I pay for "Breastfeeding Coordinators"!

Radiantsoul

Generali wrote: »

These co-ordinators aren't doing a very good job then!

Perhaps Britain's lower levels of breast feeding are caused by something other than the Government.

The suggestion is not so much that government caused the problem as that they can help to solve it.

Really2

lemonjelly wrote: »

Did you step in & have a go?;)

I did at a nurse, watching a baby crying of stalvation at 5 days old and still going on at my wife of not giving it chance.
They finally gave in and said he could be "topped up" did that and he necked the bottle in no time. (so fairly obvious there was something wrong).
My wife still tried but it was to late we were on of the traitors and my son had moved to the dark side.

The_White_Horse

it is a waste of money non-job.

when you have a kid, you have two choices: breast feed or powder.

it is up to the mum to decide. all you need, if breast is best, is for one of the many people the mother will see during the pregnancy to say "we recommend breast feeding rather than powder".

job done.

it is a disgrace that we are spending 40k on these moronic jobs.

i'm surprised we don't have poo co-ordinators:

"yes, we recommend pooing in a toilet rather than on the floor or in your pants"

"really? this is very interesting stuff"

"yes, we are here to help you poo the right way at the poo co-ordination clinic"

"thank god you exist. later, i may have a wee, any suggestions?"

"i don't but our wee co-ordinator will have some top tips for you"

"great!!!!!! i hope he is on 40k and has a final salary scheme pension"

"oh don't worry about that, of course he does"

"great"

lemonjelly

Really2 wrote: »

it was to late we were on of the traitors and my son had moved to the dark side.

He's a west brom fan?:eek:

abaxas

Health education is a great idea and works in the real world.

The issue I have is why we need someone to co-ordinate this? Surely it would be better having a team that deals with pregnancy and babies in general, rather than just one specific area? Then everyone can have overlapping skills and you get more bang for your buck.

System

I thanked T_W_H because I laughed, but now I feel a bit dirty.

casper_g

Seems perfectly reasonable to me to have specific staff to support women who are trying to breastfeed and finding it difficult. The difficulties faced by Really2's wife were caused by the disapproval of non-specialist staff in the hospital who knew "breast was best" but by the sound of it lacked the knowledge/experience/time to support her to be able to breastfeed effectively. Wouldn't it have been good if a specific person had been there to spend time sitting with her and helping her and -- if there was really a problem that couldn't be resolved -- supported her in eventually deciding that bottle feeding was the best way to ensure the baby was fed?

Apart from anything else, if breastfed babies are healthier (and I see no reason to doubt the expert consensus on this) then the NHS will save money if more mums are able to breastfeed.

KateBob

The_White_Horse wrote: »

it is a waste of money non-job.

when you have a kid, you have two choices: breast feed or powder.

Aww, if only it were that simple.
Just decide to breast feed and it's job done apparently!

Have to start telling all those women with latching on problems, poor milk supply, mastitis etc that they don't need any help.

The_White_Horse

Kate/Bob wrote: »

Aww, if only it were that simple.
Just decide to breast feed and it's job done apparently!

Have to start telling all those women with latching on problems, poor milk supply, mastitis etc that they don't need any help.

i'm afraid it is that simple. some people can't breast feed. that is the end of it. I speak from experience. You give it a go, and if it doesn't work you use formula. the midwife provides plenty of help. no need for breast feeding co-ordinators.

it really is that simple.

lefties just love to spend money. they have no concept of its value because they create nothing. they just have a never ending flow of free money to waste.

if the nhs had to generate its own money through charging the general public to use its service (and provided there was some genuine competition) then you wouldn't have half the nonsense it comes up with.

and for the record, i am a big fan of the concept of the nhs. all i am saying is, it is massively inefficient and bloated because of the type of people who work in it.

i geniunely believe that no one should be able to have a "career" in the public sector all their lives. You should have to do at least 10 years in the private sector before you are allowed to move across.

Doozergirl

Kate/Bob wrote: »

Aww, if only it were that simple.
Just decide to breast feed and it's job done apparently!

Have to start telling all those women with latching on problems, poor milk supply, mastitis etc that they don't need any help.

Think this thread consists of people who know what it's like and people who just don't! Even when you watch people learning to milk a cow, you can see it isn't actually that easy for a grown person, how do you tell a newborn how to do it properly? An animal would just die.

I went through hell with my first, like Really2's wife. I was kept in hospital, treated in not a very nice manner by all but one person (who I suspect may have been a BF co-ordinator because she took proper time with me), and DS wasn't allowed to feed in any other way. The mums who had simply decided to bottle feed were left alone once the babies were feeding. Even when we returned home, they kept coming, but different people all the time. I was getting so upset and H couldn't see what it was doing to me until day 5 when I begged him to go to Mothercare and just buy the bottle feeding stuff, at which point the ordeal was older.

I think a lot of it is about anxiety. Sitting in a rather public hospital ward, panicking about whether or not baby will latch on, feed properly and him not being particularly bothered about it. It really isn't actually that easy until you've both started, you don't know the feeling of letting down until it's happened. You both need to get the hang of it - neither of you have done it before and one of you has just been born! And it HURTS. Hurts your boobs, hurts your belly to the extent that it recreates the pain of labour as the womb contracts.

DD was born at home in such a different way that it was much easier. I was older, more relaxed, more in control. The way you are treated is the entire difference between one of the worst experiences of your life and the best.

I tried to convince my cousin to breastfeed. She nodded her head but was really having none of it. That isn't the culture where she lives. The shame being that it's children in poorer areas that could really do with the extra immunity and some mothers might benefit from the immediate bond that it creates.

Pretty valuable resource IMO even if they only help a relatively small number of people, those people will be extremely grateful.