Make Breastfeeding Compulsory for 6 mths? WDYT?

[Phteven]

And caffeine, and preservatives and artificial colourings from dietary sources, and pesticides and insectides from fruit and veggies, hormones and drugs from the meat you eat etc etc

Despite all those things breastmilk is still nutritionally appropriate. Women with can terrible diets still provide their babies with a normal diet - aint that grand

[Kazmar]

Ummmmmm, this has got nasty and uninformative (if thats a word?)

FACT- Alcohole laced bm is still better for baby then formula.

Again! You CANNOT argue the HARDCORE facts. You are not a bad mother for not bf no matter your choice BUT FACT breastmilk is BETTER and should be given if possible

So please lets not deny the FACTS. As you just cant, there's no argument there.

This is what Im talking about. FF is one thing but to deny bm of its greatness is just silly......

Any way, that hot supermodel sure knows how to start a convo!

[Phteven]

they could either pre make bottles, or have someone in a responsible state of mind do it for them.
how's breastfeeding your child, whilst smashed, with an increased risk of drpping the baby, falling over, passing out, more socially responsible than a bottle of bloody formula???

If they are handling the baby to give it a bottle all those risks still apply. They can also pre-pump if they want to plan ahead.

[butterfly_warrior]

Onyx, I have never taken illegal drugs. But the line you are drawing is implying that you think I would have done better to breastfeed my son even while taking the various prescription medications I need to take in order to be functional.

One of them, methotrexate, is normally used in chemotherapy. Patients using this drug are advised to double flush the toilet. It's considered to be so toxic that pregnant and breastfeeding women are advised to not even handle the drug. But you seem to be saying that breastmilk carrying that drug would have been a better option for my son than formula.

BW

[Phteven]

Ummmmmm, this has got nasty and uninformative (if thats a word?)

yeah, discussing the micro details of a few deadbeat Mums is pretty silly and has nothing to do with the big picture lol.

Thanks for the reminder.

[briggsy's girl]

with all due respect to everyone - the way this conversation is going is why threads on FF/BF should be closed from the moment they're started.

there are people who will believe that, no matter what the mother introduces to her body, BM is going to be better than ABM. there are others who won't. it's not worth pushing your POV cos you're not going to change the other sides mind. if you believe that a mother taking ecstacy and giving her child BM is ok - fine - YOU believe it. personally, i don't. there is a REASON people "pump and dump" after certain medications or after having too much to drink.

ABM isn't breast milk. fantastic - we're all in agreeance! it is more appropriately nutritious than other alternatives when BM is not an option. watered down cows milk, full strength cows milk etc. if BM is NOT AN OPTION for whatever reason, formula is the most appropriate alternative for an infant. stop beating up on each other for having different views!

[Trillian]

Just butting in, with all the talk re formula on prescription, in my local area of some 6000 people we only have TWO DOCTORS. There is currently a 6 week wait to get in to see a Dr for a non urgent reason - I am not kidding - that is how bad the Dr situation is in our town so it is utterly ridiculous and unfeasible to have it available via script only in a lot of cases. It is all well and good to suggest these things when you live in a metro area, but again it seems like rural areas have been forgotten among the good intentions And that is just my area that is reasonably close to civilisation, but in really remote places where your closest neighbour is 400km away and to go shopping means a 3 day trip makes the suggestion even more unfeasible. And then some rural towns don't even have Dr's so what are we supposed to do?

[meow]

I've always believed formula should be less available- you can buy it everywhere! Why on earth is kmart selling a medical product? And I know so many women who have some in the cupboard while still pregnant, "just in case"??

If you have low supply you don't need to run out and buy formula overnight at a 24 hour chemist- you can keep trying to feed your baby and nurse them through the night. And see health professionals before starting on formula. I know the low supply game- I played it and its hard. I saw midwives, lactation consultants at a BFing clinic, a MCHN and a doctor with noone able to work out why all the pumping and prescribed work I was doing wasn't working. My MCHN told me I had "done all I could" and I agreed to comp feed my son as he was getting more and more sick. But then I hired a private lactation consultant and found the tricks to turn it around so I only comp fed a minimum amount for about 2 weeks then let my son slowly gain the weight back as we re-established my supply.

My point is that I was told I couldn't BF and it was wrong. It breaks my heart to think other woman may be told the same thing. I almost did develop PND, but being able to establish BFing helped me- formula would not have.

[Phteven]

Onyx, I have never taken illegal drugs. But the line you are drawing is implying that you think I would have done better to breastfeed my son even while taking the various prescription medications I need to take in order to be functional.

One of them, methotrexate, is normally used in chemotherapy. Patients using this drug are advised to double flush the toilet. It's considered to be so toxic that pregnant and breastfeeding women are advised to not even handle the drug. But you seem to be saying that breastmilk carrying that drug would have been a better option for my son than formula.

BW

I am aware of this because you have said so in numerous threads. As Mick has pointed out this makes you a bad Mum as much as not being able to walk makes a Mum in a wheelchair a bad Mum however it doesn't alter the reality that in most cases breastmilk is a nutritionally apropriate food for infants. I'm not sure why people take this fact as a personal attack.

[Kazmar]

I had to take a certain medication that I was told I couldn't bf with in my system. A chemist told me Lucy got all she could from me as she's over 6 months!!! Thats scary that a chemist knows so little

Anywho, I googled and everything told me not to. So I called many drug specialists and they all said its fine to! '

What Im saying is, how sad its soooooo difficult to get good, solid help.

