What do you think is the biggest barrier to breastfeeding In Australia?

[Rouge]

Breastfeeding. Something I was extremely well educated about. Something that I longed to do for my baby; who I had wanted for soooo long. I breastfed for 36 hours.

But after not sleeping a wink, that second night my daughter and I spent together, after being told by a midwife that I needed to 'just breastfeed her 45 minutes each side (again)' and then she'd stop screaming... I decided the breastfeeding world and I were not compatible. I might add that this midwife told me to buzz (after trying for an hour and a half with my baby's eyes and my eyes closed from fatigue) but there was no way in heaven and earth I would trust my precious bundle in that midwife's care.

Hmmm, I dunno about that. My milk didn't come in for 48 hours with my second child and he screamed blue murder the first night because as the midwife said he wanted steak and chips and all he was getting was bread and water... The whole reason babies cry when the milk hasn't come in is to help stimulate the hormones that bring the milk in. So it is ok to hear your baby cry, and it is ok for baby to cry. Some babies don't cry and my first didn't but my second did. I was offered formula in the middle of the night (before my milk came in) and I said no way. I knew he wasn't going to die if he didn't have formula because I knew I had colostrum and I know my milk was going to be there eventually. So I really do stand by my claims that we need more education because the steak & cheese crying is perfectly normal and its often misunderstood, or thought to be starvation when in fact its all part of the grand plan...

*hugs*
Cailin

[Liz]

But after not sleeping a wink, that second night my daughter and I spent together,

...Women who force their babies to breastfeed (for the so called nutritional benefits) need to think about the long term effect of depriving their child of food and what effect this has on their personality.

Baby's are born with fat stores to live off in those first few days whilst they drink colostrum, hence why they lose a bit of weight. It can take up to 4+ days for milk to come in. No one is starving their baby in the time it takes for milk to come in. It's knowing this kind of information that gets mums through rough patches. There's no need to panic about starving your baby in those first days, there is time to learn how to breastfeed.

And the nutritional benefits are far from so-called. This sadly is where formula companies mislead the public, making people believe it's as a good as or better than breastmilk. I've seen posted on these boards "no-one can tell me that breastmilk has all the ingredients that are listed on the tin of formula". OMG - no it certainly doesn't. It has far more than what's on the tin, and far less of the bad stuff that's on the tin (ie sugar)

[Phoenix]

It would be great if ABA could give everyone free memberships. they would probably love nothing more but unfortunately being not for profit they need to do something to raise funds to print all that info that everyone wants, to train more counsellors to help mothers, to train community educators ad all the other wonderful things that they do. If it had been on offer when I was first pregnant I would not have hesitated in doing a breastfeeding education class even if it did cost $100 I paid that for a stupid antenatal talk that told me everythign that I could of read in the hospital info booklet. Paying the money for a class or membership that will help you to BF is going to save you heaps of money in the long run. I know they'd love to run ads but advertising campaigns cost millions of dollars. The recent budget allocated 8.7 million to b'feeding. Not sure how much ABA gets but even if they got the whole amount it wouldn't be enough to run a health campaign and offer free membership to the approx 250 000 births a year. The national helpline to set up will cost a couple of million dollars alone. Kim beazley pledged he would fund this when he was still leader of the opposition- wonder if they still will???
Kelly I think it would be great to have the committee view this thread.
And if anyone finds out about any more hearings and you can go along the do it. The more people that add their voice the better the results.

[Emma1979]

i struggled with attachment and am using a nipple shield, so definitely would have benefitted from more support from a LC in hospital.

i have found that if u are going thru any issue with your baby, ie, at the moment mine wont sleep during the day, then its your milk that is in question... 'oh she is probably hungry", "that seems like a hunger cry not a sleep cry", "try some formula and see if she sleeps", "if i were you i would put her on the bottle, how do you know she is getting enough milk"...

when u are really desperate, you are willing to try almost anything, i have started using formula out of desperation to see if it makes a difference to her sleep, but am now coming to my senses and think i will continue with breast feeding.

