Boob politics.... Mia Freedman article. A must-read.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

I don't have strong feelings about Mia Freedman one way or another. I have, and continue to, successfully BF DD2. I was unable to BF my first two children. So, what I'm saying is that I have been on both sides of this fence. The ridiculous thing is that there is pressure on every mother regarding the way she feeds - FF mothers are made to feel that they are feeding their child poison, BF mother's are told to put their boobs away and isn't your kid too old for that now? We should all be doing what is right for our babies and for ourselves. As women, we should be supporting each other in our choices (although I can vouch for the fact that the way in which I feed my babies is not always a choice). Enough of this terrible pressure we place on each other and on ourselves, motherhood is hard enough!

I really like this article. And I think Facebook is being a right boob.

I really wanted to Rep you as i LOVE this post! We definitely have too much pressure on us as mothers so we should all be supporting each other.

[sushee]

It sometimes feels like we women are our own worst enemies. If we outwardly voice that we want breastfeeding to be supported more, and more education being given about it, then there is the perception that we're taking our own sisters' rights away if they have to formula feed. Or that we make them feel guilty. And yet, our breastfeeding rates are horrendously low, so as much as Mia may say that the msg that 'breast is best' has infiltrated our consciousness, that actually isn't translating into significant increases in breastfed children at age 6 months.

I agree that we should be kinder to each other, but I think that being kinder does not mean we don't do the things that need to be done to make breastfeeding, especially breastfeeding beyond infancy, the thing that is tried first and foremost. That saying 'just give your baby a bottle for a little bit' is NOT the first thing that comes out of dr's mouths, as it has happened for years.

If a woman choses FF because that's what she wants, for whatever reason, she owns that decision and no one should have an issue with it, and if they do, well tough, because no one can know her reasons for it, nor should it be anyone else's business. But when a woman wants to breastfeed and cannot get the right info, the right support or the right msg to ensure she has every chance to build a strong and lasting bfing relationship with her child, then there still remains a problem. And from the stats of women who bf in Australia, there obviously is a problem still.

So this shouldn't be about who FFs and who BFs, but how the system is not helping the women who really want to BF. That is the gap that still is not being bridged, and is something that BFing associations are trying to bridge, albeit not always in ways that make their desired outcomes clear to anyone else, as I imagine is the case in Mia's ham-fisted example.

I say do what's best for your family and own that decision. And don't derive guilt from those of us who say that there should be more support and education for women so that more children are bf'ed for longer. That's a whole different fight that is not about your individual choices.

[Floweryfields]

I find the 2 signatures thing a tad odd - do they have to get 2 signatures to issue a medicine?? At work we do 2 signatures to give medicine to a child, but we don't require anyone to witness the mixing of formula. Perhaps it's just another example of having to cover their backside. I suppose the nurses passing on that kind of info - what they have to do because they are a pro breastfeeding hospital, does add to the guilt being felt by the ff mum.

[Traveller]

I find the 2 signatures thing a tad odd - do they have to get 2 signatures to issue a medicine??

yes, this is common practice for many drugs

[Phteven]

I find the 2 signatures thing a tad odd - do they have to get 2 signatures to issue a medicine?? At work we do 2 signatures to give medicine to a child, but we don't require anyone to witness the mixing of formula.

In one hospital I have been in they didn't just need 2 signatures to issue a medicine they needed 2 witnesses to administer it and I had to tell them my name and D.O.B. which they checked against my wristband and the details they had written down. Even for a panadeine forte.

[wysiwyg]

In one hospital I have been in they didn't just need 2 signatures to issue a medicine they needed 2 witnesses to administer it and I had to tell them my name and D.O.B. which they checked against my wristband and the details they had written down. Even for a panadeine forte.

Same here after my c-section, always two signatures and always my wristband checked.

[nickle730]

Panadeine Forte is an S4 restricted drug.

[Phteven]

Panadeine Forte is an S4 restricted drug.

