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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect Aptamil NOT to contain fish!

414 replies

Millie1206 · 11/02/2011 20:16

I'm not veggie (luckily!) but just noticed this on the carton. Do all infant formulas contain fish oil? Bizarre

OP posts:
Morloth · 12/02/2011 00:15

Tell you what would be awesome is if there was a way to make 'human' formula commercially viable.

Probably wouldnt work though because you would almost certainly end up with women being exploited and treated like cows.

TimeWasting · 12/02/2011 00:17

They'll figure out how to genetically modify cows (or pigs more likely) to produce human milk as soon as they can.

Dalrymps · 12/02/2011 00:20

Eats on Feets is a new milk sharing organisation in the uk. Check it out Smile

pigletmania · 12/02/2011 00:26

Loshad have a [buiscuit] your attitude stinks, so bf is that easy is it! Believe it or not, people do have problems with bf for whatever reason so have to use formula. Would rather use that than my baby starve to death. Good for you that you were able to bf and were successful, lets hope that you never have to use formula then!

Dalrymps · 12/02/2011 00:32

Here Eats on Feets page

If you go on their facebook page there are hundreds of offers from women in the uk to donate milk and also wet nurse.

altinkum · 12/02/2011 00:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dalrymps · 12/02/2011 08:22

I don't know, haven't read ghat much about it. I do k ow it's a good thing though and a huge step in the right direction. WHO state that donated milk is a better option than formula. I don't think that's a shocking statement, sure you can ask the mother who is donating her milk if she has been checked and get proof of that? I know which I'd rather give my baby.

What's more shocking are the ingredients in formula and the way the companies make it out to be so close to breastmilk when it can't possibly be. I'm not anti formula, my 1st ds was mostly ff, I just think women should have all the info so they can make informed choices.

altinkum · 12/02/2011 10:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Morloth · 12/02/2011 10:13

I don't think that mothers donating on a website are any less deserving of trust than formula manufacturers. They don't exactly have a shining track record of giving a fuck about what is in the tin do they?

altinkum · 12/02/2011 10:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TimeWasting · 12/02/2011 10:24

I think it serves to show that using human milk could be done very easily if people weren't so, what, squeamish about it.

Perhaps there should be checks on the mothers, or the milk, but the health authorities aren't doing enough to facilitate the sharing of milk which is why these women are doing it outside of that system.

altinkum · 12/02/2011 10:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Morloth · 12/02/2011 10:32

I would think if it can be done with blood it could be done with milk. But there is no way big business is going to allow this sort of thing to become official.

QuestionNumber · 12/02/2011 10:32

I am very grateful that there is safe formula available for those who can't breastfeed or choose not to. I also think it's a very good thing that formula now contains long chain polyunsaturates and I'm quite happy for this to be derived from fish.

Wet nursing, fine but how many new mums would want the inconvenience of another woman visiting my house 8 times a day to breastfeed their baby? Many children thrive on formula and their parents don't feel any need to look out for donated breast milk. Others can always find it if they wish. I don't see anything wrong with that at all, it is personal choice.

Yes formula manufacturing is obviously a business but I can't see anyone stepping forward to provide formula for free....

QuestionNumber · 12/02/2011 10:33

their house

StealthPolarBear · 12/02/2011 10:42

I'm surprised someone hasn't figured out there is a gap in the market for vegetarian formula

Morloth · 12/02/2011 10:57

It probably isn't worth the effort for them I would think.

Vegetarians/Vegans are a minority, the ones I have met also tend to be pretty red hot on BFing TBH, more so than the 'general' population IME.

Also in order for them to put 'Suitable for Vegetarians' on the tin they are going to need some new plant that doesn't process the fish products at all etc and they are going to have find a new source of whatever it is fish oil gives them and presumably that is more expensive to farm/extract (or they would be using it already).

Doesn't make much sense financially to do all that to capture what is probably a smallish market.

pigletmania · 12/02/2011 11:11

Its a great thing that mums are willing to donate milk, but with anything that comes from the body, it needs to be properly checked for HIV, Hep, it would be far worse giving milk from a mother who had HIV, Hep etc. You cannot be lax about safety! Christ almighty formula is not poison, its a means to an end if you are not able to bf, easier to get hold of than donated milk.

altinkum · 12/02/2011 11:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pigletmania · 12/02/2011 11:16

Its lovely that they are willing to give their time and effort, but I personally would rather give formula, than use unchecked, untested milk.

pigletmania · 12/02/2011 11:22

One has to think about the logistics of it all, formula is available easily, if i run out I go to the shop and get some more, but what about donated bm. How easy is it to get hold of and fast if you run out of it. I guess that those using donated milk, might do so with formula, as in some women mix feed.

nickelbabe · 12/02/2011 11:25

I don't know about the soya debate, so I'm ignoring that part.

I saw a pack of ready-made formula on the reduced section at sainsbury's, and was interested to see what it contained.
I was horrified to see it contained fish.

But that's because I am a vegetarian, and I wouldn't want to feed my baby dead-animal products.
I was curious because I might end up having a problem BFing, so I wanted to know about formula before I got PG, just in case I had to go down that route.

It means I feel that choice has been taken away from me, and it means I feel more pressure to successfully BF when the time comes.

Morloth · 12/02/2011 11:30

I don't know, I have no faith in the formula companies whatsoever and more in individual women.

If I needed to feed my baby something other than my BM I would start with asking one of my sisters or a good friend before using formula. Then I would try a milk bank/hospital.

I am not sure whether my next step after that is a website like the one linked or go with the formula.

I am pretty keen on human milk for human babies if it is at all possible.

Very luckily it has never come up as my babies were both insane boob monsters.

pigletmania · 12/02/2011 11:31

I always wanted to bf but i just dried up, and i guess lack of support, that would have been my ideal. It was good that formula was available or my baby would have starved.

StealthPolarBear · 12/02/2011 11:35

nickel, if you have problems (which hopefully you won't) and if your support is bad (hopefully it won't!) and you are under pressure to "just give a bottle" then it's another reason you can use in your battle for better support to continue breastfeeding. Hopefully it won't be like that but it seems plenty of women find their support to continue lacking, and their arguments 'for' breastfeeding are dismissed :(