General Chat

hiya, as they say breast is best and dont cost a penny.... got 2 boys, first was breast fed for 6 weeks then got stuck out shopping so had to use a bottle....... he didnt take to breast after that so had loads tried expressing but he liked the fomaler milk......... second one is 5months.. wouldnt take to breast at first after a couple of days got hang of it, every thing going fine for 2months then milk started to thin out then died......... so got on formaler but i know he hates it, but ive got nothing in me.............. you just have to go with what you can give and dont be regretfull......... we are all different and our bodies remind us of it............ as for banning adverts..... what a cheek nite all kaz n boys xx

as a nurse with babies were ment to advocate breast as many benefits but have seen many mothers very upset and worn down by breast feeding if supply goes etc think it is what eva is best for family and child this is what will aid the babys growth ..a happy loving family!

Just wanted to add that having breast fed for longer than average, there is also something of a 'stigma' with that in this country! if you tell people you are still breastfeeding after a year (let alone two!), people look at you as if you're mad or perverted lol Rosexx

Eldest in special care so pumped (doesn't exactly help with bonding so she didn't take to breast anyway). Needed supplement to help with her weight gain so bottle fed. Second (son) absolute gannet!!! Couldn't keep up with him and supplemented again. Third breast fed for about 10 weeks and then nipples cracked and bleeding so onto bottle. No guilt for me I did try. Sue

Most mothers (in my opinion) fail to establish proper breastfeeding because of lack of information and support. Supplementing a baby's feed with formula milk actually stops the breasts producing enough milk. It's a supply and demand process. The more a baby feeds from the breast, the more milk the breast produces. Having said that, my first instinct is to say that yes, advertising formula milk should be banned, but then I hate all this 'nanny state' intervention! We all should have a properly informed choice in these matters. And that, I think, is the crux of the matter. If a mum wants to breastfeed successfully she should have all the support and information necessary so that she fully understands how breastfeeding works. It isn't always easy to establish successful breastfeeding especially with a first baby, but with a little knowledge and practice most mothers will succeed. No mum should be made to feel guilt if for some reason she is unable or unwilling to breast feed, but perhaps advertisers pushing their wares too hard at mums who are having difficulty establishing breast feeding. results in a lot of them giving up prematurely. Dee x

Breast fed both mine, the first for 10 months the 2nd for a year. Coped going back to work, was lucky that i could express, so could leave a bottle for hubbie to give. However......... 2nd child although grew cubby on me, didnt sleep during the night so was still having night time feeds at a year old!!. I then gave him formula and he slept. I now realise he should have had a bottle at night and maybe i would have had my sanity. they are on your chest for a purpose but if they dont work, you cant let the child stave. There's nothing wrong with bottle feeding, but people need make an informed decision. banning adverts wont do this. Having said that have you seen the price of formula!! just that alone would make me want to breast feed

When my first daughter was born 25 years ago, I started breast feeding her. I didn't realise that I wasn't producing enough for her, and at the age of 6 weeks landed up back in hospital with her as she was 'failing to thrive'. In other words she was not putting weight on. With hindsight I should have been giving her a top up which is exactly what they had me to do in the hospital. When our second daughter came along 15 months later, I started her off on the breast, but soon felt that she wasn't getting enough, so topped her up. Have they suffered from being bottle fed? I don't think so. Daughter number one is now a Mum herself of 2 little girls age 5 and 2, and 5' 11'. Daughter number two is a strapping 6'3'! I think that even if babies only have a few weeks of breast milk, it will help them. I wonder if the people who have decreed this ban in advertising have had babies and breast fed themselves. Probably not!! PP xx

if you look at the original post you will see many of you are missing the point(sorry) no one wants to ban infant formula but there is pressure to ban infant formula advertising. things have been moving in this direction for many years. when I started midwifery formula companies had full access to mums and hospitals with there products. many women could not breastfeed as they didnt get the right support but also because they gave infant formula at key times when they should have been using breast milk,completely undermining there efforts In the third world 100s of thousands of babies died because breastfeeding wasnt established and the babies were given formula in maternity hospitals so that when the mothers went home and made the formula because they didnt have breastmilk there babies died of diahorrea. Companies like nestle paid fines and kept promoting there formula without a care in the world. When the push came to establish breastfeeding properly the main solutions were to keep formula companies and there advertising out of the hospitalsand to teach women really well how to feed their babies and express there milk. it has been hugely successful,formula is available to babies who mediacally need it but it is not around willy nilly. The formula companies were banned from advertising up to 6mths of age but they have cunningly used their ads to promote follow on formula knowing that woman will identify with the early formula. This is undermining the whole project so people will still be able to formula feed but they will find out about formula from their health visitor or midwife or doctor and how to prepare and use it and the risks versus the benefits,not some billion dollar company that does not give a rats behind. long winded I know but hopefully explanatory Regards tania

