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

As you may know, I am presenting in the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Breastfeeding in the coming weeks. I would like to hear your thoughts and for you to vote in this poll as to the things which you think are barriers to breastfeeding in Australia. While I know there are many things contributing to this, I would like to know what your #1 thought is as to the most pressing reason why our breastfeeding rates are lower than other countries.

Please feel free to list all the options above which you think are of big concern for you, or perhaps in order... all help and comments appreciated!

Here is the list to help:

Conflicting advice after birth
Interventions at birth
Lack of continuity of care
Accessibility of artificial milk
Marketing of artificial milk
Lack of education
Health professional influence e.g. MCHN, Paed
Family &/ friends ideals/advice/expectation
Going back to work with lack of bf support
Lack of availablility/affordability of support

EDITED TO ADD: I will be submitting this discussion to parliament as a submission as per their encouragement, so please let me know if you do not want your comments included and I can edit them for the submission. Thank-you!

You might also like to consider making your own submission, lots of organisations have put in their research etc so now they want to hear from mums. Its as simple as sending an email with your personal story and they will keep accepting submissions from mothers until everyone has had their say (despite the expiry date for submissions being in February - they didn't realise how big this would be!). You can read all the details here: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committe...breastfeeding/

Lack of education not only for mothers to be, but also for professionals (midwives, obs, GP's, MCHN's (ESPECIALLY), Paed's). There are currently too many trains of thought...

The ABA should have government funding to help support them in supporting us.

Laction Consultants should have to have certain qualifications and possibly even tested by a main body. As I've had some great ones but also cr@p ones.

I think Teenagers should be taught about the benefits of breastfeeding in sexual education to eradicate the taboo of breastfeeding.

There should be breastfeeding facilities on site in the workplace (fridges/pumps etc) and workplaces that support and encourage new mothers to breastfeed.

Totally get rid of "its natural" I think this slogan is so misleading and its half the reason people stop breastfeeding because they think their body has failed them, when in reality establishing breastfeeding in some cases is harder work than for others but that hard work is worth the effort and nutrients your baby receives.

There's more in my head...

ETA: Oops there's a poll now (I'll just go do the poll)... LOL!

*hugs*
Cailin

I breastfed for 3 weeks. battled bad cracks for most of that time. i went home the day of my birth, and had a midwife (same lady throughout pregnancy) visit me at home. she was helpful but after just 2 weeks, handed me over to the early childhood health centre. so i had no help with breastfeeding. when the cracks got unbelievably painful and i was full to bursting, i just gave dd formula. never bothered to call midwife. she then loaned me an electric pump but i got only a small amount of milk. it turns out i wasn't having let downs. cracks were healing and back onto boobs (i felt it was too soon, but she had all the experience). no more care, no more pump and cracks came back within 3 days. got myself a pump (hired) and got 40ml of milk total in 3 days. so i just gave up. later on at mother's group, one mum had a feeding line and was on milk production meds. wish i had more support and could have done that. my family were all supportive of me giving dd formula. she plumped up and put on a heck of weight within a few weeks. there is a definite lack of support for those who are struggling. and there are advertisements for formula but only for toddlers i have seen. i had no idea which one was right for her, i just got whatever the chemist had.
ps sorry for long post, my first

Although I can't comment for Australia, the best advice I had was the day before I gave birth, and that was "expect to have problems". I had never thought that I'd have a problem, and when I did that advice kept me from feeling even worse (although a midwife did try to make me feel as bad as possible about it).

I would say, for me, a midwife pushing formula milk very, very hard on day 2 would have stopped me breastfeeding if I weren't so bloody minded about it (and knew I'd have the backup of the girls here once I got out of that... well, NHS hospital says it all really - oh and the constant reminders from my family that I'd previously said I'd wanted to BF for at least a year just to make me feel extra crap). Telling me to FF until I could see a LC (which would be on day six if I were lucky) was not helpful at all, especially when all she did was say that DS was doing well now so no need for her to be around after all.

And pictures of babies who decide to come off the nipple early so are sprayed with milk over their face and hair would help, I think it looks so cute, shame I never took a pic of Liebling like that! Oh well, I bet he'll be like that soon enough as he's just having a growth spurt now. But it just shows you that breastfeeding can be fun too.

Definitely lack of education all round, IMO and in my experiences/conversations with other women.
For instance, many women do not realise that stress about BFing difficulties (including pain, cracked nipples etc) can and will affect letdown. I was lucky that I was subscribed to the ABA by a relative. I received my free book and read it before DS was born. The book told me about stress affecting letdown. The book helped me diagnose vasospasm that I had instead of hindered letdown (oversupply meant I had major letdown!) - that was my manifestation of the stress of attachment problems caused by undiagnosed tongue-tie. The book was my first education, then I went to meetings and have been reading Essence religiously for their research updates etc and began educating myself.
Lack of education lets down far too many women in this country. I am not saying that women who give up are ignorant. I'm saying that many are being failed by our 'health system', that could do with a goodly bit of breastfeeding education because that would then alleviate the burden on the health system in so many, indirect ways.
I have said it before and will say it again, instead of trying to scare the bejesus out of me when I was pregnant, those women with their birth story badges (the worse the birth, the better the story) should have told me about breastfeeding. One of them had the nerve to tel me, after finding out that I was having attachment problems, "yeah, it looks easy, but it's not, is it?"...you tell me NOW? When you could have prepared me for this two months ago???
Anyway, I digress. I totally support the idea of breastfeeding education for our school children - boys and girls. Muslim women must be taught about it, as it is enshrined in the Quran - anyone care to educate me? The Quran and that fat man, Buddha, have got some great teachings to live by! Again, I digress... it's late and I should be in bed, or writing an assignment...

