This book came on Friday 15th March after I pre ordered it before the end of last year. I’ve been looking forward to it and read it in a matter of hours! Defiantly worth the wait for sure. This book is the book I wish 10-year-old me read for many reasons. My only thought about this review is I’m 30, this book is aimed at girls going through puberty so I am looking at it with my 30 year old eyes and not the 10 year old me eyes. I cannot say if it works for that age range but it is uncomplicated and to the point with some excellent moments of humour spread throughout, these really made me smile and want to continue the read. I suppose it’s only a slight disclaimer to remember I am not 10 and you will know your around about 10-year old’s ability and need for this book better than me (target market is I believe 9-14 years of age). One thing is for sure it’s a book all women should read at some point, even if you are way past the target age. The breast book talks about breasts for their main purpose, it helps girls know that they are like others and my favourite part of :
“no one feels like they are normal”
news flash really goes well with the whole theme of the book.
The book encourages closeness with our young infants and why breasts are part of that connection which was lovely to read. There is description of all the different mammals, why humans milk is like it is and why its like that which should really help for future mothers to understand. Around pg. 26 is a description of the day in a life of a baby and their normal feeding and activity. This is really really lovely and something I would love to see on a handout to give to mothers. I especially liked the phrase “cuddly parent” for the parent not lactating showing that they are an important part of the picture and that’s the other parents special time to bond.
This book talks about consent in a very good and needed way. Consent with everything to do with our bodies and sex and why we might be blindsided by breasts for logical reasons. The normalisation of breastfeeding throughout is wonderful and that breastfeeding is more than just the milk.
There are stories from others throughout the book which are really well put together and aptly placed, really enrich the book and is meaning. I especially liked Philippa’s story in page 152, Philippa talks about her Tubular breast syndrome. For me as some one who deals with breastfeeding mothers often these stories are important. It’s important, I feel, that the community are aware of things to look out for. By the sounds of things (and personal experience) many people in the health service aren’t aware of these types of issues and how they might affect milk supply. I’m pleased this story was featured as a way of hopefully spreading the word so the next person who comes across something like this might know what to do before it becomes and issue.
The book talks in a useful and thought-provoking way about formula advertising too (and how they are very good at how they play their game). It talks about things we should question and that its ok to be angry about things and question things. It also talks about choice, some women may choose not to breastfeed or they may need to stop or stop because of lack of support. This is not a “force you to breastfeed” book, it’s a “this is a breast book, breasts provide this function” book.
A very well put together book that touches on needed and
major issues and hopefully, positively changes and directs our young women’s
mindsets for a future we would like to see blossom. So many times, in my adult life I have had
realisations that are within this book. Well done Emma, thank you for putting
in such hard work to produce a book that will be a great resource for young
females going through some of the biggest changes in their life and allow them
to think deeply about some of the greatest difficulty’s women face in their
lifetimes.
I’ve noticed a trend within my work as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. I often look over to my bag and wish that there’s a magic wand in there.
I’m contacted by families when they want help and often it’s at the make or break point of a Breastfeeding relationship. I’m a helper, I want to make things better, I’m paid for this role, I’m a qualified person providing a service. My service is to help people meet their feeding goals.
Humans like seeing results fast and as some one who really cares, I want to see those results fast for those I help. Some times we have to remember though that it often doesn’t work like that, things take time to heal, they take time to learn and there’s never a one step solution to a Breastfeeding issue. It’s often a multi step approach that gets to the end desired result not a swish of a magic wand and all is better moment.
I’ve also noticed that my level of knowledge is now so normal to me that I think I have no knowledge at all. This can be slightly unnerving at times and I may panic inwardly at a situation thinking I must be really complicated when actually it isn’t. I’m just assuming I won’t know the answer.
It’s a heck of a ride being a lactation consultant IBCLC, I’m very privileged to have this qualification I will be forever learning and probably forever wishing that magic wand is inside my bag!
The first 1000 days of life (2.7 years)
The newest report by the House of Commons, Health and Social Care committee called “First 1000 days of life”
A disappointment for those in the breastfeeding community. A disappointment for mothers and families in
the country. A well written report that
focuses on key points but devastatingly missed out breastfeeding.