[Phoenix]

How many breastfeeding mother's include a good source of Omega 3's in their diet such as sardines etc? Because if they don't do this, perhaps their baby would be better on formula? Perhaps breast is not best if the mother is overtired, has no time to eat properly (remember that includes the sardines!!) and the baby is screaming to be fed.

Unfortunately this is a common misconception in our society. Mothers milk is always going to be better then formula regardless of how nutritionally inadequete her diet is. the body takes what it needs to make milk first. How else would third world mother be able to feed (most live on maize porridge or rice) and you don'thave to eat sardines to get omega 3. Spanish mackeral as well as salmon ahs high concentrations. The mother with the perfect diet is going to have better overall health then one with an inadequate diet but her baby will not suffer. Formula does not contain the hundreds of other ingredients that make breastmilk good.
Definately need better informed midwove3s. How on earth is a mother supposed to cope when she gets told a hundred conflicting things and treat a mother like hell when she is at her most vulnerable. there are a few programs where a midwife cares for you during pregnancy and then for the first 6 weeks post birth. they have great success with BF becasue the mothers are comfortable the midwives are knowledgable and the support is there. Definately agree with you there luvabub

[MrsFabuloso]

For me,the order I'd put these things in would be:

Conflicting advice after birth
Lack of education
Lack of continuity of care
Interventions at birth
Family and friends ideals/ advice/ expectations
Lack of affordability/ availability of care
Accessibility of artificial milk
Health professional influence
Going back to work with lack of bf support
Marketing of artificial milk

For me the main problem I had was that due to illness my milk didn't come in properly after my DD's birth. I tried to bf her after a few days (I was too ill in the first three days after she was born) and the midwives were no help. They all told me that my milk would come and to keep trying to feed her, until then supplement her with formula. She would scream and arch her back when I tried to attach her and I ended up with really badly damaged nipples. One midwife said to try to perservre which I did and DD ended up with a tummy full of bloody milk which she promptly projectile vomited all over me. I was horrified. After this another midwife said to stop bf until my nipples were a bit better, so I did and ended up with slight mastitis. I was a mess, which wasn't helping with my milk production.
It wasn't until about 5 days after my DD's birth that another midwife suggested and arranged a lactation consultant to see me, as well as a social worker. The LC said my DD was attaching and sucking really badly, even though the midwives were telling me she was doing well. And also that my holding technique was also quite bad.
The LC gave me a pump to use to try to increase my milk as well as some medication to help. She showed me how to hold DD properly and how to attach her and breast shields to use in the meantime to continue bf with horribly blistered and sore nipples. She saw me twice in hospital and then arranged for another LC to see me at home twice. I ended up with engorgement for a few days and DD was really difficult to get on the breast, anding in blistered and sore nipples again.
In the end though I have been unsuccessful in bf DD. My milk has decreased after a few weeks, and we also ended up with thrush. I also suspect I may have something wrong to do with my letdown (though I am no Dr!). My DD was distraught and so was I due to her being starving hungry. My local Dr. told me to give her a bottle after bf, which I did and this helped. She did not give me any info. to help increase my milk production or anyone to call for help. My family did not support me in bf, with my DH just as distraught as my DD and I and wanting us to be happy, and my mother telling me she had so much milk it squirted everywhere and she fed all the premi babies at the hospital when we were born- maybe I just wasn't made to bf like she was.
When DD settled after being bf and bottle fed, avaryone pressured me to bottle feed her. She also began to reject me and only want a bottle (she's a lazy bones- too lazy to suck properly!). SO now here we are 5 weeks later, DD is almost fully bottle fed with only about 3-4 partial feeds a day being breast milk, supplemented with a bottle. At these times she has nearly a whole bottle so I think she only takes the breast for comfort more than for the milk.
I think that midwives need to be educated more or that Lactation Consultants should be at all hospitals for mothers to learn about bf straight away after birth. Going through all of this has really turned me off bf my DD. I know that even now I could probably increase my milk and get her solely on the breast, but with all of the trouble I went through, I am scared to do it and think it is easier (and will keep me more sane) to just continue with the bottle. There should also be more education (free!!) for pregnant women to prepare them for the trials of bf. I was never prepared for how hard it really is.