Accessability of artificial milk is definately right up there... i have had a friend say to me... "im sorry to say Gill(when i was having a blubber about no sleep) FF fed babies are just so much easier, you have chosen the tough road for yourself"?!?!... that statement made me angry. Eden is a bad sleeper and everyone, wants to put it down to her being bb fed. I also think its lack of support, families often dont "get it", and my mum and hubby's mum didnt booby feed....
Lack of education- but this too is the womans responsibility and it is out there!!! i was a little library worm while i was pregnant, i read everything about birth and then when i thought i was ready there i moved onto breast feeding... you have to learn about breast feeding, esp(going back to above) if its not around you, i mean lots of us had never seen anyone breast feed before having our bubs... You need to go in search of information... I also think how amazing would it be to be taught these things at school- i mean crikey you get taught to feed yourself in Home Economics, why not be taught how to feed your children too?

oh there are just soo many to choose from ;) IMO though I've had too many "health" professionals telling me to FF. MCHN's telling me over the phone that I don't have enough milk and should FF (even without seeing our feeding relationship...)

Hi Kelly,

Interesting thread and quite a topical issue to me personally.

I have always been very pro-breastfeeding and always intended to be a breastfeeding mama, and so (having easily breastfed my first baby for 14 months) it was hard having a hospitalised 27-weeker and having all sorts of obstacles which led me to abandon breastfeeding attempts when she was 4.5months old. I am now a consumer rep. on a hospital Committee (mainly comprised of neonatal medical staff) which is forming extensive guidelines for establishing feeding of hospitalised babies. I have been advocating to my best ability for the hospital to encourage every possible avenue, within funding constraints, to support breastfeeding of prem babies.

So for me the first barrier to breastfeeding has been baby's early hospitalisation which caused unavoidable maternal separation (would have LOVED to room in with my baby at the hospital for the 3 month stay but unfortunately that just doesn't happen with NICU/Sepcial Care), and baby's immature development causing physical difficulty latching on and sustaining the energy to feed.

From your list, I would say Conflicting advice after birth has been a significant barrier following both my birth experiences - particularly nurses differing in their beliefs / patience / assessment of mum's breastfeeding success and baby's sucking ability. Can't generalise as I have had some absolutely amazing nurses assist me with breastfeeding. However, after my firstborn arrived and I felt I was doing a great job with him latching on and feeding well from the start, my mum overheard a particular nurse say to another nurse that I "still hadn't learnt to breastfeed my baby". The same nurse insisted that I return to the hospital after discharge to have my baby weighed, as she felt he couldn't be getting enough milk. He had put on well more than expected and as his mum I always knew he was a content, great breastfeeder. That is one example of an experience where a first-time mum could have been put off by the unfortunate attitude of a nurse. All the other nurses were great with my firstborn though.

With my second baby (prem), when she finally began graduating from tube-feeding to suck-feeding, me and some of the wonderful nurses were delighted and rated the initial attempts as successful and despite what this 27-week-born-baby was up against, she sustained some pretty good sucking (and was then topped up with EBM each time). I desperately wanted to hear that me and my baby were doing a good job and that there could be hope for successful ongoing breastfeeding. I felt really deflated that one nurse had to say "your baby is a poor sucker", and pointed out that other babies in the room were doing a lot better. That broke my heart and I wish all prem mums could be told that they are doing an amazing job just getting anywhere with breastfeeding.

Gosh can we only pick one? :lol:

I would say lack of support after leaving hospital (the last option?).
I was lucky enough to have a champion feeder this last time and not need any help with him. But I had alot of problems with Emily and I found it very hard to get help. I am a well educated, capable woman as many mothers are, yet I found it pretty much impossible to access the help I needed in my community to help me breastfeed successfully. The ABA were no help to me at all despite contacting them repeatedly. What I needed was a lactation consultant who could come to my house and work with us face to face - but at the time I didn't know such a thing existed, let alone how to access it. I think that's really appalling.

Further compounding my problems (in fact probably one of the root causes) was the fact that Emily was born 4 weeks early, so was jaundiced and sleepy. I was booted out of hospital on day 3 before my milk had come in so I was left to work it all out for myself at home - with a premature, sleepy baby who couldn't stay awake to feed properly for nearly two weeks. So many mums have similar stories of having to go home before they've got milk so no one is around when they actually start feeding "for real".

