Go on – have a rant!
Amber Vara is exasperated at the government’s double standards over its ‘Breastfeeding is best’ campaign.
“Why is there is no consistent support and advice for new mums to achieve their ideals?”
When I had my child I was all ready to breastfeed. I knew there could be problems, I had done lots of reading, but I knew that there was expert help out there ready and waiting.
Unfortunately, from day one I had problems and had to stay in hospital for several days to get feeding established. I was determined to breastfeed but desperately needed help which the hospital acknowledged but the shortage of staff at the hospital meant that I never saw the same person twice, so at each feed I got different advice and each feed was a disaster. Eventually I got my baby girl to feed but it wasn’t easy and she “fed” for 14 hour stints.
When I got my child home and my milk came in properly we had difficulties again. Each day a different midwife visited. Each day I got different advice. I phoned a couple of breastfeeding helplines, I just came away in tears. There was a breastfeeding centre in the next town from me which opened 1 morning a week, but as my baby was at the breast for 14 hour stretches (I was told this was normal) she was never off the breast long enough to get out of the door!
By the time I was handed over to the health visitor my confidence was in tatters. My health visitor was fantastic and if I had had her from the start I know I would have carried on breastfeeding, but by the time I saw her I think I was at the point of no return and couldn’t even contemplate mixed feeding (this had never previously been suggested as an option!)
so I stopped breastfeeding after 4 very unhappy weeks. That was 12 months ago. Looking back it seems ludicrous I listened to all the differing advice, and of course I would do things very differently given the time again, but with hormones all over the place and my utmost desire to do the very best for my baby I got myself into a pit of misery about the whole thing.
Anyway, to cut to the point, my rant is how the government insist that on every article about feeding baby, on every tin of formula, on every available wall of the maternity unit, on anything feeding related, the most prominent thing must be “breast is best”, “breast is best”. I know it sounds a slight overreaction but this tortured me for months afterwards. I could accept having this thrust at me at every turn if I had been given adequate help to achieve their ideals. Formula milk provides all the goodness a child needs to grow strong and healthy and is in no way detrimental to our children, but I was made to feel I was giving her devil food.
However, once a child is weaned there are many foods out there packed with E numbers, colourings, excessive sugars and all sorts of strange ingredients which are packaged and advertised to appeal specifically to our children. There is no government “warning” on these. Once our children start going to school, they can be provided with food of the poorest nutritional value at school, because it comes within the government’s budget. There is no government “warning” on these school meals either.
How can they have such double standards?
Jane Davies says it’s not up to the state to decide whether women should breast or bottle feed – it’s a woman’s choice. She strongly belives that we need to mobilise to stop the nanny state telling us how to feed our own babies and has written to her MP about it.
I sympathise whole heartedly with Amber. The reason for double standards is that any form of first baby milk formula promotion is banned in the UK. This means no leaflets or talking about bottle feeding in NHS establishments. This ban was driven by Unicef chiefly in response to agressive marketing techniques in the developing world. The ban does not promote freedom of choice and the ability to discuss pros and cons of both feeding methods. Unicef are to blame for demonising bottle feeding as their agenda is for everyone to exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months and up to two years!!! Maternity units desperately wish to acheive the Unicef Baby friendly status so I am surprised you did not get the full support you required from the start.
I am angry that NHS staff are effectively gagged by the ban. By not talking about it, bottle feeding won’t go away. I am also angry that midwives concealed the truth about breastfeeding when I had my daughter in January this year. They talk about all the positives, but not the grim reality like constantly feeding non stop for hours and the physical and mental exhaustion. Ignore the propaganda, I stopped breastfeeding at 5 weeks
and was so made up to stop. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Felt guilty, no, I felt relieved and energised.
It is a woman’s right to choose. Yes breastmilk is best, for immunity and to fight obesity but it is up to you.
Have you got strong views? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Email us on editor@babyworld.co.uk with your name and tell us all about it!
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