[Pandora]

Women who force their babies to breastfeed (for the so called nutritional benefits) need to think about the long term effect of depriving their child of food and what effect this has on their personality.

I assume you mean women who have no milk or are unable for some other reason to breastfeed, and won't give their babies formula, letting them go hungry? I don't know any mother who would deliberately starve their child (but who knows)

Otherwise, I'm not sure how you educated yourself on the benefits of breastfeeding, but I'd be looking at other sources next time. the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding are well proven.

I don't think anyone is trying to make formula feeding mums feel bad. I formula fed my son from 6 months.

I think the breast is beast message is out there sure. But not everyone gets accurate information. I think the education should be aimed equally as much at the medical professionals who are supporting mums and expectant mums.

[celinchand]

i think its more to do with lack of support and affordability of support, as breastfeeding a baby means every 2-3 hours you will have to leave everything and feed a baby. Also if you really want to breast feed then you will have to take some time off work, not many employers want to give a paid maternity leave and i think if you are breastfeeding then you should be granted atleast 6 months of paid maternity leave so you can support yourself well, and the care after having a baby in australia is shameful. Women are left on their own to cope up with the most stressful period of their lives, no wonder the rate of post natal depression are so high, and when are you depressed you body doesnt tend to do the natural things, even the milk produced is not sufficient. A mother needs privacy while feeding a baby and you literally have to look around to find a place to feed, even a stone or wooden fixed chair in a public toilets with a small curtian would be so helpful. But generally i think the mothers are just not cared for they have no support or very minimal support to be thinking the best for the child all the time is not possible, so much to do with a small baby, and hardly any rest, mothers are so tired all the time, life is very difficult at that itme and all the time there is so much to do, breastfeeding becomes a problem at that time with so much associated with it
hope government takes some proper measures

[Liz]

I personally don't see FF as more convenient. I was too lazy to express milk, and sterilise bottles etc so DS was on the boob all the time. So there's no way I'd find FF easier, with bottles to wash etc. Much quicker to whip out a boob too rather than mix formula and heat it up, especially at night. Can't think of a faster way to get bub (and mum!) back to sleep than sticking em on the boob

[Bathsheba]

I personally don't see FF as more convenient. I was too lazy to express milk, and sterilise bottles etc so DS was on the boob all the time. So there's no way I'd find FF easier, with bottles to wash etc. Much quicker to whip out a boob too rather than mix formula and heat it up, especially at night. Can't think of a faster way to get bub (and mum!) back to sleep than sticking em on the boob

Exactly!!!

As for ideas in which to effectively educate the general public and new mums: TV commercials at prime time (maybe during the footy Grand Final LOL that would get the guys talking and if they had the hide to see it as a sexual activity hopefully they would be pulled into line by their mates... as my DH has had to do on occassion).

Also, the ABA needs to have big glossy (govt. funded perhaps) ads in popular womens' magazines like the Womans' Weekly, Cosmo, even maybe Dolly magazine... and they would have to be done in a way to appeal to womens' sense of aesthetics because unfortunately, whether we like it or not, sometimes we women place a greater importance on "image" and "branding" than practicality and common sense. If a super model or two could be used in these ads all the better. I loved the idea of having a working mum in business suit BFing in an ad too! Also, maybe they need to place big lit billboards like you see in shopping complexs (that usually advertise Revlon and Oroton etc) it's all about context... it needs to 'out there' and highly visible, not just placed in a little booklet that has been poorly photocopied and shoved in a information pack ammongst all the other stuff you never have time to read. Also, brochures are often thought of as things you hand out discreetly for embarrassing health conditions... once again, I say: make it prominent, and make it appealing. Once again this is NOT meant to make mums who have to FF feel guilty... do advertisers avoid placing ads for shoes incase they make wheelchair users feel bad? (liked that ananlogy earlier in the thread) people, as adults, need to take responsibilty for their own feelings i think and not place the responsibilty onto to others for how they feel...too much of that these days, at the expense of the truth.