Bottle fed 3 breast fed 1, my choice each time, they were all equally happy and healthy. I thought we lived in a free country...............beginning to think otherwise now!

I bottle fed my three, had no desire to breast feed, and have no regrets or guilt. As somebody said we are not a dictatorship yet. Sue

I breast fed my five Catherine but first for only 6 weeks as i was ill after an emergency c section. The others i fed for between 1 and 4 years. I wanted to breast feed, it was vitally important to me, especially as I felt id failed to 'give' birth to them, BUT it is a womans choice, hers and the babies welfare exceed all else, Caz xxx

I think breast should be encouraged because it is obviously the best option,but please don't treat people as virtual child abusers because they can't/don't want to breast feed and bottle feed instead. I made a half-hearted attempt to breast feed my son and lasted about 2 days! My nipples felt as if someone had half sliced through them with a razor blade...OUCH! I changed to the bottle and have absolutely no regrets about it. Apart from a couple of comments from my GP and a midwife or two,nobody really made me feel guilty.I suppose if I had set my heart on breast feeding I would have felt a terrible failure! Sandra. xxx

I had my 2 sons at home and they were bottle fed no problems then i had to have my daughter in hospital the sister of the ward told me that i would have to breast feed my daughter, i said no she has to go on the bottle as i had T.B of the lungs and on medication, Well we had a right battle between us until i asked to see the doctor, spoke to doc and he agreed with me she should go on the bottle . from that day until i went home the sister never spoke to again this was in 1969. Hazelx

I bottled fed,,,no guilt at all,,,

I have no doubt that with good support from family most new mothers would breastfeed -it is the most natural thing to do,but my mum 30 years ago was in Manchester and I was in Rugby-nobody to help and support me with a hungry baby!Midwife called for 2 minutes every morning-so Joanna was bottle fed! Please do not feel guilty, bottle feeding mums-do what is best for your baby and yourself xx

Teresa, I was also 'instructed' to do it the way you described with my first, 27 years ago(side of bed, back straight, pillows etc) which I found almost impossible as my boobs were too small and I ended up with terrible back ache. When they weren't looking, I pulled the curtains round and lay on the bed like Rose. When I got home, I used to recline on the sofa, book in hand and have a good read :o) In the end I breast fed my two for 22 months each, and my daughter (who wasn't 'instructed' the way I was) fed her little one for 24 months. Expressing milk to bottle feed the baby is a good idea - if they will take a bottle. Mine would only ever take water from a bottle, they seemed to associate breast milk with the breast and a different way of suckling. I think many working mothers give up fairly soon because they have to get the baby used to the bottle for when they go back to work. Banning the advertising of formula milk for small babies has led to some mothers feeding their very young babies 'follow on' formula, as they are unaware of the difference and what's available. Makes you think these people sit in ivory towers declaring what we 'others' should do, like we're a different species. It's very simplistic to believe that if you don't advertise, people won't be 'tempted' to use the bottle, but if you don't advertise, people will use what they can. It's peoples lives they're affecting. Mothers should have a choice and be aware of what is available. We're not quite a dictatorship yet!!! maggie

What about pumping? I think that is a very overlooked option that would work for many. Rose

Yes Mr Keith and look where THAT got me LOL !

used to do it lying on the bed i bet you did

A friend of mine really wanted to breast feed her baby but the baby wasn't able to get enough milk so, very upset, she started to bottle feed her. She was then told by a breast feeding counsellor that she obviously didn't love her baby very much if she wasn't breast feeding her! What an attitude from a 'caring prefessional'. Whilst I agree with 'breast is best' mothers who are unable to feed their babies, or for whatever reason choose not to should not be made to feel like 2nd class mothers. Kate