When I’d heard about this report being put out to the public,
I quickly sent it to my printer and grabbed my pen. I read and read and read. I hoped that on the next page infant feeding
might be noted as an important factor for babies and for parents. I turned to
the next page, and the next. No infant
feeding mentions. Not until the Annex
about the mum’s net forum.
There’s the one and only mention of breastfeeding in the
report.
That’s it.
Yes, to mention of:
Problems with variation on family support and
its priorities
Staffing number issues
Acknowledgment that the first 1000 days are important
and policy makers don’t give it enough attention.
Government not intervening soon enough in
childhood
Acknowledgement that a child’s health and
development are able to be influenced. And theirs parents diet has a bearing.
Parents feel lonely and isolated
Parents experiencing depression
Issues with local authorities not prioritising
early years and government should be incentivising and supporting them to do
so.
Knowledge that since 2009 there an estimated
over 1000 children and family centres closing which is having a negative effect
on families and children.
Parents reporting that they are having limited opportunities
to feed back about their experiences of the services they have received and are
rarely told how their feedback is acted upon.
Parents reporting that help takes too long to
get in many aspects to do with immediate family care.
Issues with those giving interventions perhaps
not doing it with the most up to date evidence.
Highlighting the need for the whole family to receive
support, dads are important (or partners)
Sex and relationship education should be getting
taught at school (would be nice if they included breastfeeding here)
Continuity of care is a really important factor,
same HV, Midwife for appointments.
Funding needs to be increased for these early
years not decreased
Despite at least 3 organisations writing with clear evidence
of the importance of infant feeding and nutrition to the committee
Yet breastfeeding is invisible still. We are literally made of the stuff we eat, especially
in those early days. Every cell is a
result of what we ingested and for those early years its human milk that should
be supported to be going in.
More needs to be done to get breastfeeding in front of those
that need to know that this needs to change.
All of us who support breastfeeding are part of that change. Getting in contact with local infant feeding
leads. Going to meetings about infant
feeding. Taking the opportunity to bring
it up with your MP are all ways of making sure they cannot ignore it.
There should be at least one person trained to IBCLC level that
is available for access within every GP surgery, every clinic, every hospital,
every family centre 24 hours a day 365 days a year to support normal infant
feeding (breastfeeding). To advise when
an infant has issues with feeding or when a mother has issues. The NHS should
be telling mothers about the organisations around to help with breastfeeding
and they should be encouraging communication with them in regards to long term
support. The science you need to know
why this is important will be in those responses that the three listed
organisations above sent in.
Government policies make a difference to our overall care
and this report essentially sets the tone for breastfeeding for the next year to
come. It’s not important according to
the government.
I’ll tell you who thinks otherwise, all the mothers, the 80%
who begin breastfeeding, WANTING to breastfeed and the 76% of mothers who give
up by 6 weeks because they couldn’t keep going any more with pain, discomfort,
not know if there was enough milk or not, the worry the lack of support given
to them by untrained people with lack of time to give and the 99% by 6 months
no longer breastfeeding because no one gave them the support they needed.
I’ve recently heard of midwifes having to stop practicing
for a time to begin to feel again. They lose
their excitement at each birth and realise that its complete burnout that they
are experiencing. This must be happening
in all other sectors too.
Mothers report a lack of empathy from their health care providers
constantly when I’m with them.
Burn out is real and its in the NHS and their customers are
suffering because of it, this report doesn’t highlight that and its at the
detriment of the children’s first 1000 days of life.
I am sad about this report.
I am angry about this report. I’m frustrated about this report. I want breastfeeding to be given the space
and voice it needs within our culture and community as an important part of the
healthy development of babies and children.
I hope you will all join me to do just that in the future.
I think about breastfeeding every day, its my job to. I try and view it from as many angles as
possible to gain a deep understanding of breastfeeding for as many different people
as possible. I realise there’s this picture portrayed to those who are thinking
about breastfeeding of beauty, ease, natural and best. There also seems to be a side of it being
cringy, odd, sexual, harmful and even abusive. (those lists could go on and the
way you might interpret the words may not be the angle I was coming from) some
people might just see it as a food source.
Some might see it as something that happens for a very short amount of
time. However we interpret it, we all
seem to have an opinion on it.
