Blimey. Have just seen a very old advert for formula milk...

[edam]

And we think formula companies today stretch the truth a bit in their advertising! Took ds to a steam railway today. One of the stations was done out in the manner of 1910. Spotted an ad for Allenbury's milk in the ladies loos. Makes today's marketing look like a model of best practice.

Headed 'the dangers of overfeeding' it told mothers not to feed their babies if they cried, because it was probably indigestion. And that newborns only need 1oz (presumably per feed), two month olds only 2oz and so on.

And of course it told mothers their formula milk was just as good as b/f... I was so struck I've looked up some stuff and it seems this was at a time when thousands of babies were dying from diseases such as TB and 'summer diarrahoea' caused by (unpasteurised, contaminated) cow's milk. This seemed interesting Apparently something like 85 per cent of mothers did b/f but cotton mill workers, for instance, had to go back to work pretty darn quick.

[Mercy]

Have only skim-read your link edam but it's interesting.

Seems to back up what my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother said tbh.

[edam]

Really, Mercy? Not quite sure I follow - were they talking about being encouraged to formula feed, or arguing that it was important to b/f to prevent illness?

[Flibbertyjibbet]

I have my grans old copy of Vogue Baby Knitting 1959.

There is an ad for Cow and Gate prattling on about what a happy contented baby he is, fed on their formula, and states 'the milk of Royal Nurseries'

Which might mean nothing now, but in those days the Royals were looked up to.

In fact I might dig it out and put the whole text, its quite shocking by todays standards!

(I've also got the ashtray with a stork on that my mum snaffled from the bedside table at the hospital where I was born!!!! oh those were the days, having a fag in bed on the maternity ward while a midwife gave your baby a bottle of formula )

[edam]

Wow! Imagine what the expert might say when your grandchild takes that ashtray along to Antiques Roadshow 2050...

I've seen cigarette ads in 1960s women's mags that my mother kept in the bottom of a drawer - the menthol fags were illustrated with pictures of mountain streams like Radox bath ads, amid claims that they help you breathe...