Needs of Bottle Feeding Mums Neglected

Researchers and health experts agree, breast is best when it comes to infant feeding.  However, many women cannot or do no breastfeed for a range of personal reasons.  Many babies, even if breastfed, do receive infant formula during their first year of life once breastfeeding has ended.  A recent study found, however,  that many bottle feeding mothers are being neglected.

Published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the study found that the needs of bottle feeding mothers are not being met, potentially risking the health of their infants.  Infant feeding recommendations vary worldwide as well as familial preference yet these differences can result in long term consequences on the health of infants.

Attempting to find better ways to promote breastfeeding, most research on feeding preference has been aimed at why mothers choose to bottle feed rather than investigating how to promote the health of bottle fed babies. In this study, researchers from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK used a review of public research on attitudes towards feeding which included over 13,000 participants and 23 studies.

Consistent themes emerged from the study, despite varying methodology.  Mothers who bottle fed, either out of preference or inability to breastfeed, felt a range of negative emotions.  The emotions included guilt, uncertainty about how to proceed, a sense of failure, anger from feeling pressured to breastfeed, worry about the needs of their baby being met as well as how they would be viewed by healthcare professionals. 

It was not only the negative emotions that were revealed as a result of this study, but also that mums reported inadequate information about how to properly bottle feed.  Incorrect preparation of bottles can lead to excessive weight, malnourishment, and increased risk of infection yet many mothers reported this as a common mistake.  The researchers concur that it is important to promote breastfeeding, but emphasis needs to placed on ensuring bottle feeding mums are equally educated.  Without proper bottle feeding education from healthcare professionals, mothers are left to turn to friends and family running the risk of incorrect methods being passed on to another generation.

Tags: bottle feeding

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Baby Feeding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.