Running a close second is the return to work issue. I had to go back to work when DD was four months old so when I decided to wean her at two months with all the problems we were having it was an "easier" decision because I knew I would have to do so in another few weeks anyway. Like many mums the practicalities of trying to express and store milk at work were seriously prohibitive.

Interestingly, I have a full year of maternity leave this time and DS is still breastfeeding and I expect he will be until after I go back to work, and probably longer since by the time he's one, expressing won't be such a drama as he won't need as much milk as a three month old.

I think definitely lack of education and then followed by the accessibility and marketing of ABM.

I voted for Health Professional influence, but I think its really a combination of things, probably these 4 would be the main ones in my experience.

Lack of education
Health professional influence e.g. MCHN, Paed

Lack of education, both on the part of the mum and contributing to the health professionals "advice".

I know of one OB who frequently tells mums to stop breastfeeding at their 6 month check if he decides their weight gain is not up to scratch, when often its fine for a b/f baby.

A lot of mums have no idea. Most in my mothers group did not know that the charts (until recently) in the baby books were based on white, middle class American FF babies.

I have also met a lot who are scared of the ABA. I mean it, the term "breastfeeding nazi" was used, and they thought that they'd be frowned on for having problems.

I was very, very lucky that all of the midwives when my son was born were supportive of me breasfeeding, and that he was a big baby.
My milk did not come in until day 5, and until then we were hand expressing and catching it in syringes to feed DS. He didn't attach properly, breastfeeding DS was extrememly painful for me and frustratig for him.

The oncall paed wrote him up for comp feeds.
The midwife and the LC discussed it with me, and we decided that he didn't need them just yet, he was getting enough, albeit barely.

I stayed in an extra day at the Breastfeeding day stay (not enough of these available IMO. I have been 2 two different hospitals for them, it was great) and had another 5 or so visits after we went home.

I was lucky to have a supportive MCHN, who could recommend a pro-b/f paed. for me to see.

Unfortunately not everyone else is as lucky as I was.
I think all mums and babies deserve to have this care and these opportunities.
It shouldn't come down to the luck of the draw.

I can't pick just one! I think they're all very important. ANyway, here is my list in order of what I think affected me the most.

Health professional influence e.g. MCHN, Paed
Family &/ friends ideals/advice/expectation
Lack of continuity of care
Conflicting advice after birth
Lack of availablility/affordability of support
Lack of education
Interventions at birth
Accessibility of artificial milk
Marketing of artificial milk

I probably should have put lack of education higher as I really didn't bother to educate myself about breastfeeding as much as I did about pregnancy and birth, I just assumed it would be easy because it's the natural thing to do. I also wasn't the only one amongst my friends who thought that. I know others who stopped breastfeeding because they had an unsettled 5 day old baby and just assumed they didn't have enough milk and that was the reason for the crying. One friend even told me that I too would give up bf just like she did once I had to be up at 3 am with a crying baby.

Which brings me to family/friends/society expectations. I found that in our society ff is seen as the norm by just about everyone and as soon as you have any trouble the advice is, "switch to formula". People think you're crazy to choose to persevere with bf despite having massive problems. Even a so-called LC told me that. There should be some sort of standard to make people have real qualifications to work as LCs, and not have just anyone do it.

Enough of my ranting. Good luck, Kelly. I hope you can make them see some sense!

I can't choose one to vote for in the poll as every single one of them influences what a mother choses to do. Several may apply to one womans journey, and for others it may only be one thing on that list. Sadly, the list is just too long to start with and it shouldn't be kwim? I really do think that everything needs to be addressed as all of them relate to one another - i.e. lack of education can be compounded by conflicting advice and then the availability of formula when the advice doesn't work.

I had supply issues with my milk, as did my mum. I would have tried to increase the supply but felt I was being bullied by the nurses at CYH who told me Dylan was feeding well but was just "difficult" when actually they had weighted him incorrectly and he was losing weight! By the time this was discovered by a Paed, it was too late to build my supply back up so he was weaned at 8 weeks. I felt awful that this happened and was then very cross when the same nurse scoffed that "of course a paed won't support breastfeeding" when it had been HER mistake in the first place that caused my son to be starving!

Next time I will listen to my own instincts instead.

For me personally it was conflicting advise after birth. I was told one thing then another. I basically self taught myself and read books. I was lucky though that my DD new how to do it and i had no problems. I only got mastitis once which i had no idea about either no one told me anything, it was like they thought i had already had about 4 babies and it was not my first!

I also found that not one of the midwives were trained the same way and i found that the older midwives obviously did not go to regular updates in training to be in line with the now times, it was always back in the old days etc etc. The new young midwives were trained well though and were helpful no negative advice was given from any of the younger girls at all it was the older girls who gave negatives and did not support you.

HTH :)

Jen

I voted lack of education, specifically about artificial milk. For one, formula should be know as just that..artificial milk. Does it say that on the tin?

