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

[Little Chicken]

The thing is though, it doesn't make it more difficult, it just creates more of a paper trial. I doubt it is under lock and key like schedule 8's or that every ml needs to be counted. I would actually believe that it was only put in place to get accreditation, and once it is achieved, it won't be quite so strongly adhered to anymore.

[sushee]

The thing is though, it doesn't make it more difficult, it just creates more of a paper trial. I doubt it is under lock and key like schedule 8's or that every ml needs to be counted. I would actually believe that it was only put in place to get accreditation, and once it is achieved, it won't be quite so strongly adhered to anymore.

That's likely I guess. As is the case with most things, people get complacent or apathetic and processes start to fall over. But the intention, nonetheless, is there. Just because it may wane doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, kwim?

[Little Chicken]

But the intention is to make it more difficult to obtain in hospital, probably with the assumption of if it is inconvinient to obtain it won't be used. This may very well work if it was up to he parent to get it. It is not that difficult for a staff member to find another staff member to sign out formula, after all we can always find someone to check your drugs. What I'm getting at is this sort of thing is an OTT reaction. No posters, no free samples works just as well and is all that is needed.

[sushee]

I agree with you, LC. I actually think hospitals would benefit from more pro-BFing involvement that delivers true education and true support instead of reactive policies. But I don't agree that any policy should be dismissed without seeing if there is a benefit in the long run. There is a learning curve, and trial and error involved in any new way of doing things. I guess, from the POV of someone involved with developing policy, sometimes you need to try something to see if it works, and I think that's what's happening here.

[Little Chicken]

I can see your point, but being someone who would actually have to work with that policy, well, you can usually tell policy's that are developed by people who don't actually work in the area for which the policy has been developed. If you wanted to reduce formula use for 'top up' feeding then make it be prescribed by a medical officer. They are harder to track down then another member of staff. My last place of work required a signed consent from the parents, my current employer only requires verbal consent, but no way would you give it without any consent.

[HotI]

deleted

[fionas]

Personally, I absolutely hate the idea that if you want to breastfeed you absolutely can't give formula and to give formula with RUIN your chances of successfully breastfeeding.

I think it's wrong and it adds to the stress when things are not going well.

I'll share my examples.

By the time DD1 was born I'd had seven hours sleep over three days. Whilst in hospital I wasn't managing more than three hours sleep per night. I was stressed out of my head and exhausted because I simply couldn't attach her reliably. I had all the help in the world. That help sometimes consisted of a midwife trying for 90 minutes each time to attach DD. She lost lots of weight and I was advised to give formula. I refused (because I'd fallen for the line that if you give one bottle, you're doomed). She lost more weight, finally I agreed. I got home and still could not attach her reliably. I spent all day in bed with her. My milk did not come in until Day 7.

I decided that rather than feel like a failure at each feed I would express instead. We did that for two months. I tried to attach her after a couple of months. She did it easily but I stupidly thought that there was no way we would be able to breastfeed because I'd fallen for the propaganda that a bottle-fed baby will have nipple confusion and never go back.

Virtually the same thing happened with DD2 except I had a planned caesarean, was much more chilled-out and my milk came in on Day 3. Again, with all the help in the world from the midwives, we had problems attaching. I saw a lactation consultant twice when I got home. Still no luck. I tried eight times per day for three weeks and could maybe attach her once every two days. I expressed and gave formula. After three weeks, I decided that enough was enough and stopped trying to attach and stopped expressing.

At about seven weeks, I came across something on the web that made me think. Apparently I have huge nipples that will make it difficult for my babies to attach. None of the dozens of midwives I saw OR the LC I saw mentioned this. So despite having no milk, I tried to attach DD at seven weeks just for the hell of it. Easy.

So despite the fact that she'd been bottle fed from birth and I had no milk, we relactated. The dozens of bottles she had made absolutely no difference. She took to the nipplelike a duck to water. To relactate I expressed every hour for a couple of weeks, took Motilium and the other herbal thing by the bucketload. We used a supply line too. We did that for four months.

SO my point again is that I find the suggestion that giving formula here and there will doom the breastfeeding relationship dangerous and extremely patronising. I think women are told this because they somehow can't be trusted to keep breastfeeding and will give up too easily. Whereas the reality is that it may give them some respite when they are stressed to the max and give them the strength to fight another day.

[Loveinamist]

Just had another look at the article and am not liking the bit about 'The midwife wasn't a hardcore lactivist and thank god most of them aren't' If it is good that midwives do not believe in breastfeeding then who will?? Biologically breastfeeding is the natural progression from giving birth and assisting in giving birth and looking after newborns is what midwives do! Where does this woman think the support for breastfeeding is supposed to come from!?? When did lactivist become a dirty word?

[Lenny]

Where can i go to, to tell Tara that I love what she wrote?

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

Even a better article from Tara Moss's blog. Unfortunately Mia made quite a few errors of fact
http://blog.taramoss.com/index.php?itemid=739