[caption id="attachment_2553" align="alignleft" width="150"]
breastmilk Dad feeding[/caption]Breastfeeding and the benefits of breast milk are becoming more and more accepted and promoted worldwide. There have been and still are a number of initiatives to increase the number of women breastfeeding.
But where are the campaigns to educate formula feeding mums on safe and healthy feeding? The feeling is that formula and bottle feeding is now taboo and any education around it is frowned upon. So how did this come about when only a few years ago formula feeding was the norm?
The World Health Organisation, Unicef, Ottowa charter, IBFAN and many more organisations, committees and groups are doing their best to increase breastfeeding rate worldwide. As a part of this push there have been many programs and initiatives developed to promote and support breastfeeding. These organisations are attempting to undo the myths and inaccuracies ingrained in thinking about infant feeding that came into being with the industrial age. Before we got better with research and expanding our knowledge about breastmilk and breastfeeding the myth that formula was better for babies took hold.
As a part of this breastfeedings push the ‘Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative’ was developed. This was mainly to assist birthing units to encourage breastfeeding. One of the guidelines on this initiative is to have no promotion of bottle feeding or formula at all. As a consequence of this any teaching about how to bottle feed, including cleaning bottles, and choosing formula was also stopped as a routine part of postnatal teaching.
Breastfeeding rates have increased. Many more women are commencing breastfeeding with every intention to sustain it. However, these women are coming up against challenges that they find hard to overcome, so breastfeeding continuation rates drop rapidly when women and their babies go home from hospital. Because of short post-birth hospital stays, women are often home alone with little support or expert knowledge to draw on to help manage and understand normal changes in breastfeeding development (here is last week's article http://insyncwithinfants.com/when-your-milk-isnt-good-enough-myth-or-truth/ ).
They feel overwhelmed and have no idea how to manage these changes, are exhausted and just want to make sure their baby is getting what he or she needs. Hence they reach for need for bottles and possibly formula (our previous webinar re: quittingis still available for small fee). These women feel added pressure of trying to make the best choices without any guidelines as to which formula or bottles and teats to choose for them.
Even if you choose to not breastfeed from the beginning, there is limited trusted education around because of the “taboo” choice of formula feeding.
The hospital system and related pre/post natal support services really do not support new mothers very well at all. Both expecting perfection of them and not providing the expert support and education to support them through decision making and learning in a complex, highly politically correct and pressured world.
Insync with Infants believes that babies need to eat - whether from a breast, a bottle or a little of both. For support with breastfeeding, formula feeding, mixed feeding or introducing solids visit here to find out how we could help you too - http://insyncwithinfants.com/in-home-services/
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