Mothers who choose not to breastfeed must be respected, midwives told

Women who decide not to breastfeed must be respected for their decision
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Lucia Binding12 June 2018

Women who choose not to breastfeed their babies "must be respected" for their decision, midwives have been told.

Mothers should be given appropriate support if they make the choice to bottle feed, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) stated.

The updated advice says babies should be exclusively breastfed in the first six months of their life, echoing the World Health Organisation's (WHO) guidance.

But it is a mother’s right to decide whether or not to continue breastfeeding since some struggle to carry on, the RCM has acknowledged.

"Evidence clearly shows that breastfeeding in line with WHO guidance brings optimum benefits for the health of both mother and baby,” chief executive Gill Walton said.

“However the reality is that often some women for a variety of reasons struggle to start or sustain breastfeeding.

Some women struggle to carry on with breastfeeding, it has been acknowledged
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"The RCM believes that women should be at the centre of their own care and as with other areas of maternity care, midwives and maternity support workers should promote informed choice,” she continued.

Ms Walton stressed that the mother’s final decision should be respected.

"If, after being given appropriate information, advice and support on breastfeeding, a woman chooses not to do so, or to give formula as well as breastfeeding, her choice must be respected."

Women have been known to face judgement and feel guilty about the decisions they make when it comes to how they feed their child, the National Childbirth Trust previously warned.

But “some women cannot or do not wish to breastfeed,” the RCM stated.

"They must be given all the advice and support they need on safe preparation of bottles and responsive feeding to develop a close and loving bond with their baby," Ms Walton added.

"We know that every woman wants the best for her baby and we want to be able to empower our members to support women to be the best they can be and enable them to make decisions that are right for themselves and their babies."

The organisation also said that women should not feel “guilty or embarrassed” about breastfeeding in public.

Despite research finding that breastfeeding has possible long-term health benefits, the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

A recent report found that just over a third of babies (34 per cent) are receiving any breast milk at six months, compared with 62.5 per cent in Sweden.

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