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

[hannahfroodoo]

I agree that BF is easier in the long run - my DD is still BF and I can't imagine having to prepare FF in the middle of the night in the early days - but I do still think that FF can be more convenient. Not in terms of preparing the feed, certainly. But when you're out and about, it is much easier to sit down anywhere and just give a bottle instead of having to search around for an appropriate place to BF. And when you're talking to a tearful brand new mother who is having terrible problems establishing BF - FF is certainly easier than going through the pain and anxiety of BF.
Anyway, my point is just that BECAUSE establishing BF can be so very hard and FF can be an 'easy option' it is so important that the education is out there so people understand why it is important to stick at it and HOW to do it.

great submission Kelly. Do you know where I can read any of the other submissions?

[Phoenix]

I wonder what the baby would want if it had a voice.

I think this is a very good point. I think there are a lot of women that make the decision on how to feed based on what they want not what is best for baby or what the baby wants.

Hannahfroodo you can view all the submissions here at the government website
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committe...eding/subs.htm

[kerry]

No offence but I think the baby just wants a full tummy and is in pure survival mode and doesn't really care where it comes from.

[Phteven]

I think that to encourage breastfeeding for ALL of the community we need to provide more space to do so discreetly.
Yes, it should be ok if a baby wants to feed in a restaurant (even though boob isn't on thier menu :P) but for women who place a higher premium on modesty there should also be more private spaces. Obviously I'm a Muslim and many Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Hindu women prefer more privacy but also some women may have body issues (weight, stretch marks, scaring etc) and others just view breastfeeding as a private activity. Also some babies are total sticky beaks and find it hard to concentrate on having a good feed in a busy area.
For myself I will use a small cape if I'm fairly sure that there aren't likely to be many men around or a very large scarf ( read waist length) if I think there will be men but many women aren't confident at public breastfeeding without exposure and thier needs should also be considered.
OT but I just remembered when Imran was really young and I was feeding him under my scarf at Darling Harbour. He went to sleep so I left him there - you should have seen the look on the face of the women who were sitting near me when it was time to leave and I pulled a baby out from under my cloths ROFL.

[only1micp]

These are my top three

1. Lack of availablility/affordability of support
2. Lack of continuity of care
3. Lack of education

Not enough support for me...I spoke to LC in the hospy...who was so upset that I had called her up specifically to see me. I was dishcharged from hospy with bleeding nipples and they basically said that its all part of it...where everywhere I was reading that it shouldnt hurt.
Then I went to numerous BFing drop in clinics at the baby centre. Feeds were so painfull! I had cracked bleeding nipples for three weeks because no-one told me that bub had to have tounge down...it took 3 weeks for someone to tell me this!!! Life with a newborn is hard enough without having to dread each feed around the clock...the only way to get through the day is to tell yourself....only 2 more feeds until I got to bed then I can rest and BF when she wakes again.
Not being able to BF on demand because it hurt sooo much...hence the baby crying more!

Then I was still having issues with painfull feeds...I even had a LC come to my home which cost $100 (which we couldnt afford) and check attachment...which she said was fine.

If I wasnt so determined to BF I would have just put bub on formula...but bub was my main concern...she was getting enough milk...I just had to deal with the pain. Which I did 10 months on I am still BFing.

I support the idea of bulk billing LCs...that would have been awesome and I am sure it would be a hit with all new mums that have done all they can with what is available to them.

I also support the idea of the government supporting the ABA both financially and with other resources.

Good Luck!

[BellyBelly]

Oh that would be fabulous, I really love that idea of bulk billing lactation consultants, especially IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultants) who are the gold standard.... the lactation consultants at hospital compared to pivate consultants are so different. I've sent Pinky to my clients on several occasions and small adjustments have meant that they happily continue breastfeeding, one telling me something along the lines of 'I can now see what you mean about breastfeeding being enjoyable.' She had mastitis twice after 'help' from hospital sources.

[not_again]

My list would be in order of importance:
1) Lack of education both before & after the birth of a baby, for parents and HCP
2) Marketing of artificial milk & Accessibility of artificial milk I think these two go hand in hand. I personally am tired of going into a large department stores looking for storage bag's to be told that they dont stock "that kind of thing" there but have 2 aisles dedicated to ABM.
3) Lack of availablility/affordability of support I had no idea there was support for mums with breastfeeding issues ( ABA help line local groups & the forum)till my 4th baby was 4 months old.

A friend of mine has just put her baby on the bottle at 7 weeks because her milk dried up, when I asked how she knew her milk had dried she said it was because she no longer felt the full engorged feeling & her bub had started to want to feed every 2-3 hours rather than the 4-5 hours he was going before.
i think that wold be one of the most common reasons for women to stop breastfeeding, I was never told that your supply will settle & you wouldn't feel the fullness as much & at about the same time your bub will go through a growth spurt, but that doesnt mean you have no milk.

