How new NHS staff guidance risks ‘policing’ new mothers over breastfeeding

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1. New NHS guidelines look set to reinforce the idea that doctors and nurses should take every chance to deliver the “Breast is Best” message – including questioning mothers about [why they are using formulaNew NHS guidelines look set to reinforce the idea that doctors and nurses should take every chance to deliver the “Breast is Best” message – including questioning mothers about why they are using formula.](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Finews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fhealth%2Fbaby-formula-shortage-breastfeeding-mothers-overstate-health-benefits-1674191&data=05%7C02%7CGeorgia.Chambers%40inews.co.uk%7Cbe5842c44cdb427233e308dcd31bd5f7%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638617363716985192%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9OUQDmakjHGJFSnxT6fQwDgMRHvdT8HZlDjnsDRIMVM%3D&reserved=0?ico=in-line_link)

   The guidelines are still subject to consultation and the authors are currently considering responses to the draft version. At least one campaign group has criticised the plan, saying it risks jeopardising babies’ health as well as the mental health of mums who are struggling to breastfeed.

   “They are trying to turn healthcare staff in to the breastfeeding police,” Dr Ruth Ann Harpur of the Infant Feeding Alliance told me.

   The debate about breastfeeding promotion has been growing for some time, so what do and don’t we know about the [benefits of breastmilk](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Finews.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fdoes-breastfeeding-make-kids-smarter-i-dont-know-and-you-dont-either-2273681&data=05%7C02%7CGeorgia.Chambers%40inews.co.uk%7Cbe5842c44cdb427233e308dcd31bd5f7%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638617363716995158%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XZmxdJPyWRdCviYie%2F5HnRi86NIML3Po7K7irnnUgVA%3D&reserved=0?ico=in-line_link)? And could well-meaning advice to breastfeed really be doing more harm than good?

   Breast is Best campaigns stem from growing concern about low rates of breastfeeding in developed countries.

   While health bodies recommend breastfeeding for six months, only about a quarter of babies are exclusively breastfed by six weeks of age.

   # Class issue

   The move to formula began in the 20th century, when firms promoted their milk as better than breast milk, and breastfeeding became seen as lower-class.

   We now know that was a big mistake. Breastmilk contains multiple beneficial compounds, such as antibodies, which kill bacteria, as well as hormones, growth factors and enzymes.

   NHS advice says that breastfeeding brings countless health benefits, from reducing infections in the short term, to protecting children as they grow up from obesity, asthma and allergies – it is even claimed to boost IQ.

   But critics say the evidence supporting these long-term health claims is of poor quality. The correlations between breastfeeding and good health could really stem from the fact that breastfeeding is more common in families who are better off. This biases all the studies that compare breastfed to bottle-fed babies.

   In one study that tried to lower this bias by comparing pairs of siblings who were either bottle-fed or breastfed, [most of the long-term benefits to health disappeared](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.socscimed.2014.01.027&data=05%7C02%7CGeorgia.Chambers%40inews.co.uk%7Cbe5842c44cdb427233e308dcd31bd5f7%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638617363717002844%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8LqjoEhw4U6WVIxnjLwg7VfSWa0GaU9UtOfRn4s1%2FDs%3D&reserved=0?ico=in-line_link). A wider review of all the research concluded that the only real benefit from breastfeeding is a lower rate of [stomach bugs in the first six months](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1002%2F14651858.CD003517.pub2&data=05%7C02%7CGeorgia.Chambers%40inews.co.uk%7Cbe5842c44cdb427233e308dcd31bd5f7%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638617363717009661%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kfGJZLsMpnu9HP8DNZgnRsTkvkq%2BbaqEyjqZ2D27VWU%3D&reserved=0?ico=in-line_link).

2. They already try this? It’s usually only mentioned once during pregnancy. Postnatal ward is usually a ghost town with no staff, you are left alone to formula feed or breastfeed. No one had a clue what my babies had at hospital.

   And after that? Lol, nothing.

   It’s touched on as the best but barely talked about.

3. Mother’s should be supported to breast feed, not shamed in it.

   Even if a baby only breasts feeds once or twice, the benefits of that are never ever to be underestimated. If a mother can’t breast feed she should be supported to formula feed, this should be without prejudice. The support should include mental health support, I saw how it affected my daughter’s mother when she was unable to breast feed. I can’t imagine the further damage to her mental health it would have caused if she were shamed for it.

4. So out of touch. No shame either way, mother’s choice