To be really annoyed you can't get points on formula?

[Jengnr]

Due to 'Government legislation'

How about the Government fuck off? I've made the decision (actually, it was made for me but that's neither here nor there), I'm spending the bloody money, why should I not be able to collect advantage points on that?

Wankers.

[ICBINEG]

hully but I think BF tax should be paid by the baby once they start earning pocket money over a certain threshold weekly amount...

[Chattymummyhere]

Yeah I knew cow and gate was the same company.. I'm not to sure how I picked part snobbery on the fact that SMA was the cheapest and it looked it and Aptamil was the most expensive and looked nice.. and Cow and gate was used by a lot of troubled teens around here.. So I guess I picked on overall image of the item and how that image would show me to others...

[ICBINEG]

chund there is plenty of evidence linking such practises to lower BF rates. Feel free to use the internet to find it.

[LittleAbruzzenBear]

YANBU

[MooMooSkit]

It's pathetic actually. What do they think people will do? "Oh i can't collect my clubcard points now, may as well just breast feed!!" How stupid.

Also I had to spend tons on formula and yes I had to, to any breast feeding nazis. I would of loved to have breast fed but the tablets for my epilepsy meant I couldn't.

[ReallyTired]

We are all influenced by advertising and packaging of a product an advertising. We all love our babies and want them to have the best. We get sold a whole loads of things we don't actually need.

I would have bought Tescos own brand formula if it had existed. It would be great to have a UK based brand that has never done anything really evil in the third world (yet!).

I bought Hipp Organic for weaning purposes so dd could have formula with her cereal. I chose Hipp Organic because they have a slightly better record in the third world than the other formula companies.

[BertieBotts]

OK, well I don't have any links to any research or anything (given I really should be doing something else rather than MNing I'm not going to look now) but it's standard advice from breastfeeding experts and organisations NOT to have formula in the house when you have a newborn because firstly it sets up an expectation that you're going to fail, and secondly, because often breastfeeding is stressful in the early days and if the formula is there it can be really tempting to just give the baby a bottle.

Then, babies almost always feed better from bottles and usually immediately fall asleep. This happens even if the mother has a great supply, but of course you look at that and think "Oh my god, I've been starving my baby!" and so the formula ends up coming in more and more until the mother's supply genuinely does start to go down. Whereas in lots of cases if she could have hung on until the morning and sought help/advice (and in fact one of the helplines is open 24/7) then the breastfeeding relationship might have been able to be saved.

[tiktok]

There is bags of evidence that giving 'free' formula to pregnant mothers - common practice in US where there is no legislation to stop it in most states - is undermining to breastfeeding. Plenty of research comparing outcomes, and you can be 100 per cent sure that if 'free' gifts didn't encourage formula feeding the manufacturers would stop giving them (ff can only be done at the expense of breastfeeding - if a baby isn't breastfed, the only safe way to feed him is to give formula).

Jengnr, the doctor was very blunt with you - that is the only incident I have ever heard where an HCP said a baby would die if not breastfed. In your case, of course, your baby was at serious risk if his condition at birth was left untreated...is that what he meant?

[Startail]

Fucked me off massively, when not very well off and buying formula for DD1.

I'd gone through hell trying to get her to BF, it was just rubbing salt in the wounds. £7 worth of points was a lot.

Advertising is a totally different matter. I absolutely support the ban on advertising, and would like to see follow on milk adverts banned too.

I BF DD2 to a great age and feel that the follow in ads. Really reinforce BFing a toddler is weird. Several show DCs that are absolutely on the edge of one.

The through the year one makes me shot at the TV, it's oh so sweet, so insidious, little DCs growing up, Now suff a bottle in it's mouth full of artificial junk.

No concept at all that many one year olds use a cup not a bottle except at bed time. The imagery isn't an accident the companies know that if they lay the baby back with a bottle it looks younger while they obey the letter of the law

[bringmeroses]

Breast really is best. It's rough if u can't do it and hard if u work but I agree disincentivising people from buying newborn formula is a Good Thing. Yabu.

[slatternlymother]

I would have loved to breastfeed but it didn't happen and the midwives were happier to give me a bottle to stop DD stop crying than help me get her latched on. So the government are telling me to breastfeed cause it's the best, but refusing to help me get started.

This. This happened to me with DS, and what with the attitude of the midwives i thought 'it's obviously not all it's cracked up to be if they don't even care then'.

Definately a campaign on formula prices. Talk about putting the boot in.

[OneHundredSecondsofSolitude]

What would those points actually equate to? A couple of pounds? If so I think it's probably neither here nor there really

[choceyes]

I just can't understand the getting worked up about a few points...a few pounds in the first year or so? A drop in the ocean when you consider how much you spend on DCs in the first few years. We are down about 1.5K every month after having kids, a combination of working reduced hours and paying for nursery.

[choceyes]

and thats not including clothes/food/activities for them too.

[choceyes]

I also had formula-happy midwifes after the birth of DS. Due to a lot of bad advice I never could get him latched on. Ended up expressing for him, till he could go straight on to cows milk. DD BF like a dream from the first feed, never a problem with her, even then not much help from the midwifes. I just read up on BF properly and I was lucky that DD seemed to know what she was doing.

[MooMooSkit]

Of course breast is best but seriously stopping points on the amount of money we have to spend on fm? I agree on not putting it on offer etc but the points is just petty and tbh it's unfair on mothers like me who physically aren't allowed to breast feed, as if I didn't feel bad enough for not being able to provide my child with the best start and when you think buying a box every week say seven quid thats 28 quid a month thats quite a few points.

[OneHundredSecondsofSolitude]

Your anger would be better directed at the formula companies who are making an enormous profit

[ReallyTired]

If the OP says which brand of formula she wants to use then prehaps we can find her somewhere cheaper to buy the formula than Tescos. It may well be possible to buy brand X of formula online far cheaper than Tescos.

[BertieBotts]

I don't know why no points is specifically covered in the legislation. I imagine it must be because formula has to be a set price, like stamps. The supermarkets etc can't just charge what they like for it. Although I don't know, because you can't get points on tobacco either and prices of that definitely vary between stores.

I guess it's just because it comes under the heading of "no promotions", I don't think there's a problem with collecting clubcard points in particular, I can see why 2-for-1 of whatever might be.

[wanderingcloud]

I don't know if this is still true but Sainsbury did used to give nectar points on formula. Don't know if that is still true!

[RichManPoorManBeggarmanThief]

To be fair, whilst I agree that formula shouldn't be promoted, I don't think anyone is really going to decide to ff because they can get a few Tesco points (which reduce their costs by about 2%), when to get those points they have to reject the alternative is completely free.

However, probably easier to do a blanket ban on promotion than start splitting hairs, because I guess what is the difference between discounting and points, other than the amounts involved? There actually isn't, and that's where lawmakers have to be consistent

[SirBoobAlot]

The cost of formula is ridiculous. Believe it or not us 'nipple nazis' disagree with that as well. It is the formula companies who are ripping you off, as well as the rest of the damage they do, that you should be pissed off with, not the fact that breastfeeding is being protected.

The fact that follow on formulas are pointless, and exist purely for these bloody companies to get around legislation, because they can advertise them, and they can allow offers on them, is a whole 'nother issue.