To expect Aptamil NOT to contain fish!

[Millie1206]

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

Sorry i haven't read the whole thread, but even HIPP isn't veggie anymore (it stopped being veg about 1.5yrs ago) so I don't think it's possible for a baby to be veggie & FF

I bought a carton of juice once & only noticed when I got home that it had fish oil in!

Morloth, I'd pick cow milk over bean juice, but other than that I get where you're coming from.

Well Morloth when your exhausted, your baby is crying because its hungry, your body has let you down, you dont think of those alternatives, you have to feed the baby fast, so formula is readily available. In this western society we dont have the advantage of the wider family and community readily available. For example in a tribe if the mother wasent able to bf, than her sister, aunties, cousins, friends would all be around to help, not here though. So the only alternative for most is formula. I myself have no issues drinking cows milk, I love all sorts of dairy, each to their own.

piglet, society can change though, for the better. This is clearly what the intention of the milk-sharing website is.

I know timewaisting and its so lovely of the ladies to take time and effort to do this, but i am put off that there is no screening and its use at your own risk. The NHS should open a bm bank, and encourage people to donate like they do with blood.

You don't think the formula companies have had a hand in the breakdown of those support networks pigletmania? The best way to know about BFing is to be surrounded by it.

Most people don't BFd so most people don't think that is the 'normal' way to feed a baby, so they don't BFd so it is even more rare and then the help and support that experienced mothers could have given becomes rarer, so it is even harder to do, Nestle, Milupa, Nutricia etc don't want BFing happening (because every feed is a lost sale) and they have a huge amount of financial clout to undermine it, throw in the UK's tendency to associate breasts with sex only and to be a bit prudish about sex and it doesn't look like things are going to change anytime soon.

It is all a bit chicken and egg now I think.

Its a shame that formula which is a lifeline for many is owned by these companies. Its also to do with the change in society, nowadays many families are nulcear with no relatives around, whereas in the past they used to be close together. Before formula, inadequite altrenatives used to be used or wet nurses. I am not trying to promote formula over bm but for most people who are not able to bf, its a lifesaver. In the UK there are no others ways of getting bm if you dont produce it yourself, on Your list Morloth I dont have a sister, no friends of mine had young who were bf, so the only alternative is donor milk, which is not all that easy to get hold of and not always readily available.

Dalrymps don't know much other than it pasteurizes the milk, therefore making it safe.

With regards to HIV and Hepatitis worries etc, wouldn't the mother already be aware of being infected? Why would she offer to donate milk if that were the case? Genuine question, fail to see why she would, unless somehow between falling pregnant and giving birth she contracts something.
Either way, it's upto the mother accepting donated milk to decide what checks should be done. A simple blood test is I believe all it would take.

I think milk sharing is bloody fantastic! There are tons of offers on the EoF Facebook page, I don't believe it would be that difficult to get donated milk if you really wanted it.

I am not trying to say that women are not trying hard enough to get hold of it, just that if you look in the right places there are many offers of donated milk. It's all about being informed, something the formula companies would rather you not be. Formula companies would have us believe that their product is the next best thing to bm, it's not, someone else's bm is.

But muesli there is still a risk, and its up to the mums to suggest a blood test or screening. Not everyone is aware they have HIV, espcially if they are otherwise healthy. Yes muesli I understand, but not every new mother understands the different options and how to get hold of them. For me I would be much more likely to use donated milk if there was a regulated and tested central bank, like I think then NHS used to to. For many women if they are not able to bf, formula is the only source and they should not be made to feel guilty for using it. What matters is that the baby is FED, whether be it bm or formula.

OOOOh I hate the old formula vs breastfeeding debate. At the end of the day as long as the baby is fed and nourished it should not matter.

I actually thought we were doing very well there, with no-one shit slinging.

It probably won't last though, someone will be along saying FF mums are selfish and then someone else will mention BFing Nazis and it will all be over.

Not that I am a cynic or anything.

alt, I'm not sure what you mean by bm and fm being separate issues?

Oh I have seen those debates on the breast/bottlefeeding website, they can get quite heavy.

But formula is breastmilk substitute. That's all it is for. I don't see how it can be a separate issue?

From a completely different angle - and regarding the fish part, particularly fish oils - I took fish oils during pg with my DD (Mega EPA & suitable for pg), as both my DH and I have allergies and asthma. I was hoping to try to stop DD from developing them, as I had read that there is research to suggest that this is the case.

I have an obscenely healthy 5 year old, who has not shown any evidence of allergies or asthma to date.

Personally, I think the benefits of fish oils are excellent - they help me to control my psoriasis, and help with PMT too. I can see why they put them in.

I've tried to discredit myself by reading Ben Goldacres "Bad Science" - but they seem to really help me, and I have only seen the benefit of them. Obviously, I am not a scientist, but I'm happy with the results.

As for formula, I do think that you should be able to get ones that don't have it in though, as for veggies, you have the right to make that choice.

I would like to ask any veggies on here, what happens when your child is old enough to feed themselves, do you force them to be vegetarian?

I disagree. It is a lifestye the parent CHOOSES to do. a child gets no choice it would seem.