was excellent, as was the ante-natal BF training. The lady in the bed next to mine had really trouble getting her baby to latch on, and the MWs spent literally hours with her trying to get it to work (which was what the mother wanted). But I realise that unfortunately this is not the case everywhere.

xmaslolly76

Skint i am agreeing with you chick as i said with the proper support i probably could have found a way to breast feed but that help and support just wasnt available to me. Midwives were full of breast is best but round here they just didnt seem to have the knowledge or training to back this up.

It is women like Glam that i feel sorry for through no fault of their own they are unable to breast feed so switch to formula and then they feel they are being berated for that decision.

got-it-spend-it

happyfili wrote: »

Well whoopy-doo for you for breezing through something that had most new mothers petrified. The fact that the health benefits are neglible and that most mothers struggle with BF allows you to take the moral high ground...well good for you. I didn't say that any benefit I mentioned was exclusive to formula and I think it's lazy thinking to assume that any mam who uses formula "can't be arsed".

Of course breast milk is the best thing you can give a baby...but ha'way...most people try and I don't know where you live, but I'm from one of the poorest areas in the country and I think your views are a bit shallow:beer:

I think that the part of the quote I have highlighted is really sad, and a reflection on the fact that the government's promotion of BF is not working. It shouldn't matter how rich or poor you are if you want to breast feed. Breast feeding is free, formula is not and sadly it is probably in the poorest areas where formula is likely to be watered down to make it go further, thus making it deficient in nutrition. I think it's really sad that our society seems to view BF as an elitist thing, as this is ceratinly not the case in most of the world, as you will see if you look at the link I posted. Rwanda has the highest BF rate in the world and I bet it's not the rich women that do it there.

PrincessPlaty

got-it-spend-it wrote: »

I think BF support seems to be very hit and miss depending on where you live. I have to say that the support I got in hospital was excellent, as was the ante-natal BF training. The lady in the bed next to mine had really trouble getting her baby to latch on, and the MWs spent literally hours with her trying to get it to work (which was what the mother wanted). But I realise that unfortunately this is not the case everywhere.

I think your right GISI whilst in the hospital i received no support re breastfeeding all they were interested in was giving him a top up bottle of formula because he was quite happy and contented! Yep that one makes sense to me, i was home 6 hours later though and didnt leave delivery suite so i dont know if postnatal wards were any different.

I had him on the friday, didnt see anyone until the monday when mw came out and didnt really ask much about how he was feeding at all??? then had breastfeeding support come round on the mon afternoon, who i have to say were brilliant they also came back the following week and i have a 24 hour contact number for them if i need them too.

However between the delivery suite, midwife and health visitor if i hadnt of been determind to bf i would have given up because i was made to feel so bad! One wants to shove formula in him at 2 hours old, another isnt interested at all, and the other berates me because he has only put on 6oz in a week!

If this is the way mothers are being treated when they try to bf it really doesnt suprise me that so many are turning to formula.