Miriam Stoppard is an idiot who should not be allowed to spout this rubbish about bf

[50shadesofslapntickle]

Some of my La Leche League friends have just shown me this and I am totally surprised that this supposed 'doctor' can spout this crap in a national newspaper?!

www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/when-should-you-stop-breast-feeding-1259599

And then we discover she has links to Nestle... what a surprise...

boycottnestle.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/nestle-panic-miriam-stoppard.html

Miriam Stoppard you should be ashamed of yourself for writing this totally innacurate rubbish.

Pigletmania - you should be so so proud of yourself and your perseverance x

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am that this piece of shit article was printed! How?!

"There?s no keener fan of ­breast-feeding than me. I always advocate breast milk as the perfect food for babies from birth to weaning."

She just states at the beginning of the article that she supports breastfeeding and recommends it as not only the best, but the perfect food for babies. So what's the problem?? There's nothing factually inaccurate in her advice and her preference for weaning at 4 months is her opinion, as is her view on extended breastfeeding.

There's nothing in her article that would stop someone breastfeeding. Extended breastfeeding, beyond ~18 months is very much a minority choice - sorry but that's reality - so anyone who is choosing to do extended bf is obviously not going to be swayed by a column in the Mail, not when the combined forces of LLL and attachment parenting theories are out there to counteract the Miriam Stoppard view of the world.

I just don't see why LLL should waste its time with this. Focus on supporting mothers who want to bf to do so, not silly nitpicking over Miriam Stoppard's opinions, when she's clearly already pro-bf.

NapaCab, not all parents know the background, and that Miriam Stoppard is associated with Nestlé.

Many parents may take her comments at face value, because she is a health care professional.

Anyone can have an opinion, it's true, but she should be declaring her financial interest in promoting FF, when she states it.

'There's nothing factually inaccurate in her advice'

Well, for one, she's cited the WHO guidelines incorrectly. And the article is full of misinformation and unsubstantiated claims.

Women should be supported in their feeding choices, whatever they are. Articles like this are misleading and damaging. We need to challenge them.

There is a lot of factually innacurate shite in her article actually and she is s tool

Thanks 50shades. I would have liked to have fed ds for another year, but because expressing is quite time consuming every little helps.

As others have stated the problem us simply that in this article there is a woman, claiming to be an expert, providing misinformation and perpetuating untruths. She has an alternate agenda (I.e. the selling of a product) to the proven public health message. Its not a ff/bf debate at all.

it may be her opinion, but as a doctor she has a duty to ensure she is up-to-date and accurate in the advice she gives. Otherwise there should at least be a disclaimer stating that she is not representing a paid viewpoint.

I'm very disappointed to find she has links to Nestle. I found her books really useful before MN. In fact I looked up some stuff about potty-training in it last night.
It is also a shame that she has said this in a newspaper whose target audience are less likely to BF, thereby discouraging the very group of people who need most advice. (Not intended in anyway to be patronising, just that I know many young working-class mums - and dads -who were horrified by the idea of BF)

I can't believe she didn't say anything about the benefits to the immune system. This is one of the main reasons I continued beyond 6 months. And both my stopped, of their own accord at about 13 months. The only people I know who had real difficulty with a baby not wanting to stop BF were those that stopped at 4 months. And I mix fed DS, so I am not anti-FF.

I cant believe this shite is still being spouted.As a pro breastfeeder things like this article really get my goat.No wonder out breastfeeding rates are so low.With crap like this being written by so called expert health professionals.

It's not just that she's writing it, it's that a national newspaper is prepared to publish it.

The degree to which breastfeeding is misunderstood in the UK is best demonstrated by the sheer number of FUCKING IDIOTS allowed media exposure on mainstream TV channels for their ignorant bollocks.

I give you:

Dr Hilary Jones, who thinks that breastfeeding past 6 months is 'bizarre'

Clare Byam Cook - GMTV breastfeeding "expert" (whose main concerns seems to be to spread the word that it's quite common for mums not to have enough milk to breastfeed)

And of course Miriam Stoppard.

Seriously - how irresponsible are the press to constantly be allowing these people air time?

As an expert, Dr Miriam Stoppard should be thoroughly researching her subject before putting pen to paper.
She was factually inaccurate about the WHO guidelines.
She was wrong about iron levels. Yes, formula contains iron, but it is less bioavalable to the baby.
And teeth - since when do teeth erupting mean that a child is ready to chew? The first teeth to come through are the front teeth, which are not used for chewing. Not even mentioning that many babies are born with teeth, and some don't cut teeth til they're 15 months or older.

So she doesn't agree with co-sleeping, sling using and extended BFing, that's her opinion, which she is entitled to, but she is clearly using her position as a well known birth/parenting advisor and a Dr (although she is no longer registered with the GMC) to peddle outdated nonsense.
To be absolutely honest, her inaccurate rant reminded me of my late mil's opinion of how dh and I bring up our dc, and I lost respect for her too, for mixing opinion with fact.

This has nothing to do with a BF/FF debate. The article is about breastfeeding, and that is what is being discussed, and quite rightly so. It's about time we had a sleb expert who actually knows a bit about BFing, instead of spouting the usual crap!

There's a big difference between a mother who is aware of all the facts about bf vs ff deciding ff is suited to her situation and a mother who is happy bf her baby feeling she has to stop based on misinformation from a high profile "expert".
MS is the irresponsible one here.