[Smoke Jaguar]

Oh, Tanby, :hugs: - I know how much work you have done to have the boy you have now
Mikenzees mum - in hindsight, you weren't being facetious, so don't apologise for something that never happened!
Kerry - I fail to see the hypocrisy? I, like many on here, would like to see the minimisation of formula use where BFing could have taken place once one or a combination of the barriers that Kelly lists are removed. If you choose to see it as a criticism then that's out of my control.
Chloe - I completely understand the modesty/shyness aspect, and I definitely believe there needs to be catering for that in building design. For non-religious people, though, a lot of it is still stigma. My mum doesn't cite religion when she tells me I should be using a blanket (I kid you not, a blanket is what she says), she cites convention! She'd rather call me an anarchist than support me in something that is as natural as hair on your head. Being that I must lack that shyness gene, I like to just feed where we are both comfy. But like I said, women who use coverings don't bug me, it's being told that I'm an exhibitionist that bugs me, IYKWIM

[Smoke Jaguar]

I think you're onto something, Tanya. I'm no counselling expert, but I would have thought that if a sexual abuse survivor could, through therapy, see that their body was more than just a crime scene, and that it could triumph over such trauma by nurturing a life (I mean, it's gone through a pregnancy, and that's got to be confronting to someone who hasn't worked through those issues yet), then BFing as the next step in healing isn't out of the question, is it? Dunno, my mum was abused and she BF us (continues to have these 'modesty' issues, but was able to see her boobs as more than just traitors) - not to say that everyone should be able to get over it, but it IS to say that encouraging BFing in a sexual abuse survivor shouldn't be taboo, it should be used as a tool for recovery and turning around that negative body imagery. Just a thought, and I hope I have not offended anyone in this situation, it is certainly not my intention.

[Trillian]

I haven't commented deeper in this thread other than my first initial post. But the choices offered in the poll don't really suit me and my situation. I have had issues BF and had to use formula.

I just want to know that if all of these issues were addressed and something done to correct them, what happens to the women that do everything humanly possible to establish a BF relationship and it still doesn't work? How are we to deal with that? Does she get the "that's OK, you did your best" or does she slink into the 'surely you could have done more' basket? Unfortunately there will always be women who can't BF, despite their best intentions and there will still be some who chose to FF from the outset regardless of what help there is available.

[Trillian]

I think what Kelly was getting at was that private LC do it for a living - they have paid to undertake courses to give them the training necessary to help women to get things going. I don't know how it is in WA, but I know that here is NSW it is like an optional extra for Midwives to become LC's - it isn't part of their mid studies as such, so therefore it is luck of the draw as to getting a good one through a public hospital, depending on how much extra training they did.

ETA - Older midwives didn't even get the training I think. One midwife I know who is in her 50's said that she paid to do extra courses to get her (then) nursing mothers certificate and that many of that era didn't because they weren't interested in going that step further kwim?

[Smoke Jaguar]

Sherie, I took part in this discussion under the assumption that aside from physical reasons for not being able to BF, what are the other barriers to BFing. Having read through some of the submissions, it would seem that we are talking about social barriers - education, advertising, poor support etc.
I don't think this thread is meant to deal with all the issues to do with BFing, no-one is aiming to fix anyone else. It's about what we perceive the barriers to be, once we've decided we're not talking about the women who just can NOT BF. Kelly really does spell this out in her submission, and the submission is the catalyst for the thread.
ETA: Sorry, it's taking ages between starting my posts and submitting them (I'm supposed to be writing an assignment!), so by the time I submit, there is usually a few posts between the one I'm responding to!
Yes, when I suggested Medicare funded LC's, I meant the ones with the international qualification, the one that matters to me. And I was deadly serious - how could an LC not be as important as a psychologist or medical practitioner? It's a specialty that affects public health!

[BellyBelly]

Lactation consultants at hospitals don't have a strict standard/level of training and have varying experience - some just designated the title. IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultants) undergo huge amounts of hours of experience, need to study complex medical books, sit an exam and it is very strenuous - it is the highest qualification. My client I mentioned above ended up with mastitis twice from hospital advice and I daresay would have considered stopping... but after one visit with Pinky, in her home without time limits, everything was fine.

I think women need this experienced care, if we promote LC's in general it may not be enough as like I say there is no standard at present in hospitals. Same as MCHN's they have no lactation training unless they decide to themselves - we are surrounded by carers who have no pre-requisite training in breastfeeding.

[Phoenix]

I just want to know that if all of these issues were addressed and something done to correct them, what happens to the women that do everything humanly possible to establish a BF relationship and it still doesn't work? How are we to deal with that? Does she get the "that's OK, you did your best" or does she slink into the 'surely you could have done more' basket? Unfortunately there will always be women who can't BF, despite their best intentions and there will still be some who chose to FF from the outset regardless of what help there is available.