[Rouge]

Yeah I agree after having a baby that I FF and a baby that I BF I think BF'ing is way easier in the long run LOL! The amount of times we'd go out and I'd have forgotten my formula container or couldn't find somewhere to heat up her bottles, and sterilising was the pits for me. But everyone is different so what one person may hate another may love.

*hugs*
Cailin

[Tobily]

Yep me too.
I've formula fed one baby from two months old and I can't come at the argument that FF is easier. No way.
When DS wakes up during the night he has a boob in his mouth before he can even open it enough to scream most of the time
If we were bottle feeding by the time his bottle was heated the whole house would be awake because he DON'T like to wait!
And that's not even mentioning washing, sterilising, and making up bottles every day. And then there's going out...... I love that I can throw a bib and a nappy in my handbag and that's all he needs.
But alas we digress.....

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Gosh yes - midwives telling you that your baby is starving, give her formula or I'll take her away and do it (and yes, I have a son, but despite the blue decor the evil midwife kept calling DS "she") before the milk comes in should be shot! That's why DS was on formula and BM for 3 weeks.

But for night formula feeds, I was told (when my family were trying to bully me into FF my baby pre-birth) that it's easy because you make the bottle, sleep with it next to your skin so when baby wakes up it's the right temperature. (Yes, I do know that's very dangerous, but that's what a family member did and thought it was great to do.)

[Soph]

Ah I wish I had time to read all these posts...very interesting. I voted for health professionals eg MCHN - the number of times they have told me and other people to FF and especially to top up with FFs when weight gain is slow - I've lost count. It's crazy when you think that doing that usually means the beginning of the end for BF.....anyway I could go on forever here!

I too agree - I had #1 who wouldn't BF and I expressed for 8 weeks then FF and #2 who is still BF - wow BF is soooooooooooooooooooo much easier in terms of daily work and in the middle of the night!

[Ambah]

I voted for Lack of education as my first choice, however that vote would closely be followed by -
- Lack of continuity of care
- Lack of availablility/affordability of support
- Accessibility of artificial milk

I can quite easily admit that I was able to breastfeed, but I did not perservere at it enough, and gave up much to quickly. I do not want to make excuses for myself, and say that breastfeeding was just not possible for me, because if I had tried harder and had more support and information then I certainly could have suceeded at it.
I come from a family where breastfeeding is not the norm. My mother formula fed all 5 of her daughters, which I later learnt was because one of her nipple is very inverted. Whether she could or could not have actually suceeded at breastfeeding is not my place to say. My older sister also did not suceed at breastfeeding past the first week with her first and second child. She did not attempt it with her third and fourth child, and put them onto formula straight away. She felt that is was not worth the stress, as she believed her babies were starving.
These were the only two family members close to me that could pass on their breasfeeding stories to me. And their stories certainly did 'normalise' formula in my mind.

Now onto my experience... Aidyn was put onto my breast within 15 mins after his birth. He seemed to be latching fine. He then slept most of that night, and during the next morning. During the next day I tried to attach him to me a few times, where he was drinking colustrum. In hindsight though I was not attaching him nearly enough, and the midwives did not encourage me to try to attach him more. I was unaware that the increased suckling would help my supply to arrive. Whenever I had guests visit me I never attempted to BF in front of them, I was far too embarrassed, and it was just completely foreign for me to whip out my boob and struggle to attach him, with all of these people watching me. So I didn't do it, which again reduced the amount of time that I was attempting to BF him. For the next 24 hours he was screaming and crying, and my milk had not come in. A midwife told me that he was hungry and suggested he have a small amount of formula to tide him over. I refused at first, but a few hours later I agreed. After the formula he was asleep and peaceful instantly. The next time he went through a rough patch I requested formula again.... and then again. It was much easier and less stressful on me, and I was already stressed to the nines about everything else to do with motherhood.
When we left the hospital (on day 3) my milk still had not come in. I don't think it came in until day 5... and by this time Aidyn was very used to the bottle. I had major issues trying to attach him to me by then... he would just scream and become extremely distressed. I had a visiting midwife come out to see me, and when she saw him screaming and refusing to attach, she said there was nothing further she could do to help.
I went a got a breastpump and began pumping, so at least a few of his feeds per day were breastmilk. I found it extremely tiring pumping every four hours - although in hindsight I should have been doing it more frequently than that! I went through 3 breastpumps due to them breaking, and kept up the pumping for one month. During this time I would try to get him to attach to my breast, but he just would not take it... he was well and truly used to the bottle, and that was my downfall. I stopped using EBM when he was about 1 month old.

