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AIBU?

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Original poster

I didn't say anything to this new Mum, and now I wonder if I should have done...

379 replies

lurcherlover · 19/02/2012 12:51

In Starbucks, a couple came in with their baby (brand new - no more than a couple of weeks old). Dad goes to get coffees, Mum sits down opposite me and starts to make a bottle up. She got a bottle of water out, mixed formula powder in it then proceeded to feed it straight to baby. Obviously therefore the water had been boiled at home, but allowed to cool while they were out. I assumed she didn't realise the bacteria are in the formula, but believed the widely-held myth that it's the water that's dangerous. I nearly said something - I wasn't at all going to be rude, I was going to say something along the lines of "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you'd be better keeping a flask of water straight from the kettle with you, mixing the powder in a bit of that and then topping it up with cooled boiled water so baby can drink it" - but I held off and didn't say anything because I'm a wimp I thought it wasn't my business. But afterwards, I thought, if it had been me and I was doing something (however unwittingly) that might be putting my baby's health at risk, I would want another Mum to tell me so in as non-threatening a way as possible. So I wonder if I should have said something. What do you think?

(Disclaimer: this is in NO WAY intended to be an anti-FF thread - I just wanted to point out to her the safest possible way to formula-feed her baby, not in any way to judge, so please don't think that comes into it)

OP posts:
ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 19/02/2012 15:21

The people saying 'Mine were fine so it can't be that bad' or 'There are germs everywhere on toys/blankets/hands etc' are missing the point entirely.

The risk of there being the very nasty bacteria in the powder is tiny - however, the consequences of it not being killed off with hot water (70 deg) are HUGE - occasionally resulting in the death of a baby.

Be as blase as you like - but it's a risk - make no mistake.

Sparklingbrook · 19/02/2012 15:22

So how many cases of Formula poisoning has there been then, in order for them to change the rules?

ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 19/02/2012 15:23

lurcherlover - I understand how you feel, I'm never sure what to do either :( You feel bad either way.

AlbertoFrog · 19/02/2012 15:24

I don't see any vitriol either. Nor a rage against FF (for what it's worth I did botBF and FF).

I see a lot of confusion and a bit of debate.

Where do you stand on chocolate buttons?

OriginalJamie · 19/02/2012 15:26

I could not stand on chocolate buttons. My feet are too big

4madboys · 19/02/2012 15:26

i dont think there have been any in the uk? but there were a spate of illness and some deaths in germany, australia and japan? not sure how many.

someone on another thread said there was a 6% chance of the formula having this bacteria in (that was a japanese study tho) no idea about thhe rates in the uk or europe.

but yes it is a risk which is why i generally did the half and half technique when out with mine when small, i think once older ie 9-10mths i occasionally just mixed it with room temp water. we all have to make our own risk assesments, i still wouldnt stop and tell some random stranger i thought they were doing it wrong tho!

everlong · 19/02/2012 15:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

4madboys · 19/02/2012 15:27

i dont stand on chocolate buttons i eat them Grin i share them with dd, she gets one for every 5 that i have, seems perfectly fair!

4madboys · 19/02/2012 15:28

everlong if when you made the feeds up you made them up with hot water and then cooled them and put them in the fridge then that will have killed the bacteria as well. its mixing the powder with water that isnt 70 deg+ that is the problem.

Sparklingbrook · 19/02/2012 15:28

Oh no. Are there new rules for Chocolate Buttons too?

ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 19/02/2012 15:29

sparklingbrook it's very hard to put a number on because Drs & Hospitals are very hesitant to say it was definitely the FF powder you used that caused the gastro (or death) [for obvious reasons].

The fact that the risk is there is really all we need to know isn't it?

It's like a lot of things you do, you weigh up the risks then make a decision. I figure it's no more difficult to make up the bottle properly than not, so it's a no brainer for me. However, if someone else feels differently it's their choice to make isn't it - my only concern is that a lot of people don't know it's a risk they are taking so they aren't making an informed decision.

everlong · 19/02/2012 15:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sparklingbrook · 19/02/2012 15:31

Yes, I suppose so Chipping. I am glad I read this thread because I had no idea that things were different, and could have been dishing out wrong advice.

ChippingInNeedsCoffee · 19/02/2012 15:33

everlong it wasn't aimed at you :) A million years ago I used to make it up the same way you did too!

It was aimed at people that say I've always done it like that and will/would always do it like that - without even considering the risk that we now know exists.

As for chocolate buttons - I'd never stand on them. I'd store them correctly though.

In my tummy

gertlush1 · 19/02/2012 15:33

Well done Posie.

And there should be a rage against FF, IMHO.

(runs for cover)

Malificence · 19/02/2012 15:33

What happened to making all your bottles up with boiling water, then keeping them in the fridge or coolbag till needed, then bunging them in hot water to warm them up a bit? Confused

McPhee · 19/02/2012 15:34

So is the advice now, to leave baby screaming whilst you faff around with making up each bottle each time you need it? What if the baby isn't having them regularly, or not in a routine?

confused Mcphee

TruthSweet · 19/02/2012 15:34

4madboys - the first known cases were in the UK in the 1960s and yes they knew then it was the formula that carried the contamination that killed the babies. The last published report of babies sadly dying from it was over Christmas in the US (babies in Missouri).

The contamination rate is approx 6.6% (Japanese study but it seems reasonable there would be a similar level in the UK given the similarities in level of industrialisation). This works out as (statistically) you will buy 3 contaminated boxes a year if you use one formula box a week for a year.

FidoFellDown · 19/02/2012 15:35

Between our first dc (now 5) and our latest dc (18months) the advice - that we were given - changed so we do it differently. Be a maverick in all other aspects of your life, but I would never ignore the expert's advice when it came to my baby.

valiumredhead · 19/02/2012 15:35

Run fast!!!!!!!! gert

everlong · 19/02/2012 15:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GinPalace · 19/02/2012 15:38

Don't worry DeWe starbucks don't do hot coffee - just lukewarm coffee flavoured milk! Wink

Grin
valiumredhead · 19/02/2012 15:38

Very true gin

FidoFellDown · 19/02/2012 15:40

I thought that milk could be left made up for 2 hours but no longer? Or has that changed too in the last 6 months?

TruthSweet · 19/02/2012 15:46

This is quite interesting too.