Great point.
The current measure aren't working. If new measures are introduced then the rates will eventually increase so BF is the norm. With all mothers being supported and fully informed about BF then very few will have to FF. I think also the number of mothers who choose to FF may reduce if they were truly informed about the health disadvantages of FF. So in the end those mothers who truly can't BF may then have the option of giving their babies donor breastmilk (establishment of milk banks across Australia is one of the suggestions put fwd to the committee). So it may not happen overnight but hopefully by the time our children have kids BF will be the norm and those mothers who truly cannot BF will not be frowned upon because they will be so rare that other mothers will know that there must be some thing that has prevented it. Well thats what I feel will happen in an ideal world where the politicians do all the things necessary.

[Bathsheba]

Tanby: *Big Hugs* for working through all those issues and pain... my toes curled as i read your post as I've also experienced a fair degree of excruciating pain as my little man (I call him "Munch") has bitten me fairly regularly over the past few months (he has 8 teeth now)... to the point he has drawn blood and left a gaping hole. I've had to rely on formula to tide me over too as it also was too painful to express. Now, more recently, my left boob has really slowed down production and DS doesn't like feeding from that side anymore... he just squirms until he physically gets himself to the other one. Anyhow, it now seems that i am actually complimentary FF/BF as he has as least one bottle a day because one side BFing is not enough for him. I made enquiries at the pharmacy today about lactation medication... but I might just see how it goes... if I can keep going on just one side then I think I might leave it at that.

Kerry: How terrible that you had to endure being "banished" to another room in your own home! That must have made you feel so undervalued... how could you be expected to relax and enjoy the bonding time with that tension hanging in the air? Do men like this realise that what their wives are giving their children is worth literally more than gold? *Grrrr*

Also I just wanted to agree also that BFing has helped me work through a lot of physical insecurities and past abuse as well. I've never been one who likes being constantly touched because of this and some days I feel so "chaffed" and hypersensitive that I just want to scream.... but that's only some days.... most days I love the whole bonding time with my baby which is also what I meant when I mentioned "what baby might want". Feeding is not just about 'food in a tummy'... it's about a transfer of emotions/connecting and physical bonding. But I agree that this can also be largely shared via bottle feeding so i really don't wish to offend anyone about that.

Once again this afternoon I was able to BF successfully at my local plaza... infact one little old lady smiled at me as she passed by so that was nice. The seat wasn't comfortable but it did the job. Oh and yes i know Chloe about "sticky beaks!" LOL I have a real little nosey Parker here... I just keep my hand hovering over and as I don't have much to hide in the breast department it isn't too hard to deal with, someone would have to be standing right over me to get an eyefull. LOL at you lifting your baby out from under the cloth to everyone's surprise!

[2ndtimeround]

Kelly,

I stopped breast feeding for a number of reasons,

1) I wanted my sleep and didn't really understand anything about expressing and freezing breast milk
2) My breasts became so sore cracked and bled and it hurt
3) I went back to work fulltime after 6 weeks
4) I lived an unhealthy life at the time so I am glad I gave up breastfeeding. eg: Smoked, Drank, ate high fat foods. Now I am wiser and don't do any of that and I would definitely try to give BF a go for a while.

My children are now 17 and 14. The 17 year old is very close to me, intelligent, obese but well adjusted and totally together (other than weight) and is 5.11.

The 14 year old has an iq of 145, no weight problem, is almost 6 foot tall - reads at university level.

So I have to say, although BF is exceptional in some instances, it depends on the lifestyle of the mother. If the mother, drinks, smokes, eats crap and doesn't exercise and is totally unfit, it is probably better if she doesn't breast feed past a few weeks.

Cheers
Tracey

[smylie]

Definately anything that can done to make breastfeeding the 'norm' would be awesome.

As long as women who "have" to FF are not made to feel guilty what is wrong with saying 'breast is best' etc also mothers who go back to work and simply dont have time to express shouldnt feel guilty either.


Too many people I think because of lack of education and lack of continuation of care THINK they HAVE to FF....

I liked Mckenzies threads saying that it is 21st century so we should just be able to have choice.... i am actually surprised at myself for not realising this earlier.... I feel pressure to continue breastfeeding because i have no troubles doing so and i am now a stay at home mum so basically 'what else am i doing'
my hubby likes me breastfeeding as it is 'best' for jemima with regards to her immune system etc

i say things to my friends who have been very quickly convinced they 'cant' breast feed like "who cares where it comes from as long as the baby is getting fed" but to be honest i dont believe that i just dont want them to feel bad

if my friends had had the right kind of support they may very well have had the confidence to keep 'trying' i feel they got too little too late

and yes everyone women has the right to just choose but the barriers that are apparent in society make it TOO EASY for mothers to choose FF over bfing

[Mikenzees mum]

can i just say as a non breastfeeding mum( im a tube feeding mum), this is the first thread about this sort of thing that i havent found rude and offensive and i think that is great so well done all the posters belly belly for that i think thats great,