I HATE going to the supermarket/chemist and seeing tins and tins on this stuff in the baby section. It totally normalises artificial milk. It makes mothers-to-be think there's two options for feeding thier unborn babies, an either/or, a simple choice. Like they're both good choices and you must pick one!

I had one young mum tell my mums group she tried bfeeding for a day or so with her 'fantastic milk supply' but then switched to, get this, 'normal milk' as it was too hard. I would have ripped her head off but I hardly knew her and so held my tongue.

The fact that formula is in our faces, and breastfeeding women and ads aren't, leads a lot of young mums to think that it's absolutely fine to use, IMO.

And a close second would be all the different opinions of midwives. I think even if they were trained up in the same way, they'd still pull you aside and give you thier own differing opinions. It was never pointed out to me that I had flat nipples (yeah, I didn't know either!) and I was sent home before my milk came in......lucky for me I scored a very pro-bfeeding visiting health nurse who sorted me out with shields and advice.

I spent months reading about pregnancy and birth. I didn't realise that breastfeeding could be so complicated. I had such a lot of milk and a baby that was too sleepy to suck. I battled constant bouts of mastitis, cracked nipples and leaked badly all the time. I'm pleased I perservered because I ended up enjoying breast feeding very much. I do think there needs to be more education on breast feeding.

Suz

I voted for conflicting advice, but these are my 3 biggest reasons I struggled (however did stick with it):

Conflicting advice after birth
Lack of education
Lack of continuity of care


I found each midwife/nurse on duty in hospital had different advice, none of which actually helped anyway.

It wasn't until my daughter was 5 days old and I was home, and my birthing centre midwife came to visit that I finally got some advice which actually helped.

However, I'd also like to comment on the ABA. I found 2 piece of their advice in literature etc totally inaccurate, not just for me but for several people I know:

1. that letdown "tingles". For me it really really hurt, and for several months.
2. that if you introduce some formula your breastmilk will suffer. I have successfully breastfed and formula fed my daughter from 2 weeks old until 12months old, and will continue with this.


Cathy :)

hi
1. conflicting advice after birth/lack of continuity of care
the nurses all had their own methods of breastfeeding - makes it too confusing. most of them seemed to query my ability to feed, and seemed surprised i'd been able to feed my first son. even though i fed him for 10months, and am now sucessfully feeding my second.
only one of about ten nurses made me feel competent about feeding my baby.
so more consistency needed among nurses, and more reassuring advice.

2. women feeling "funny" about breastfeeding - as if their breasts were designed for sexual purposes only. i don't understand this, but it is common among my friends.

thanks
anne

I think it was the education I sought out before BF that made it so easy for me. I really feel for women who have problems and I know that biologically there was something in Flynn and me that just worked, but I have read so much about correct attachment, foremilk/hindmilk, posture feeding, different holds, how to prevent/fix mastitis, how often/whether to use cream, etc that I had LCs in hospital asking me if this was really the first time I had BF.

I voted for lack of education - but there are so many factors that contribute. I think overall, we are generally under-educated about breastfeeding as a society, and I do think the normalisation of ABM undermines BF.

I also think that there is a bit of stigma attached to BF (no pun intended). From my experience, women who perservere with BF after 3-6 months are almost labelled as 'hippy tree-huggers', regardless of the world health organisation endorsing BF for a minimum of 2 years. Interestingly, the average age for weaning is 4 years... why do Australian authorities recommend for only 6 months?

Personally, I love BF my little boy and plan to for as long as it works for both of us.

Anyway, I'll get off my high horse now :)

I too think that they all contribute in some way.

I am one in a group of eight friends who had babies last year of whom only myself and one other are still breastfeeding. My son is 6m3wk and hers is just 6mths.

I remember when I was in hospital how every midwife would have a different form of advice, a different way to attach and everytime all bar one very kind woman came in and I was feeding (or trying to) when they left I felt totally useless and that everything I was doing was wrong.

When I got home a friend who is an ABA member lent me a video and book she borrowed from their library and invited me to some meetings. I also utilised the ABA email counselling and after about 4 weeks I finally felt that I know what I was doing. I didn't help that I had a reflux baby - but that's another story.

My best friend's sister was diagnosed with PND and anxiety, a lot of which my friend thought was attributed to how her sister felt "consumed' by breastfeeding and she consequently gave it up after maybe 4 wks. After that everytime I saw her or my friend it was to comments like "oh you are still breastfeeding, goodness when are you going to get him on a bottle to make it easier".... etc ....

My sister in law was ejected from a regional public hospital after a caesar on her 3rd day and her milk hadn't even come in. She is now having feeding problems and is about to quit. This is aggravated even more by a narrow minded mother who bottle fed her babies and disliked BF telling her to wean now and it will be easier later.

Another friend who gave away feeding because of ongoing attachment problems, "milk problems" and the fact that she didn't enjoy it. She was also diagnosed with PND and attriuted a lot of it to breastfeeding and being "consumed". Once again more pressure about how could I still be breastfeeding...

I love feeding my son and find it extremely easy now but at the time the pressure was amazing...

