Inspired by this site in the US, My OB said What?! {OB = Obstetrician}
Examples -- "You have to supplement him. He hasn’t had enough wet diapers. If you don’t, he will have zero blood sugar. Is that what you want? We’ll take him from you if we have to. Is that what you want?"
OR "Are you planning to breastfeed?…Yeah, then you will need to give a vitamin K shot because breast milk lacks many nutrients ...… formula, with all the added vitamins, is actually better than breast milk in that respect."
- there's a very different system in the USA, of course! (see below*) But hey - we can do ignorance just fine here in the UK....
If you want to stop this happening to others, you need to make a complaint - there are proper channels for this & we can help you if you'd like.
More here in this link on how little training on BF doctors actually receive, and about the bombardment of Doctors/Health staff with Formula adverts & other marketing. As we know very well from the general population, if there's a combination of formula advertising & poor knowledge of BF, that can be a 'formula' for disaster!
The following courses on BF management are aimed at GPs, for those who actively seek out further training:
Also a few others in the USA (so a few aspects are not suitable for British docs, eg. billing issues, drug info) - both the self-study modules are free, and conveniently online.
*It's different in America
Thank Goodness, we can do some things better! Our NHS is something to be proud of, as is our attitude to Breastfeeding.
Here's a tale from a comment section on a blogpost (here's the link, it was 2010) -
A similar letter for British hospitals would quote the UNICEF BabyFriendly policies. (I'm looking for a template out there, but will write one if I don't find one.)
As pointed out in the blog above, it is also helpful to make a positive comment and thank a hospital/birth unit/ midwife for the excellent BabyFriendly care, if you received it.
Thoughtful Thursdays
The "My OB said What!" site, by the way, also has a much more positive take on one day a week (Thoughtful Thursdays). Then they publish the really helpful & supportive comments. These get remembered for just as long, and do LOTS of good - but are rarely shared as widely. Do share your own favourites.
Many of the more successful care workers in this area seem to achieve success by listening hard, rather than jumping in with immediate conclusions (often a sign of inexperience/poor training).
My own Thoughtful Thursday would be from my lovely HV who said (about my chubby 6-wk-old baby) - "Couldn't she be an advert for breastfeeding?!". I glowed!
The point of publicising the negative comments on the site is to show that the words and actions of the people working around birthing women and new mothers have great and lasting impact, for good or for bad.
Examples -- "You have to supplement him. He hasn’t had enough wet diapers. If you don’t, he will have zero blood sugar. Is that what you want? We’ll take him from you if we have to. Is that what you want?"
OR "Are you planning to breastfeed?…Yeah, then you will need to give a vitamin K shot because breast milk lacks many nutrients ...… formula, with all the added vitamins, is actually better than breast milk in that respect."
- there's a very different system in the USA, of course! (see below*) But hey - we can do ignorance just fine here in the UK....
- Mumsnet thread #1 - advice from a GP
- Mumsnet thread #2 - drugs advice from GP "Dr said I may as well {stop BF} now, and in fact it would've done him no harm if I'd given up at 6 months"
- Ahem! Ms C. B-C
- More online material, but here I'm talking about non-professional advice.
- What else can I add to this list???
If you want to stop this happening to others, you need to make a complaint - there are proper channels for this & we can help you if you'd like.
More here in this link on how little training on BF doctors actually receive, and about the bombardment of Doctors/Health staff with Formula adverts & other marketing. As we know very well from the general population, if there's a combination of formula advertising & poor knowledge of BF, that can be a 'formula' for disaster!
The following courses on BF management are aimed at GPs, for those who actively seek out further training:
- BfN short course package - and see also their excellent Drugs Helpline for researched info on drug safety.
- UNICEF Baby-Friendly course
Also a few others in the USA (so a few aspects are not suitable for British docs, eg. billing issues, drug info) - both the self-study modules are free, and conveniently online.
- Wellstart and
*It's different in America
Thank Goodness, we can do some things better! Our NHS is something to be proud of, as is our attitude to Breastfeeding.
Here's a tale from a comment section on a blogpost (here's the link, it was 2010) -
"I {wrote to complain} after I had my son at my local hospital. I had called their lactation “warm line” about 10 times, left numerous messages and no one ever called me back. My son was perfectly healthy and was given formula EVERY DAY without my knowledge (only realized it when I looked at our discharge papers…who knew they would give him formula when they took him for his hearing test?) Sigh. So I wrote the hospital CEO and she wrote me back and seemed to take all of my concerns very seriously. A few months later I got a letter in the mail stating that all of the nurses who worked in maternity had received additional training on supporting breastfeeding and that they had made changes to their care policy because of my letter. I can only hope that it really made a difference." Elita
A similar letter for British hospitals would quote the UNICEF BabyFriendly policies. (I'm looking for a template out there, but will write one if I don't find one.)
As pointed out in the blog above, it is also helpful to make a positive comment and thank a hospital/birth unit/ midwife for the excellent BabyFriendly care, if you received it.
Thoughtful Thursdays
The "My OB said What!" site, by the way, also has a much more positive take on one day a week (Thoughtful Thursdays). Then they publish the really helpful & supportive comments. These get remembered for just as long, and do LOTS of good - but are rarely shared as widely. Do share your own favourites.
Many of the more successful care workers in this area seem to achieve success by listening hard, rather than jumping in with immediate conclusions (often a sign of inexperience/poor training).
My own Thoughtful Thursday would be from my lovely HV who said (about my chubby 6-wk-old baby) - "Couldn't she be an advert for breastfeeding?!". I glowed!
The point of publicising the negative comments on the site is to show that the words and actions of the people working around birthing women and new mothers have great and lasting impact, for good or for bad.
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