I understand that it is quite a strong drug but it's also something I can get at a chemist and self-administer at home but in a hospital setting 2 people need to watch me take it. Checks and measures need to me more stringent in hospitals because there is so much more scope for error.
I think that 2 people signing for formula in the context of a hospital makes sense. It means that one midwife can't undermine scores of women who want to breastfeed. After DS2 was born there was one midwife who was really pushy about formula I imagine that if she needed an extra signature to hand it out she wouldn't be quite as quick to 'prescribe' it.

I agree that we need more support for women's choices but real support is helping women to have as much information as possible when they make a choice and helping them to stick to a choice because although breastfeeding is natural it's not always easy and policy needs to reflect this. In the long run using ABM is more difficult than breastfeeding but in the short term it's much easier to establish.

The fact that admission to hospital for gastro can be reduced by 53% by breastfeeding is information. Breast is best is not information. It's a slogan.

[Little Chicken]

Checking a drug with two people is different from signing out a drug with two people. Signing out is usually only done with schedule 8 drugs (morphine, pethidine). It is then signed and checked at the bedside again. It is usually only done when every single ampoule that is used needs to be accounted for. Seems a bit OTT for formula.

[sushee]

I thought I might add here that we only have Mia's account of events, not the actual hospital policy. And if that policy were true, nor do we have the reasons as to why that policy was put in place. If you've ever worked for a govt department, you'll know that policies are often developed as a result of an event (or what we like to call 'the burning bridge') or it is to support a particular ethos that is lacking in the area. Or else you wouldn't need a policy to ensure that that ethos was being adhered to.

I think that getting stuck on the idea of needing two signatures for formula smokescreens the issue, which is that historically it's been far far far too common for medical professionals to suggest formula as a way to fix 'feeding' issue. So making it more difficult for them to make that call may well be the catalyst needed for them to think outside the box. Or maybe it won't. But at least it's trying to do something positive for mothers who aren't getting the support they need to keep bfing.

[Loveinamist]

To be honest I would doubt the advice of the doctor in this article. In my experience and the experience of many others I know including the lactation consultant for our area, doctors and even Peads have little knowledge of breastfeeding. Also if the doctor had 'prescribed' the formula surely the mother would not have to ask for it? Sounds to me more like the doctor said something along the lines of 'it's up to you but if you are really worried you can top up with formula' I think the sheepishness from the nurses was probably more along the lines of 'oh dear here we go again..Dr whathisname has undermined a mother's confidence again'
Formula isn't poison but undermining a new breastfeeding mother's confidence by pushing it is wrong.

[Melbournemumma]

I agree re FB, absolutely stupid.

With the issue of FF I used formula with DS1, mostly in conjunction with EBM for the first 10 weeks due to bad nipples. However at 10wks he went back to the breast and fed that way until he decided he was done. The hospital I went to were bad with giving mixed advice to new mums and every nurse/midwife had their own opinion and there seemed to be no consistency. This contributed to some of my issues with DS1.

DS2 was born at a different hospital. He was slightly jaundiced and the Paed recommended that he needed extra feeds to help him work through the jaundice. He never once suggested that the additional feeds came from FF and the mid wives would hand express me at the end of every feed to make sure ds2 got enough. (He was a sleepy feeder). He is still breast feeding. We have had none of the issues I had with ds1 and ds2 doesn't seem interested in giving up any time soon, thankfully . I am proud of the effort I put in with both my sons, but the support of the midwives and the consistency of information is vital in the early days of establishing breastfeeding and this is probably all that this hospital was trying to do.

Neither of my boys are worse for wear no matter where there milk comes from. Women do need to support each other, that includes encouraging a breast feeding mother to really be certain in her decision and making sure that it's HER decision. Once made we should have each others back whether we agree or not

[lee09]

My comments here are based on my own experiences and feelings, and I don't presume to speak for other FF mothers, but I just wanted to say this.

This line in Mia's article jumped out at me:

"And they're not always a fountain of nutritious love for a baby because sometimes the breasts - or the baby - have other ideas."

The core message I heard when BF was this: it's natural. Your body can do it. Your baby can do it. Try, try, try again, because there's no biological, anotomical reason why it cannot work. You can breastfeed. You should breastfeed.