I think education would have made a huge difference.... education for me, and more education for the midwives in the hospital, and education for society in general!
I also think that the hospital that you give birth at should send out a visiting LC every day for the first week of bringing your baby home from hospital, and then be available for housecalls in the second week if needed.
Lack of support was also a huge one for me.... I had no one around me that was familiar enough with breastfeeding to help me. I think for my next baby there will be a huge difference, as I know a large network of women who sucessfully breastfeed, who I know would help support me with it.

I truly truly believe that an advertising campaign would work wonders. For example, take the National Tobacco campaign, that has been running for 10 years relentlessly. This campaign has been sucessful in its approach due to informing the public about the truths of the issue.
The National Tobacco Campaign was I believe one of the first Nationally coordinated health campaigns, involving all levels of government, and was on scale larger and more prominent than any other previous health campaign.
Well I believe its time for all governments of Australia to coordinate another one of these massive campaigns - on the benefits of breastfeeding, and the truth/facts about formula. If we can successfully encourage a larger proportion of mothers to breastfeed (and breastfeed for longer) the benefits for our society will be seen for decades to come, with reduced health issues in our population, saving millions (billions) of dollars. An advertising campaign of that scale I believe will be a huge key to helping educate the population. On every advertisement they should include the ABA hotline phone number. This of course means that the ABA would need significant funding to cope with the amount of calls...
One positive result of this I can think of (amongst many) is - imagine how much easier it will be to breastfeed in public, or in the workplace - without embarrassment, and without people commenting rudely, and without other barriers. Because every woman will have the confidence that the Australian government is supporting and encouraging their decision to breastfeed!
Wouldn't it be fantastic?

Anyway, that is just one idea that I dream of, but there are SO MANY other ideas here which I completely agree with.

I am so excited that these submissions will all be taken into account, and truly hope that some significant changes will come from this inquiry.

ETA - Kelly - your submission is BRILLIANT! WELL DONE!

[Smoke Jaguar]

I think that as well as subsidising one year's membership (or even the 6 month option), the government could put lactation consultants on medicare, just like they have with psychologists recently. That way, when a GP is presented with a new mother who is having problems, they can refer to an LC. When a maternal nurse has a mother with problems, she can send the mother to her GP for a referral to have a subsidised visit from an LC.
It gets me a bit worked up when I hear someone say "I'll call the ABA if I have problems", or, when they have been given a subscription, "I"ll go to the group meetings if I have problems", as if the people who go to those meetings are all having problems. They're not, usually - they've moved beyond that and get together to provide much needed solidarity. That's why I love going to my Booby Club - to just get together with people who won't say "are you STILL feeding", or potentially feel uncomfortable. I would have gone to meetings before DS was born, but there was a mix up with the contact details I was given and my bulletin came the week Oscar was born. I didn't think I was going to have problems. In fact, it wasn't even MY problem when I had problems, it was DS's problem that was hurting my boobies! Even so, joining the local group is good even if done when problems arise, but to think that the ABA is there only for problems is a big misconception. In an ideal world it would be. But in our world it is there to provide support to women who need the moral support to keep going in the face of disapproval, lack of family support etc.

[Rouge]

Oh flea you've just reminded me! I used to hate night time feeds, she'd be screaming her guts out whilst the milk was heating up! Oh how quickly we forget! LOL! I remember when I had to pump and dump one night after drinks and we gave Seth EBM and he was having a major spack attack over waiting for it to heat up and I realised then and there how much easier BF'ing was!

*hugs*
Cailin

[Mikenzees mum]

maybee becasue its the 21st centeruy and women have choices these days and use there own minds to make decision

i dont know that just my thoughts