My son was a big nine and a half pound baby and loves his booby feeds. When he was going through his 4wk growth spurt he was feeding every 2 hours and I was constantly innundated with comments like " my god are you feeding him again" and " maybe you don't have enough milk" and "your milk might not be very good quality" - they followed me everytime we sat down to our feed.

It was enough to make me quit BF.

I think there is a lot of support out there but it isn't made easily accessible from the start if you don't know where to look or have someone around you who can help direct you. There are health providers / friends profligating the beliefs that is your baby is feeding 2 hourly you don't have enough milk etc. There are also too many conflicting areas of advice when you are in hospital, and women being sent home before they can even feed their baby and with little or no support once they get home.

I also remember being in hospital and constantly bombarded with BF is best message. Now I know it is and I did then as well, but when you are trying to get started and it doesn't come easy and you are too scared to ask for help you struggle with the message. I remember feeling like I had failed as a woman and mother because I couldn't just do it easily straight away and all the literature told me it was natural, it was best and you had to do it.

I think the blame lies in so many areas - midwifes / nurses not having their training updated, women being sent home too early and with little or no support, poorly educated friends and family who know no better and think they know best, women too scared to ask for help for fear of looking like a failure, over zealous BF advocates and literature etc.

Sorry to go on but I feel quite passionate as I was one of the women who really wanted to BF, but was stuck in the middle of BF nazis and those telling me it was too hard and to get on the bottle. I am glad I stuck to it now as it is just the most precious thing and will hopefully still be BF when Jake is 12mths and beyond.

I really think it's got a lot to do with breastfeeding being such an 'unknown' in our society. I have so many friends that say they had never even seen a mother breastfeed before they tried it themselves. Or only ever someone who was already past the 'hard stage' and so many people don't realise it takes effort and perseverance.
So I'd go with lack of education and also accessibility to formula (you wouldn't be so quick to use it if you lived on a remote island!).

Honestly???!! It is soooo hard, no-one told me that?! And in what I believe is a 'give up too soon' generation, why wouldn't you stop the pain and give the baby a bottle, esp when formula is so easy to come by? I was lucky enough to hang in there, and realise the pain and difficulties does go away and it is a great thing.

Can I say all of the above lol.
If i had to pick one I would say cultural influences/expectations & advice from family & friends. This is just from my own experience but the people I know who didn't breastfeed or only brestfed for a short time were mainly from families with a culture of not breastfeeding. A couple of examples - a friend who was using artificial milk by the time she left hospital with her first born had been told that none of the women in her family could breastfeed. With her second after encouragement from midwives and me she breastfed successfully until the third trimester of her third pregnancy.
SIL was told the same story by MIL - that she wouldn't be able to breastfeed because MIL couldn't. She started breastfeeding successfully but after a few months when her baby was going through a growth spurt and was waking up alot in the night MIL told SIL that she couldn't make enough milk and that she should give formula and do CC. Sadly SIL followed MIL's advice and that was the end of her BF relationship with her daughter.
In contrast I always believed that I could and would breastfeed because that's my family culture. I had my share of difficulties especially with Imran and his wonky tongue but we got there in the end. With Imran formula was nearly my undoing - MIL left a can in my house and at about 10 days with scabs on my nipples, a sore c-section scar and almost no sleep it was incredibly tempting. Luckily my DH talked me out of it.

FWIW I think that breastfeeding needs to be promoted realistically. In my ante-natal classes they showed us holds but they never told us that it could be difficult and excruciatingly painful. If women were more prepared for the difficulties of the early days they might be more inclined see it as normal and to continue instead of assuming that they couldn't do it.

I chose Lack of education,

for me I was a new and young mum and the hospital was way to understaffed to cope with any of my needs to have a midwife or a breastfeeding councelor available to teach me and show me and help me through the rough times. I felt so alone through my breastfeeding trials, and yes those services were available but you had to book in and wait for them to be available for your needs, breastfeeding was alot harder than I thought it would be, I dont remember ever really talking about it prior to birth, just that I was going to give it a go.

I turned to formular because I couldnt bare it any longer, and with my Daughter I got mastitus very badly on both sides, this was becasue she was not attaching properly, but no one had the time or the staff requirements to back up having someone spend some time and make sure I was doing this properly.

For me, definitely lack of support. i had all sorts of problems with DS#1 and stayed in hospital for a week and although the midwives tried to help i didn't find them very supportive at all. One even said to me 'welcome to the real world' when i was crying when feeding due to horrendous c/s scar pain. The hospital i was at had a lactation specialist (i found out afterwards) but no one asked her to come and see me. I gave up after 2 weeks. I was lucky with DS#2 that i didn't have any probs and he was a great feeder so still b/f him now.

I found that I had plenty of support and offers to help...
but with sleep deprivation and huge stress - before and after the birth of my child - I just never produced enough milk. I had plenty of help in hospital. I had 4 MCHN come to my home. I spent an entire day at a lactation centre. The help is there... but so is the pressure!!!

I found the pressure to HAVE to breastfeed even more stressful...

