Feeling proud: Avoiding formula milk has some clear health benefits. AFP

The day they stop making formula milk is the day I stop having babies,” says Marilyn. Susan, who started using formula 10 days after her baby was born, says: “I felt like a failure, I felt embarrassed, I thought everyone was looking at me, and I constantly had to justify myself.”

Marilyn and Susan are two of the women interviewed for a study published last week about mothers’ experiences of using infant formula in the early months after birth.

The study, by Dr Ellie Lee and Prof. Frank Furedi of the University of Kent, explores what women who bottle-feed feel, or are made to feel, about their choice.

More than 500 mothers of babies under six months were surveyed, and while the vast majority were aware of the “breast is best” message, in practice, 71 per cent of their babies were being given formula by the time they were six months old.

However, only a quarter of mothers had intended to do this before their baby was born, indicating a gulf between intention and reality. A large number of those women polled felt a sense of shame about bottle-feeding.

Dr Lee says that Susan’s feelings of guilt are all too common. “Quite a few women I spoke to used the word ‘depression’ to describe how they felt about bottle-feeding their babies. One said she wouldn’t go out of the house because she felt so embarrassed.”

Though some of the mothers said that their health visitor or community midwife was supportive, others found that they exacerbated their feelings of failure. Rebecca used to hide the bottle in her bag when she had her baby weighed at the clinic: “When there was no one there, I’d give him a quick sip.”

Workout alternative The longer the period of breastfeeding, the lower the child’s blood pressure count, says a new research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. According to researchers at the Bristol University, effects of breastfeeding on blood pressure is comparable to that of exercise and dietary salt restriction. The research team, led by Debbie Lawlor of the University’s department of social medicine, assessed the impact of breastfeeding on metabolic disorders in over 2,000 randomly chosen children from Denmark and Estonia, aged between nine and 15.

But health professionals are in a difficult position. In 2003, the government set a target to encourage more women to breastfeed, and there are clear health benefits in doing so.

But how can it persuade women to breastfeed without making those that don’t feel ashamed? “I want women to feel that using formula is a legitimate and normal aspect of feeding a baby,” says Lee. “Why can’t society say it’s OK to give your baby formula? That is not contradictory to saying that breastfeeding has significant health advantages.”

She also points to the information women are given. “The breastfeeding leaflets are full of beautiful pictures of mothers and babies, while the bottle-feeding ones are very clinical. Women would like more unbiased information about mixed feeding.”

Janet Fyle, a midwifery adviser to the Royal College of Midwives, doesn’t believe midwives are putting pressure on mothers. “I’ve never heard a midwife say, ‘I think you should breastfeed’. But as healthcare professionals, we have to provide evidence-based information and the benefits of breastfeeding are clear.”

Both she and Rosemary Dodds of the National Childbirth Trust are also concerned that the latest research was funded by Inform, an initiative that represents the makers of formula milk.

Lee, however, is adamant that there’s no conflict of interest. “As a researcher, I find it insulting that people are questioning these findings, suggesting that we have somehow skewed the research.”

While Lee argues that there is a stigma attached to the bottle, Dodds feels the reverse is true. “Nobody is asked to leave a restaurant if they’re bottle-feeding, or told to bottle-feed in the toilets as breastfeeding women are,” he says. “We’ve heard of women who’ve expressed breastmilk, because they want to use a bottle when they go out.”

Lee agrees that there’s a tension between encouraging women to breastfeed and making sure that nobody feels judged. “Our campaign is all about telling women that if they’ve breastfed for just one day, then they’ve done something good,” she says.

“We try to say: feel proud of what you have done, don’t feel guilty.”

The Daily Telegraph