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Campaigners have called on the Department of Health to change its breastfeeding campaign after research claimed its was failing to convince new mothers.
The Breastfeeding Network said the current "breast is best" message served only to reinforce the idea that breastfeeding is the preferred – rather than the normal – way to feed babies.
Lesley Backhouse, the organisation's chair, said: "We've got to knock breastfeeding off this pedestal.
"It seems to play straight into the formula manufacturer's hands by encouraging the view that formula is the normal way to feed a baby – whereas nothing could be further from the truth."
"What we should be saying – and are intent on getting across – is that formula feeding is an avoidable health risk to babies."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "Breastfeeding is good for babies, good for mothers and incredibly convenient.
"It's crucial that mothers get the support they need to make breastfeeding a success for them and their baby."
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I believe that we need to get the information over to mothers so that they realise why it is the best way forward, ie, that a baby if breast fed will have a natural weight that will dip around 6 months and that to be told that the baby may need to be topped up with formula is telling the mother that her fear that she is starving her baby is true. We also need to get over the fact that there are thriving scales and that these should be used by all health visitors and mothers so that they can see that it is not the baby's weight we are looking at but the fact that they are thriving. I believe most mothers feel bullied into breastfeeding and then are not given facts to continue but just badgered into it so that they become negative about the benefits and feel that they have failed no matter how long they breast feed for. Do we not also work, with a lot of mothers returning to work - do we encourage nurseries to take the baby to the mothers or vice versa so that breast feeding can happen in the day. I think there are vital pieces of information not given to mothers and often that is because health visitors are not aware of them - such as the thriving scales and the fact that a baby should not be overweight/'a fat baby' is not always a great sign but slim around 6 months and that formula may be a cause for obesity issues
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Both me and my wife believe that breast feeding is the best thing for our son, however it is not easy or even convenient at times. As a health care professional I have seen the stigma that is put on mothers who don't breast feed, often making them feel inadequate or failures as mothers. The catch phrase 'breast is best' fills me with dread at the way mothers are made feel if they don't adhere to the natural way. Even in this article this is made very apparent, when you say 'What we should be saying - and are intent on getting across - is that formula feeding is an avoidable health risk to babies.' So what happens to the mother who cannot breast feed how do they feel with this statement what type of message are you getting across (bullying comes to mind). The reason I say all this is that my wife and I are new parents and as I said before we do believe in breast feeding but we have felt the pressures been put on us to maintain the purity of breast feeding even feeling ashamed that we have used some formula as a top up at times. The best way to stop most mothers from breast feeding is to carry on the way you are going. Why not try a softly softly approach using education with lots of support and 'understanding' and maybe mums will do the natural thing and breast feed
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Absolutely agree that breast feeding is the best but finding it increasingly frustrating that mums are not encouraged more on the postnatal wards. As an ex-midwife I know how rushed we all are but surely this is one area of post natal care that should be encouraged
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Breast feeding enhances maternal bonding that is crucial for mother and child. This is a natural phenomenon and new mothers should be encouraged to do and informed of the consequences of adopting alternatives like formula. This campaign should be a lot more vigorous and pro active
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I am a student health visitor. The problems I am encountering are mainly poor support for mother at the most crucial time; the first few days after birth. By the time we visit, the mothers have opted for the bottle. One mother was very disappointed that despite NHS carrying on with breast is best, there is no support when mothers ask for help
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In the same way that penalising car users before improving the rail infrastructure, and bringing rail fare prices down, penalising mothers who use formula feeds because they have had insufficient support with breast-feeding seems to me to be grossly unfair and a case of putting the cart before the horse. As a Health Visitor, I have many times conducted a New Birth visit on the 10th or 11th day to find mum, initially intending to breast feed, has given up through lack of support - the community midwives rushed off their feet and unable to put intensive work in that might be required. Young mothers are being discharged so quickly after birth - some as early as 6 hours post-delivery; this gives no time at all to establish breast feeding especially if the wards are busy. Breast feeding IS normal, it IS natural and it IS best, but it often isn't easy, and we should not be villifying formula feeding in this way if we
are unable to establish breast feeding from the start. For many mothers breast feeding is an unattainable aspiration and they don't need us to make them feel any more guilty than they do already. More midwives and longer times in maternity units is what is needed
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As a mother of five I was able to breast feed all my children, though with my second son only 'managed' for 6 weeks, when I then introduced formula milk. Support, and that definitely involves midwife time, for new mothers is crucial in those first few days after birth if breast feeding is to be encouraged and promoted. But I urge the 'professionals' not to create guilt for those women who are unable to breast feed their newly born. Retired nurse practitioner and now a grandmother
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as a mother nurse and midwife i agree with all the comments which have been made, as a health professional who can see the benefits of breastfeeding i feel that women need to have all the information to be able to make an informed decision - regardless of their decision they must be supported and not made to feel that they have failed their baby.
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having read all the comments i am concerned about some of them. yes b/f is being promoted and i agree we are pushing mums into doing it. there is alot of problems ,we can give the mums all the help and support in hospital BUT some mums are detrmined to go home regadless of us suggesting to the mums to stay a bit longer to get the help. i dont agree with one commement that we dont give any help to the mums ,has she worked in a hospital at all or did she come straight from universary.
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We all know 'breast is best' but is it not individual choice? Our ante-natal classes do not even cover bottle feeding which is wrong. I was all for breast feeding my baby but due to circumstances out of my control my baby ended up being bottle fed.
As well as dealing with the upset and guilt of not being able to breast feed i felt completely at a loss, being a first time mum is hard enough without the added pressure and panic that i was doing my baby an injustice by not giving him the best start in life! It took me an awful long time to stop 'beating myself' over it, i felt i had failed my son. However, despite being bottle fed he is not overweight and has never needed any antibiotics!!
Is it not part of our role as health professionals to ensure that all information is available so that the patient can make an informed choice! The way that the anti-natal classes do not even mention bottle feeding is unfair to mothers, how can they make an informed choice if they are not given all the information in the first place?
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