After my child was losing large amounts of weight consistently (for weeks) - I was more stressed.

Although formula was reluctantly suggested before I left hospital (because my son was suffering so much)... I wish that there had been more support right from the start to top up with formula and continue with breastfeeding. But it seemed everyone was anti-formula until it became a desperate situation.

I saw another mother absolutely beside herself because her daughter was constantly crying from difficulties with breastfeeding. I somehow managed to keep myself together in comparision. But I am not surprised by the prevalence of PND when the pressure to breastfeed is so high. I understand it's a great thing... and I don't knock it at all. I am going to give it a 100% go with my 2nd child. And I did everything I possibly could with my 1st. Even the lactation centre that I visited said I should stick with formula.

I think the pressure to breastfeed from everyone is the biggest detterent. You are nearly made to feel like a 'bad mother' if you don't b/f... which only adds to more pressure.

EDIT: I did not vote as I felt none of the options were relevant to me. I felt the PRESSURE to have to breastfeed caused stress and anxiety which added to the milk supply problems

Breastfeeding should be encouraged but not at the expense of the relationship of mother and child. 12 years ago I had my first, I tried to breastfeed for 3.5 weeks, distressed baby, distressed mother. I saw Lactations consultants in my home and there home, early childhood nurses. My technique was right I had enough milk blah blah blah. With severe depression I went to my GP 1.5 hrs drive away and was told to put her on formula and me on anti depressants. Two years later my milk finally dried up naturally.
Foward 8 years and I had my second child, wanted to try again, I was aware of PND had a great support network. Finally my problem was revealed, I had fibrous nipples. My children will never feel comfortable. Tried nipples shields but in the end opted for expressing and feeding from a bottle the expressed milk. I could hand express and fill a bottle in 5 minutes. So here we are no. 3 is due in Sept. I am more aware and more relaxed about it now. I have my pump and my bottle ready. I will not be made to feel like a failure. I applaud women that 'can do it', but please dont inflict your opinions so harshly on mothers just trying to do there best as well. We all love our children but some have abilities that others lack. We are all dont foregt only human.
Helen

From reading what you have all said, I think a continuity of support and education throughout the process is very important. Changing people who are the first point of access for information would make it very difficult if they are all giving conflicting information. Ideally breast feeding is clearly the best option, however, sometimes there are obsticles which cannot be avoided which hinder the process. Ultimately the most important thing is the health and welfare and the child and mother, and whilst breatfeeding should be promoted and vigourously encouraged, if it is not the most viable option, a mother should not be made to feel bad for taking the formula option, especially when it may be in the best interests of the child.

That said, I was extremely fortunate, I breast fedd my first child to six months, when I returned to full time work. I worked part time for 4 months before that, and because I work for my inlaws, I was able to bring my son to work with me and breastfeed him there. I never had a problem with breast feeding, we both took to it straight away, with no medical complications or otherwise. From the sound of others experiences, it would appear that I was in the minority, and I certainly hope that my next experience is as good as the first. (I dont want sore boobies for Christmas LOL)

Hi I get quiet angry over the pressure of breastfeeding and how it affects the women that really can't breast feed no matter what occurs. I agree that Breast Feeding is the first option any new mother should try, but in many cases some women find it impossible to breast feed and a lot of these times it is detremental to the baby's health for the mother to continue trying. I am pregnant with baby no 3. I am unable to breastfeed no matter what. Medication I take normally affects the thickness of my skin so that my babies get more blood than milk and have me feeling very tense until my milk dries up because of emotions. I always feed as long as possible usually only a couple of days after birth to try to give my babies the best start they can have, but after that it is no good for the baby or me. Not only that within a couple of weeks of having a baby I get very sick and need to go back on medication which I can not breastfeed while doing so. If I don't take the medication I can not take care of my baby as I am unable to move or hold it and am in constant pain. On one occasion I was made to feel that it was all my fault by one midwife who said all women can breastfeed and that I was causing the problems, at the same time thankfully the other midwifes sat me down and told me not to continue as it was no good for me or the baby. This all occured with my first baby, with my second I tried again and with 12 hours they sat me down again and advised that I not continue. Not only did I have a bad experience with a midwife with my second baby which made me feel crap about myself for days, but I was then also excluding from the mothers group because I was a non breastfeeding mother. I do agree that breastfeeding in majority of circumstances is the best thing for mother and baby, but this is not always the case and the mothers that truly are unable to breastfeed should not be made to feel inadequate about themselves or their parenting skills, this is a large contribution to mothers depression. Even while bottle feeding I still did all the feeding so that I had the contact with my baby, I did not let anyone else do this feeding and still kept that contact between the baby and me. I am now expecting my third child and once again very nervous about the breastfeeding issue, once again I will try and continue as long as I can but as I am on these tablets all the time now believe my chances are even worse than before. I get nervous even thinking about having to stay in the hospital and dealing with other mothers and midwifes when I may not be able to breastfeed. The hospital I am now closest too has a policy on breastfeeding and does not give mothers any support at all if they do not breastfeed. So does that now mean I will be out on my own once again and have no support network. I think breastfeeding mothers should feel privelged that they are able to enjoy this experience and not descrimate against the mothers that are unable to have this experience but support them.