Simply; lactation is a normal human function that occurs as
a result of birth (induced
lactation is another way)
Breastfeeding is not always easy, its not always enjoyable –
birth can have a negative effect on the outcomes, anatomy can mean things aren’t
as easy, struggling to latch baby on, babies with oral abnormalities, parents
who haven’t been given evidence-based information to make an informed choice upon,
mothers who experience pain or aversion.
In my role, I will often see mothers at the difficult points
of their feeding relationship, rather than their highs. I have seen mothers in their high points, especially
the ones who come along to local support groups to connect with other local
mothers and show their support but its probably a very rare mother who breastfeeds
without any bumps in the road. Those bumps
don’t stop at a magical age either, they develop and grow with your child. Once you feel like you are past one thing
something else might come along. They are
often only slight niggles but they are there.
This image of breastfeeding having blue birds flying round and
a LALALA tune going on isn’t always the case and I feel may be a shock to many
new mothers. The whole process of becoming
a mother is sometimes quite turbulent and testing. Alongside that monumental earth shift there’s
also this whole new dance to learn with a brand-new human… how to feed them.
Something that I hear time and time again is “everyone gave
me different information”
Mothers become pregnant, they give birth and they begin to
feed their babies. That whole process is
overseen by medical professionals (thank goodness for them). The sad part, they don’t have an abundant amount
of time for all of their patients, nor do they have much lactation training (don’t
believe me? See here for
the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative UK information on that)
Mothers encounter breastfeeding problems, they often will
first seek help from their midwife, GP or health visitor because that’s often
the limit of the contact they have had thus far. And as you can see by this
picture:
They often don’t have the training in the areas to help and, as I previously said they are often really really strapped for time. Appointments in GP surgeries are often limited to 10 minutes. My consultations often take at least an hour and a half. Sadly, they are still under the influence of formula advertising too, even while researching links for this blog I’ve come across medical professional targeted adverts from formula companies. And yesterday I was listening to a podcast (see end of this blog to listen)
In which Maureen Minchin described looking at an independent
scientific review and not seeing any reference to formula milk recalls she knew
of within it. Maureen brought this up with the author to be told:
“after the disaster
in 1979 (when babies were brain damaged because one change of formula actually
took out something more than they had intended to and you ended up with babies
who were damaged intellectually,) American parents were absolutely terrified
about infant formula, we have to reassure them that American formula is safe
because American society depends on bottle feeding.”
I’ll let that sink in a bit. Even though I heard it yesterday, writing it and hearing it again now is still jaw dropping to me but at the same time I know this is still true to day in other ways.
This information means that even though we all might be
working our back sides off trying to achieve our breastfeeding goals (or in my
case help you to achieve yours) its likely our governments are not working with
us to achieve that goal so NO WONDER BREASTFEEDING ISNT EASY.
Mothers are told over and over again “its your choice to
breastfeed, your choice, no one else can say weather you should breastfeed or
not, its your choice” with a side hand of “I don’t know how to help you with
this problem while breastfeeding so its probably best to wean from
breastfeeding” and so very common at the
moment “breastfeeding is pointless after (insert something along 6 months)”
Let me tell you, mothers are very aware its their choice,
they most defiantly don’t need to be told in such a way. Stats show mothers WANT to breastfeed, a high
percentage, 81%, initiate
breastfeeding after their babies are born. Then day by day the number still
breastfeeding drops and drops until at 6 weeks only around 24% are breastfeeding
and at 6 months 1%. If a mother is seeking help with something to do with
lactation, she wants to continue to lactate, unless she’s asking to not lactate
any more. It’s as simple as that. Yet, every time she goes to an appointment or
maybe even out for coffee someone decides to imply, she should wean in some way
for whatever reason they deem fit and for some mothers this is the hardest part
of their feeding journey. Putting on a
suit of armour to deflect these some times mighty rocks in confidence that
makes breastfeeding a whole other level difficult.
I wont lie, some times the high of the oxytocin rush of
breastfeeding is a welcome relief, especially in a tense situation of if your
baby hurt themselves and needs the comfort of a breast. And I know many of you will have experiences the
beauty of breastfeeding, I’ve seen it. But
I really think its important to talk about it not always being a dreamy picture
and to identify why it sometimes isn’t so we can either prepare for those
situations or change them to protect the next generation.
