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AIBU?

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To think it is shocking boots don't give points on first formula

384 replies

Mrswhiskerson · 07/09/2011 14:34

This was brought to my attention again because a friend of mine has just had a baby tried to breastfeed suffered mastitis and started feeling really down so she switched to formula, when she handed over her advantage card she was told points were not given on first formula , she felt bad enough she could not breast feed and now it feels like she is getting penalised for it elsewhere.

I found the same thing when I had ds a year ago when I was told ,you don't get points for first milk I felt really bad too it's like your being punished for not breastfeeding in a way .

This is in no way a bf vs ff debate I just think it's wrong of boots to do this.

OP posts:
misdee · 12/09/2011 11:32

dd4 who is 3 in nov had normal charts in her book.

ds born in jan this year has the bf baby charts.

StrandedBear · 12/09/2011 11:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Milsean · 12/09/2011 12:26

but its not double standards at all, youre conflating two issues. What has feeding kids junk food got to do with BF at all? I'm really struggling to understand what your problem here is at all.

tiktok · 13/09/2011 10:20

www.rcpch.ac.uk/growthcharts is the link that explains the current charts and something of the history and basis of previous charts used in the UK.

I note it was May 2009 they were officially launched in the UK (I think I said 2008 - sorry. They were in use before 2009 in some pilot sites). It was not until Jan 2010 they were launched in Scotland.

tiktok · 13/09/2011 10:37

MIlaMae, I agree that to imply formula is somehow generally 'deadly' in the UK is a huge over-reaction, and I am not aware of any official body who would describe it as this. There are no doubt some individuals who think that way, of course.

However, surely it is also a huge over-reaction to say, as you did that awarding "points for everything bar formula infers it's dirty, akin to an illegal substance."

I guess you mean 'imply' rather than 'infer' :) but the implication is just daft - where does the 'dirty' come from? The 'illegal' come from? Unless you can show that the only other things you can't get points on are also dirty and illegal - I dunno, heroin, cocaine and used syringes, maybe?

You seem to think the points scheme is some sort of seal-of-approval system - and that something with points is 'approved of' and something without points is not. With a weird standpoint like that no wonder you think it's inconsistent to award points on crisps and high-sugar/fat items.

But it is not an approval system. It's a marketing system. You can be sure if Boots were permitted to award points on formula they would do so.

Formula has been taken out of this marketing system, by law, because it is deemed to be inappropriate that the sole source of nutrition for infants - our most vulnerable population - should be part of someone's promotional activity, especially at the expense of breastfeeding which is fragile and which has zero commercial 'strength' in comparison.

You can object to this, and think formula should all be part of the same marketing free-for-all as crisps, cereal bars, confectionary, and whatever - but that would be on economic libertarian grounds, not on 'seal of approval' grounds.

Once you get away from the idea that Big Business is showing 'approval' or not of formula, you'll understand the issue better, I think.

backwardpossom · 13/09/2011 15:14

It was not until Jan 2010 they were launched in Scotland.

DS was a July 09 baby in Scotland and I've just double checked - he has a "Breast from birth" chart. Maybe we are in a pilot area - I was sure they were brought in in Jan 09 here.

tiktok · 13/09/2011 15:39

The "breast from birth' were different charts - sorry to confuse! They were used in a few places, and came from a set of data from Cambridge (IIRC). The Jan 2010 are the UK-WHO charts - see my link :)

backwardpossom · 13/09/2011 16:23

So confusing! Confused No wonder people get stressed about their DC's weight!

tiktok · 14/09/2011 07:58

I agree it's confusing. HCPs could do a better job of explaining all this stuff to mothers, though, IMO.

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