I voted lack of education. I think a lot of mums thing FF is as good as BF. That it's an equal choice IYKWIM. Also most FF mums I've met don't understand supply/demand so believe they had to 'top-up'. And that at 3mths it starts to feel different; doesn't mean you don't have enough.

I coudln't vote here because my reason was medication - unless you classify that as medical intervention? But I take that as being "advised not to" by medical professionals where as after colustrom I had to stop.

Just remember, as Caro said, not everyone can breastfeed and there was a story on "What's good for you" about it a while ago and the main reason for not breastfeeding was health/medications. Just because some of us FF doesn't mean we gave up too early or just wanted to. All my SILs BF and they now understand why I couldn't - they never gave me a hard time about it and that was a relief!

Besides I have friends who BF and FF - one in particular used Formula overnight to help her baby sleep longer and she said it worked for her.

Saying that - I read articles about breast milk banks and think it would be good to have breast milk accessible to every mother who can't BF. I think that would be rather expensive though!

Congrats Kelly on your Pariliamentary submission and hope all goes well.

I voted for Family &/ friends ideals/advice/expectation.

For me I only had two friends who were successful at breast feeding. As it was something I really wanted to do they motivated me to keep going when my mum, MIL, cousins & neighbours all told me to put the baby on the bottle because that is what they did. Breastfeeding was too much hassle for them and they were trying to spare me I guess. It's something that everyone had an opinion on and they were quite outspoken about it.
Even now I get comments from a few family members that they can't believe I put up with breastfeeding for so long!

I put lack of education. Had I known that it was normal to experience a lull in supply at around 2-3 months, I would've tried harder than 2 weeks to get my supply back up. I did go to clinics and doctor but no body really said that it was normal to experience a temporary drop in your supply. I expressed myself to know end but got too worked up about having to put her on formula, I'm sure it made it worse. I think I would've been far more relaxed and accepting of it, had I known it would eventually come back up (as I understand now, usually it does).

well i have four children and i think we need more support before we leave the hospitals we are not given enough advice although some of us just are unable to bf and i think its a choice that really has to be made by both partners

I chose conflicting advice after birth, but I'd love to say all of the above too! I was fortunate that I had done reading and research, and attended an ABA breastfeeding class, so was able to sift through the variety of advice given in hospital.. and yes.. there was a variety!!

I was able to eliminate any fears of lack of supply etc, coz I knew what to expect from my boobs. I knew about engorgment, I knew about letdown, I expected the upcoming fussy periods where he'd feed and feed and feed, I knew my boobs would lose their full feeling after a few weeks, and didn't worry about it coz it just meant they now knew what they were doing! So education is a BIG one because mums I know that have stopped breastfeeding have usually had the same reasons, thinking they have no milk, or that the baby doesn't want it because they're being fussy etc etc. Managing sore & cracked nipples is possible, but there's no real help out there.

So, second I would choose lack of education, then I would choose health professionals. Just yesterday I was told by a GP that DS is only feeding for comfort now, not for nutrition. What a load of rubbish!

I agree with the culture thing too. I know some mums formula feed, and yes that's their choice, but what upsets me is when I hear "you know, it's ok to switch to formula - it's just as good". Whilst this can be supportive of those that choose to FF, it totally undermines breastfeeding, and provides NO support for those that want to breastfeed.

THE best piece of advice I received was from the ABA breastfeeding class, and that was "only take breastfeeding advice from someone who has successfully breastfed". So I was able to basically ignore any comments on formula being ok, and only listen to those that had got through any problems. Sadly, no-one in real life around me had successfully breastfed (except SIL) longer than a few months, so majority of advice was from the lovely BB girls :) I think even the ABA counsellors have to have successfully fed for at least 9 months to qualify as counsellors. Maybe next time in hospital with this bub if I have problems I should outright ask the LC & midwives how long they fed their babies for. It would probably be a real eye opener!

I find the lack of consistency in care and the lack of information on discharge are the biggest hurdles. All 4 of my kids were special care babies. It is easy to forget that in this situation your baby is the patient and your wishes as the mother can sometimes be trivialised or given a cursory regard as the patients welfare is in the hands of the Paed. Finding a Paed with a BF lean is very difficult. I was lucky in that my Dr was, for 3 of my kids, but I had a different one for one and his lack of support was frustrating. The nursing staff in special care at the hospital I attended were very pro BF of the premmie bubs and offered me all the support and assistance I needed. They were a fountain of knowledge and were quick to assure me that I was doing the right thing and consulted me before doing anything to my baby, and allowed me to be involved in the medical care side as well as the mothering side. I was luck enough to stay in 3 weeks with my twins.

