To think the fuss over recent weaning headlines is a sad example of the huge amount of hypocrisy surrounding the breast V formula debate?

[MilaMae]

Formula feeding mothers are consistently expected to put up with twisted headlines eg "formula causes obesity","breast fed babies are cleverer" without a whimper when reality and common sense shows such headlines are totally ludicrous.

Obesity is caused by a lifetime of crap food and not enough exercise-fact.

How well children do in school is most influenced by life chances-fact.

If bottle feeding mothers ever even slightly suggest maybe said headlines are scaremongering they are accused of having "issssoooos".

I find the hypocrisy surrounding the whole weaning headline debate over the last couple of days utterly staggering.

I thought the recent debate was about when to introduce solids and not about breast vs formula?

WHy not say so one one of the 500 other threads or so?

And yes, knitty I believe you are right. The formula thing comes in to play because those manufactures also sell baby food which will then make more money if people introduce weaning earlier. So I suppose they will make even more money if they are getting breast feeders to wean early and ff babies will only be dropping one product for another.

Your post makes no sense at all.

The debate is about the best time to wean - nothing to do with FF v BF.

I find that most media reporting of science stories is inaccurate and sensationalist. I also find that lots of people on MN are really oversensitive about their feeding method and it's hard to have an informed discussion of evidence without someone ranting about being made to feel guilty or weird about how they feed etc...

I did find it interesting though, that the articles said "purely breastfeeding bad: wean early" rather than "purely milk (i.e. formula or breast): wean early"

It does seem to demonise breastfeeding. Sow that seed in people's heads that breastfeeding bad, which is quite frankly, odd.

I do see the point you are making though OP, but I have to say that the insinuations of the article seem far more sinister than the headlines on formula feeding.

The recent news was turned into a BF v FF debate by some.

I couldn't care how anyone else feeds there baby tbh. Breast or bottle it is there choice and as long as the baby is getting fed and is happy then I don't care.

Same with the weaning, although I raise an eyebrow at "I weaned at 8 weeks" type comments it is up to parents to decide what is best for there child.

(Disclaimer -obviously the previous statement only applies to the vast majority of parents who do everything they can to protect and look after there child rather than the small minority who don't)

YANBU

why weaning has anything to do with breast or formula feeding is beyond me

the latest research is certainly thought provoking, though those that blindly parrot the WHO advice don't like it at all!

Glad it wasn't just me then that noticed the rather large elephant in the room .

Can't see what it had to do with formula tbh, just late weaning.

Had to wean my ds at 16 weeks, he was born 10lbs and 56cm long and just wouldn't stop growing. He was hungry....he put some rice/mashed avocado etc in his mouth and swallowed and smiled for more.

I too did this before the Internet, so went on instinct, which is an amazing thing, and deafness to the "Miranda Meanwells" I encountered.

Possibly because I enjoyed a certain level of peace and uninterrupted quiet by avoiding NCT groups and local mums tbh. I didn't need the support of other people in the same situation, just to be left alone to get on with it really.

However, I did enjoy listening to my friends tales of woe at the competitive weaning discussions in their NCT group, " oh, your child isn't eating fois gras potato yet? Oh what a pity"