I fed through with the medication

I dont know about other drugs but I do know that there are so many things we're told not to take while feeding is usually just fine to! Clearly again we do not know enough about bf.

We cannot be taking facts as attacks.

Also a mother should not be doing drugs around her child FULL STOP, but thats for another thread

[Trillian]

At least the thread on this forum is providing intellectual debate and discussion - you should see what they have been saying about this on other forums ROFL - most of what is said is just personal and derogatory attacks.

[briggsy's girl]

I had to take a certain medication that I was told I couldn't bf with in my system. A chemist told me Lucy got all she could from me as she's over 6 months!!! Thats scary that a chemist knows so little

Kass, the meds that BW had to take are actually used to abort fetuses in ectopic pregnancies. it's a no go. doesnt matter what information may or may not be around, it's just what it is. its a poison and is not appropriate to take while BF. not eveyrthing is safe to just push through...

[Taurean]

I am aware of this because you have said so in numerous threads. As Mick has pointed out this makes you a bad Mum as much as not being able to walk makes a Mum in a wheelchair a bad Mum however it doesn't alter the reality that in most cases breastmilk is a nutritionally apropriate food for infants. I'm not sure why people take this fact as a personal attack.

Onyx - we all understand that BM is nutrionally far better for our babies. WE ALL GET THAT. It's some of your comments that are a little, um, flippant (for want of a better word). Formula is the next best thing to BM so when mothers choose to FF their children, they don't need to be told they are 'medicating' their child or have it compared to hard core drugs. If it wasn't a safe substitue, it wouldn't be available -simple.

As for being able to get it at Kmart, well that's just the world we live in - we have the luxury now of being able to get more things at one place. You could say the same about all the medicines and vitamins available at the supermarket. We would all moan and carry on if we couldn't get half of the things we've come accustomed to getting at the supermarket.

But seriously, comparing formula to medication or drugs is ridiculous. Yes, it needs to be prepared carefully but you know what, so does breastmilk. What you eat and drink DOES affect your breastmilk - ask any BFing mother with a lactose intollerant baby or those with reflux. They have to watch what they eat closely or their baby gets sick. They have to 'prepare' their BM carefully too.

[Kazmar]

Kass, the meds that BW had to take are actually used to abort fetuses in ectopic pregnancies. it's a no go. doesnt matter what information may or may not be around, it's just what it is. its a poison and is not appropriate to take while BF. not eveyrthing is safe to just push through...

Oh no, I wasnt say that
Just saying how misinformed I was.

[deletedit]

Someone mentioned education ... so many posts back I've lost track and can't quote it ....

My eldest daughter was breastfed. But when I was pregnant with her little sister she was convinced I needed bottles to feed her. Somewhere along the line she absorbed society's opinion that food comes from bottles. Probably from TV and Baby Born style dolls with bottles. I had to argue that they didn't need bottles every time we passed some in the chemist or supermarket.

She remembers babies eat boobies now so no such problems with her little brother, and she's old enough she's likely to remember for the rest of her life now so it'll probably stick with her.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Seriously???
We are picking and pulling out everyones words and making it personal??

No one said BW should of b/f with her meds. No one.

And what DM said is completly true. We are told not to take a LOT of meds when B/F, but when you get down to it, and call the drug info line, they say its completly fine.

I was told when EBM'ing for Kane not to take more than 60mg of Motilium, its dangerous. Rang the info line cause it wasn't working, and 90mg was the limit. 60mg didn't work, but the 90mg dose kept him in BM for 10 months!!! A massive difference to 3 months.

And many many times we have heard it said that people on drugs and drinkers/smokers should still B/F. It still outweighs not getting BM, such a small amount is transvered.

On a side note, a long term study has shown that up to 10 drinks a week (alcohol) when pregnant had no differing outcome than non drinkers.

Although most will of course just have to argue this, , it doesn't change the outcome or the results, does it??
Just because some wont believe it, doesn't make it a lie!!

[Little Chicken]

If it is so ok to breastfeed while taking illicit drugs, drinking and smoking, why am I being told that I basically fed my child poison laced formula and this is NOT ok? I would rather my child got formula then breastmilk laced with alcohol, cannabis, ecstacy, amphetamines or opiates.

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

I'm not going to read everything that's happened since I posted because I find the lack of regard and understanding for parents who formula feed to be insulting.

Again with the availability of formula - if you are feeding your baby formula already, it is a NECESSITY. Not only would limiting its supply cause inconvenience for parents, it would put babies AT RISK because if parents couldn't access it when they needed to (or for some parents if it was a hassle to do) they would feed their baby something else that's actually worse than the formula. This arguement has nothing to do with concern for the welfare of babies and everything to do with bullying formula feeding parents. I understand that if it was less available perhaps less parents would begin to use it BUT that is not taking into account the needs of those families who still will use it or who already are. Babies who are being formula fed have a RIGHT to have their needs met, I am gobsmacked that anyone would be willing to put them at risk.

I believe breastfeeding should be encouraged as much as possible. So lets have medicare funding for lactation consultants. Hell lets have ALL maternity nurses and midwives trained to be lactation consultants, that would be an enormous help to new parents. Lets have milk banks for those who cannot or choose not to breastfeed their babies. But for goodness sakes, lets not forget that parents who use formula and their babies are people too.