In contrast the midwives on the wards, had a vast difference in the advice and attitude towards BF. Most were not committed to establishing the BF relationship as much as the special care staff and actually told me that I had nothing to do so I could make my own bed ( twins in special care and I was pumping all their feeds 24/7)

On leaving hospital I feel there is not enough information given to mothers to let them know what’s in store. Of all the new mothers I know only a few are still BF and most cite lack of milk and I couldn’t produce enough as the reason to give up. If they had known that it takes 6-8 weeks to establish BF, that the milk has to be produced by the bond between mother and baby and its not just there for the picking then many would be prepared to stick it out, as it is the unknown and the desire to have a happy baby that drives some mothers to FF. The basics of how the breasts work and how much feeding you need to do are not realistically communicated to departing mums.

The last issue I have is the early childhood nurses. Most I have encountered seem to be “retired “from the active hospital system and working the 9-5 is the last step to retirement. They are quick to advocate solids if a baby seems to be feeding too often and they are quick to tell mothers that the baby is not thriving (even though they are on the curve and travelling forward) and that they need to supplement. Teething is another panacea for all that ails the newborn.. the list goes on. These centres are the only contact some new mothers have and they arm themselves with the knowledge given to them by these professionals and as new mothers find it hard to question the advice. The answer could be that better more stringent requirements need to be met in order to work in these environments.

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Anyway, I digress. I totally support the idea of breastfeeding education for our school children - boys and girls. Muslim women must be taught about it, as it is enshrined in the Quran - anyone care to educate me? The Quran and that fat man, Buddha, have got some great teachings to live by! Again, I digress... it's late and I should be in bed, or writing an assignment...

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yep, In Islam it is regarded as child's right to be breastfed for 2 years (by its mother or failing that a wet-nurse). Of course it's also recognised that this isn't possible for some women so there are allowances made.
Judaism has similar perspective. Yael started a thread about it here

I think that with this in mind that to promote breastfeeding the government needs to look at culturally sensitive campains that target specific communities ie campain that suits the Muslim community would make referance to the Quranic verses as well as the modern research and another campain that targets the Jewish community would refer to the Talmud as well as modern research and so on...
Alos it would be great if the government could fund the ABA to do some sort of outreach work - visiting schools, mosques, churches, sports clubs etc.
We can't really expect that a one-size-fits-all approach is going to influnce everyone.

Also I don't understand why the government can't mount a massive tv campain - they have the funds to promote all sorts of other stuff (like thier super changes) so why not a health campain for breastfeeding? It should be shoved into people's faces during Neighbours; it would make a nice change from gangrenous toes lol.

I vote lack of education - but I would qualify that as actual lack of education in society, not just mothers to be.

My sister thinks breastfeeding is yucky and revolting and seems quite disgusted at the thought that she actually breastfed as a baby. My brother is not so bad but complains that he doesn't like seeing women breastfeeding in public. My father was too embarrassed to be in the same room as me initially when I was breastfeeding. He now inquires as to whether my DS is still feeding from the boob and while he never says anything I can tell that he is starting to think that it is getting a bit unseemly and that DS is too old to be on the boob (at 7.5 months).

My mother is very supportive but when DS was going through a growth spurt and feeding a lot she came out with the lines "maybe you're not making enough milk" and "maybe your milk isn't of very good quality". Of course, they were the lines she was given back in the 70s. The classic four-hourly feed routine that our mothers learned is a problem I think - mums are trying to help their daughters but "don't know any better" which sounds horrible but I can't think of another way of putting it.

My DH was pushing hard for me to introduce formula just so I could have a break because everyone was telling us that DS would sleep better on formula.

Breasts are regarded as primarily sexual so I think that is a problem. I am amazed at how many people seem to think breastfeeding is primitive, or a bit "animal" or that some people seem to think it is a "toilet" function and that formula feeding is so much "cleaner" and more socially acceptable. I've wound up being far more "out there" about breastfeeding than I ever planned to, just with my own family. When they inquire about me feeding in public I'm at pains to demonstrate my discretion while saying at the same time that if someone was actually close enough to get a tiny glimpse of nipple before DS clamps on and were disturbed by that glimpse, then they were the ones with the problem, not me. (Said in such a way that they cannot do anything but nod in agreement because they know I'm right and won't admit that they feel confronted by it).

The wide availability of formula is also an issue. I always thought that you HAD to introduce formula at some point, that it was a vital part of the weaning process. I had no idea that formula wasn't actually necessary until I spoke to my MCHN.

The question is how to do this without the women who have no choice but to use formula don't feel marginalised at the same time. Every now and again I read an angry opinion piece by a woman about "breastfeeding nazis" and how her baby was losing too much weight etc etc and the bad advice the woman was given by midwives etc etc (which of course points back to something lacking in education, this time on the part of the midwives and MCHNs).

Someone else suggested education of teenagers which I think is a great idea because I honestly think part of the problem is societal. I also think that women having trouble establishing breastfeeding or wanting extra help should be able to stay in hospital a bit longer if they want to. This happened to me - I was kicked out on day 4 because the hospital wanted the private room and my milk supply had not come in properly so I ended up teaching myself to breastfeed. I felt so vulnerable leaving that day, I really really needed one more day in hospital.