All positive, supportive messages - important messages that I believe need to be communicated to new mothers. When I was pregnant, I knew it all to be true, and I was going to breastfeed for at least a year. I read books, studied diagrams, went to antenatal breastfeeding classes. I was educated, prepared and willing. FF was not an option for me.

But DS wouldn't attach. He wouldn't suck. Midwives rammed his face into my breasts over and over. He reared back. He screamed. He didn't latch. He didn't feed. He cried. I cried. I expressed colostrum. I finger fed him. I syringe fed him. My nipples were shredded with the repeated attempts to attach him over and over. During the following weeks I went to breastfeeding counselling groups, saw my GP, hired a private LC. My mum is a midwife and she sat with me for almost every feed, trying to get it right. It looked good from the outside, he was attached well, and there was no pain. But my nipples were destroyed - some of the worst damage the professionals had ever seen. And DS was hungry. My supply couldn't establish, even though I tried and tried and tried. I used nipple shields, so he could feed, but they also impacted my supply. I tried and tried and tried. Because I "should" be able to do it. There was no real reason why this shouldn't be working. That's what the books say, that's what the experts say, that's what I knew.

The guilt, anxiety and anguish I went through to establish breastfeeding was hard. I comp fed until about 21 weeks, and I still feel sad about it - probably always will. The ABA has an important job to do, educating and supporting new mothers. And I understand that they need to focus on the "breast is best" message. But I felt there was no place for me, and my situation. I didn't choose to FF, and so I didn't feel comfortable with doing it - I didn't "own it", because I didn't want to do it. But that meant I was a failure, because apparently it is so extremely rare for a mother and baby to be physically incapable of establishing a breastfeeding relationship.

Is is possible that somehow we can acknowledge that actually yes, sometimes the boobs or baby have other ideas about what they "should" be able to do, without compromising the pro-breastfeeding message or endorsing FF? Perhaps there could be more education and support on what else mothers can do to get BM for their babies - exclusive expressing or donated EBM. I think that would be more helpful to me, and mothers like me, who feel like they only have one of two options: baby on the breast, or formula.

[sushee]

lee09,

To be honest the information needed to get mothers who CAN breastfeed to breastfeed or to continue breastfeeding isn't even getting out there, let alone information for mothers for whom breastfeeding is not possible. I would love a world where a woman is supported, educated, assisted in whatever her choice or circumstance may be, to own her choice and/or to come to terms with what needs to be done. But right now, it's not happening at any real level for women in general, especially in the feeding/birthing arena.

[lee09]

lee09,

To be honest the information needed to get mothers who CAN breastfeed to breastfeed or to continue breastfeeding isn't even getting out there, let alone information for mothers for whom breastfeeding is not possible. I would love a world where a woman is supported, educated, assisted in whatever her choice or circumstance may be, to own her choice and/or to come to terms with what needs to be done. But right now, it's not happening at any real level for women in general, especially in the feeding/birthing arena.

sushee - you're right. And I know that the resources of the ABA etc needs to go to those mothers who need the education and information about breastfeeding more than mothers like me who know the facts and still face challenges. I just wanted to share my feelings on being in that third category - a mother who read all she could and sought help, but couldn't quite get there. And that sometimes it may not work the way it's supposed to, but there are workable alternatives to FF.

[wysiwyg]

I agree with the stuff about FB - but the rest of it I really dislike. I am a member of ABA and go to meetings regularly - several of our counselors have used formula in conjunction with BF, and suggesting that the ABA as an organisation thinks of formula as the 'f' word is just ridiculous, they want to support people to breastfeed whether or not they are also using formula. This idea that you have to fit in one camp or the other is silly and does no one any favors and I don't know where these 'lactivists' that think formula is a dirty word, or the 'Breastapo' and 'Breastfeeding Ayatollahs' that I have seen used in media recently, hang out but I certainly haven't met any.

If the person in the article means the ABA - at least get their name right. The Baby Friendly Hospital Iniative that I assume is what she is being referred to is not an ABA thing either is a WHO thing

"About BFHI -
Giving babies the best start in life

The Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) was developed jointly by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF in 1991. The initiative is a global effort for improving infant health by supporting mothers to breastfeed their babies. "

So she could have at least got that right or given a link to what the BFHI is about.