It is full of inaccuracies but the bit that leapt out at me was "Many mothers wean their babies around four months anyway and in the Third World it?s often an economic necessity." That doesn't make any sense - why would it be an economic necessity to start paying for food rather than giving them breastmilk? Or is she saying that Third World women have to go out to work when the baby is four months old? It is a very peculiar thing to say, because the "Third World" is a very large and diverse group of countries.

I had a book about puberty by Miriam Stoppard when I was a teenager. In it she confidently claimed that if you'd used tampons or been horse riding you were no longer a virgin. I worried about that for YEARS.

So I don't believe anything she says - I actually double checked that article wasn't from years ago as it sounds so outdated. Agree with whoever said it reminded her of her MIL. My SIL is still breastfeeding her daughter, who is 13 months old, and my MIL is having kittens about it.

All these bloody experts get on my nerves. Make us think we can't do it unless we consult them. It's all interference and not allowing nature and motherhood and common sense to prevail.
Recently a consultant told me that I'll want to stop bfing my daughter soon ( when she was 18 months). I stopped when I felt it was right for both of us.

Well done pigletmania

napacab, considering the WHO recommend 2 years as the minimum to breastfeed, how is breastfeeding past 18 months 'extended'?

The article is ridiculous and she no more supports breastfeeding than I am a size 8. If she did support breastfeeding, she wouldn't be associated with Nestle, who undermine breastfeeding at every opportunity, would she?

Napacab - she id not pro bf - her opening statement is a disclaimer in the style of a politician. It's like starting a sentence with 'I'm not racist but.....' and we all know what that means.

She seems to think that BF past 6 months is 'extended', let alone 18 months. In the article she writes as if giving up breastfeeding at 6 months is normal, then immediately moves to the genuinely extreme example of the Time article which provides strawman for her to demolish. Except there are an awful lot of months between 6 and 48, which she neatly ignores. Not sure about WHO, but modern advice is to start to introduce solids at 6 months. The operative words are 'start to introduce'. Surely, even Miriam Stoppard doesn't think that 6 months old babies should be chomping through boiled beef and carrots or steak and chips just because they have a couple of teeth. So what does she think babies should be fed on? If BF at 6 months seems odd to her, then can she still think that bottle feeding at 6 months is normal?

I also find it that an experienced bf counsellor should come out with such a negative phrase that bf until 6 months is a piddeling amount. Considering that the women they work with have problems or issues ith bf, so fir them to get to the 6 month mark may be a big thing fi them. Lucky you that you fed your dc until 4 years old not all women are so lucky

Thanks to all on here for the support, it is hard if bf is not working and not going smoothly, and 6 months feels like a mammoth amount of time. May I remind people on here of the NCT every bf counts, charting the good things that bf can do for 1 feed, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months right up to 6 months. Helped me to keep gping

I don't really see what the problem is here. She is still advocating breast feeding as being best for the baby. People need to make up their own minds about what is best for them. Anyway my mum stopped breast feeding my sister when she got teeth cos she used to bite her. Little bugger!

As others have said, this is not FF v BF. It's simply about an inaccurate article giving bad advice.
I have put my complaint in to the PCC.

Sadly, the only thing Miriam Stoppard seems to be pro is making money. Nestlé PAY the woman a lot of money fgs, all they are interested in is selling formula, you really think they are interested in babies health?

It is worth making a fuss over, people like this ARE influential, whether you want to admit it or not. 3 years ago when I was pregnant with DD I was influenced by opinions like this, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I genuinely thought it was 'normal and usual' to bf for 6 months then switch to follow on milk. Why did I have this opinion? Because it was all over the media, it was what everyone did, no? Thankfully being on mat leave gave me time to do my own research and question my opinions (I'm a nurse and like to practice an in evidence based approach, why would my parenting be any different?) I bf DD for 20 months when I became pregnant and she self weaned, easily I might add.

Her opinions are given weight with the fact she is a 'Dr' therefore people DO take notice. If she had given equally non-evidence based advice, I don't know, for example that drinking and smoking large amounts during pregnancy was really not that bad, well it is parents choice don'tcha know? And it emerged she was sponsored by benson and hedges and Smirnoff, well there'd be an uproar wouldn't there? This is no different.

It's as ridiculous as Aptamil and cow and gate giving breast feeding advice. The more babies that end up on formula - the more money they make. Sad but true, they don't give a shit about babies health, only profit. Unethical? Irresponsible? In my opinion, yes.

Incidentally, I think it's very sad that people take offence to those saying that bf for as long as possible is better, no one means it unkindly, but it is true, you can't deny that. But no one is suggesting that anyone is a bad parent, or not doing their best for their children by stopping bf, or not breast feeding. You make choices as a parent with the situation you are in and the support you are given. If I had stopped at 2 weeks or 4 months or carried on for 4 years, it's still a choice I make and I do think that even very pro bfeeders would never undermine that choice or thinks anyone a bad parent. Unfortunately there are always extremists, but this exists in every walk of life every decision you make.

pigletmania are your ready? yes, i have/had twelve years experience as a (very successful) breastfeeding counsellor. yes, six months is a piddling short time to breastfeed.

globally, 6-8 years is not unusual. six months isn't enough. that doesn't mean that mums who 'can't' have to be castigated - it means that mums who want to should be supported. at six months, breastfeeding is hardly established. i didn't feed my daughter until she was four because i was lucky, i did it because i was well-informed, determined, and not willing to accept the current social trend for infant feeding if it was likely to be detrimental to my child.

i was lucky in that when i was pregnant i chanced upon a good breastfeeding counsellor, who gave quiet, hippy-ish support and provided lots of reading material. would that every pregnant mum could find the same.

if you're out there, gill g, thank you!