Just had a leaflet, bit shocked about it

[TinkerBellesMum]

It's from the Dept of Health about grants for insulation etc. What is the picture on the front of it? A woman bottle feeding a baby!

a. What's that got to do with grants for insulation?
b. Why is the Dept of Health using a picture of a bottlefeeding baby?

Is this "ok" because it's not anything about feeding a baby or have they pushed it a bit?

(I'll scan it if you want to see it)

[thebecster]

Seriously? Dept of Health have a budget to promote breastfeeding, and so here they are printing one set of leaflets on 'Breast is best' and another set which has a photo showing that bottlefeeding is still the normalised option in our society. Great. Glad to know that they are spending my taxes wisely.

[meemar]

I don't think the feeding of the baby has any relevent message. Isn't it just showing a picture of 'homelife' for the purposes of a leaflet about homes?

The Department of Health is an enormous institution. The people who designed the grants for insulation leaflet are probably not remotely related to the department that deals with infant nutrition.

[TinkerBellesMum]

I did look if the picture was on the website so I could link it.

It just seems a very odd choice of picture to me. There are lots of things they could use, the grant isn't just for new parents, on the website it has elderly couples. Even if it's a complete outside contract, the DoH still has final say and they could say they don't want it or how will it reflect on them.

[thebecster]

I just think that all parts of the DoH should be briefed on the objectives of the whole department and should bear all of them in mind, even if they don't work in that particular sector. And the fact that whenever I see images depicting 'normal family life' in posters/TV ads it usually has a baby bottlefeeding in it, I think is part of why our society can make it uncomfortable to breastfeed in public.

[morgangee]

The Department of Health are breaking Code!!!!!

And they say.. for a healthier life...!

I'm just so furious they sent me this crap.

If you want to see the leaflet...

one-of-those-women.blogspot.com/2008/08/for-warmer-healthier-home.html

[kiskidee]

i have heard of this leaflet. amazing, isn't it.

do you think i can complain though I have never received one?

[TinkerBellesMum]

I'm ringing them now...

[TinkerBellesMum]

Just been passed on to a friendly lady (Lorna Hartwell) from DoH and she said they know, they're not happy, they've withdrawn it and they didn't know it went out, she said they don't know how many people it's gone to and they are very apologetic. They're quite aware of how this breaks bottlefeeding promotion etc.

[morgangee]

We aliblenk just phoned warm front, and they said it had gone to millions of homes and they are happy about it.

So I'd phone back Lorna Hartwell and suggests she phones warm front and tells them to stop saying that, and start apologising instead!!!

[morgangee]

Kiskidee - you'tre a tax payer, you paid for it! So of course you have a right to complain!

[TinkerBellesMum]

I've not got enough credit at the moment (chewed it up ringing before) and my land line is out of action. Call the complaints line and make a double complaint about the leaflet and Warm Front's attitude.

I did point out that the poster has been put onto a lactivist site, so I'm sure she's going to be expecting some complaints

[TinkerBellesMum]

kiskidee, it is in with the Milk Tokens, so if you don't get them you could say "My friend just got it" if you don't want to say you haven't had one. I mean, me and Morgan are your friends, aren't we?

[morgangee]

I'll have you know I'm a lactavist, not a lactivist! ;-)

[TinkerBellesMum]

Sorry, over compensating for my Brummie accent!

[morgangee]

Nah, there is two ways to spell it! I like the 'lacta' way!

[kiskidee]

oh, all right, i'll be your friends.

[TinkerBellesMum]

Ah, I see. I naturally take "a"'s out of things because of the Brummy accent tendency to add them in (why I had Isobel and not Isabel or any of the variations).

[TinkerBellesMum]

Good! I should hope so too!

[Poohbah]

Oh, for f**ks sake! The government are so shit. What dork in the DOH had the idea to stick a bottle feeding mum on the front of that!

You know why though...because most DOH types are white middle class men who have never even met someone from the "lower orders" and thought that showing a bottle will attract "the chavs" to their message.

[morgangee]

Eez-ah-bow

I've shown my age there, you know....

(it's a film reference, on adding 'a' in a name, for those wondering what planet i'm on... planet Rutger Haur, actually...)

[TinkerBellesMum]

Apparently it got out before they saw it and they pulled it as soon as they did. Not sure what pulled it means though, just from the milk tokens or has the whole batch been thrown in the bin? The picture isn't on their website, so I'm being hopeful! But I don't think it can be dropped really till we know for sure what's happening, especially with the response Morgan got from Warm Front.

[morgangee]

Twasn't me, twas aliblenk. :-)

I suspect they'd contacted Healthy Start, but not thought to carry on to Warm Front.

And yes, I thinkt he 'chav=bottle' thinking, was part of it.

And there we are, the low income, working class Mums they are targeting, being the ones making the huge fuss!

[TinkerBellesMum]

Ah, my apologies again

I'm going to top up, hopefully today and I'll give them a call to see what they say. I almost want a fight after calling DoH and them being really understanding and almost preempting me!

[morgangee]

Awww.. no outlet for the burging rightous anger!

You go girl!

[TinkerBellesMum]

The Face Book BFing Petition group are making complaints. I haven't called WF because it's 0800 and they always give you a higher rate number to ring off a mobile.