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Original poster

To be annoyed at Boots or at least the lady who works there

181 replies

Chocoholism · 29/05/2014 20:53

Buying some cow and gate stage 1 formula for my 6 month old and asked if I could pay with points on my advantage card, her response was no you can't as we like to promote breastfeeding.
Err how does giving points or redeeming points when buying a stage 1 formula affect a decision on whether to breast feed or not? And also I could've adhered to doh guidelines and bf to 6 months and then changed to formula.
Is this a silly rule? The amount of milk we get through, and the money I give to boots makes me feel like I am as entitled to receive points as much as anyone else for any other products.

OP posts:
Arsebadger · 30/05/2014 10:45

I had a run-in over this with Boots also, as I got told by a young Christmas temp that I couldn't use my points to buy formula as 'I should be breastfeeding'.
Well! After my lovely boobs decided to produce virtually no milk, and having several weeks of painful attempts to breastfeed, express and formula top ups, I felt punched in the face again my Boots after already feeling like an abject failure.
I did email Boots and ask if surely this was discrimination - what if a baby was adopted, what about single fathers, cancer survivors etc? I just got a standard response and often feel I should have pushed it further.
However I have always been able to purchase formula on my sainsburys nectar points...

Meloria · 30/05/2014 10:57

I hope no one that has come down so harshly on Piper and Fairy has ever referred to someone as a __Nazi or laughed at Seinfeld for that matter.

Using words associated with Nazism suggests something has a very negative aspect. It is not a literal comparison of how bad something is.

Let's hope none of you have ever suggested that someone is like the Spanish Inquisition because they were pretty deadly too...

jaggythistle · 30/05/2014 10:59

arsebadger that was just a stupid person in a shop though :(

mrstigs · 30/05/2014 11:04

It's been said before I know but just to say again - it's not to penalise ff mum's. If you look into the ways formula is promoted you can see why it is restricted like it is. They work hard on undermining bf purely to increase profits. Even now they constantly advertise follow on milk in ways in which subtly enforce the belief that is better. Women deserve freedom of choice not pressure by huge multinational companies.
Not using points is the extreme end of it but it's just a blanket rule with as little wriggle room as possible, this is one of the more annoying outcomes of it.

Arsebadger · 30/05/2014 11:08

It was, Jaggy, and I didn't have a pop at her as it was said without guile and spite; she had no idea why her statement would be upsetting and offensive.
It just feels like this law can make someone who is already struggling feel even shittier if they find out about it the same way that I did...

jaggythistle · 30/05/2014 11:10

Agree that employees probably get asked this all the time so could be given a more neutral phrase to use.

E.g promotions /loyalty points are not permitted on infant milk.

no need to mention bf

jaggythistle · 30/05/2014 12:53

oops, did I kill this Blush

stripedtortoise · 30/05/2014 13:00

Boots probably don't care if you bf, ff or feed your baby spam.

It is law and their hands are tied.

Arsebadger · 30/05/2014 13:02

Grin jaggy
It disproportionately upset me at the time! don't get me started on how little support there is for those who have to formula feed through no fault of their own

Impatientismymiddlename · 30/05/2014 13:22

Boots probably don't care if you bf, ff or feed your baby spam.

My baby doesn't like spam, What about brandy, do boots care about that, can they give me points if I choose brandy instead of formula?

Disclaimer: I don't have a baby, but I couldn't resist. There is no need to call child protection services.

freezation · 30/05/2014 15:15

But meloria suggesting breastfeeding has a very negative aspect is surely highly detrimental to it. "Breastapo", "nipple Nazis" and other such offensive and derogatory terms are often used in the media to describe women who breastfeed. Should we tolerate this? Surely the best thing would be not to use any terms which denigrate breastfeeding. And for what it's worth I've never described anyone as a __ Nazi, I've never watched Seinfeld and I've never suggested someone is like the Spanish Inquisition. But that is irrelevant.

SantanaLopez · 30/05/2014 15:21

There's derogatory terms used by both 'sides'. The best thing would be if we could all accept each other's choices and didn't denigrate any of them.

I do think the law should be changed. Time has moved on and I don't think anyone who wanted to breastfeed would be tempted by getting Boots points on formula.

Anecdotally, everyone I know has discovered this months after they've made their feeding choices, so I'd dispute its effectiveness as a promotion of breastfeeding!

Meloria · 30/05/2014 15:31

yawn You must be so proud.

freezation · 30/05/2014 15:42

Yeah I am actually Wink

stargirl1701 · 30/05/2014 15:46

If you retract the law from the WHO, the formula companies will take advantage. We must be as harsh as the law allows to protect bf.

I ff but I know bf would've been better for DD.

Theodorous · 30/05/2014 15:50

Silly cow could have just said "it's not included, sorry" there was no need for smug shit. She is a shop assistant, her opinion is not relevant or valuable.

sezamcgregor · 30/05/2014 16:05

I think also that Boots do say that advantage card points can't be used on everything - I remember having to check whether items had a * on the price label which means you can use points.

Perhaps I'd be more annoyed at her excuse and a "I'm sorry but points cannot be used to redeem against items without an *" would have been nicer?

Eghamite · 30/05/2014 16:08

Just use you Advantage points on something else.

BertieBotts · 30/05/2014 16:17

Her wording was ill advised and unthinking.

The ban on promotion of formula is nothing to do with promoting breastfeeding, it's to prevent formula companies from marketing aggressively which they have done in the past - e.g. sending "experts" (saleswomen) in uniforms which were close to nurses' uniforms into hospitals. That's not just something they did in Africa and other developing countries, they did it here in the 1950s and 60s.

FidelineandFumblin · 30/05/2014 16:34

Thereby promoting FF to the detriment of BF rates bertie

BertieBotts · 30/05/2014 16:44

Well yes but it's a bit of a stretch to say that preventing aggressive marketing of a product is promotion of an alternative, non-product, which can't be advertised because it's not something you can buy.

It's about protecting breastfeeding rather than promoting it. The law about no discounts is to stop companies giving out free or vastly reduced samples, which is not being upfront about the cost of formula feeding. The idea is that parents need to be able to make an informed choice. Even with healthy start vouchers you have to pay for formula, it's unfair for companies to give out samples for free or for £1 or something, get the mothers/babies dependent on the formula because milk supply has dropped and then charge full price.

Also it's supposed to be an issue if formula is offered cheap sometimes but not all of the time because then it's more difficult to budget for. I know that sounds counterintuitive because of course if it's more expensive all of the time, then that's harder to budget for, but the problem is that if it's cheap a good proportion of the time, a good proportion of people will budget for the cheaper price and then get caught out when it's full price for whatever reason. Then there's a danger they might use other unsuitable products or water down the formula.

I don't think formula should be advertised at all, I think it should be sold at cost price. I see no sense in advertising it and selling it at hugely inflated prices, it's not like parents don't know it's an option.

Billygoats · 30/05/2014 16:50

I go in morrisons everyday and all week they had a breast feeding campaign slating bottle feeding.
Totally unnecessary in a supermarket in my opinion. I dont think either should be allowed to be advertised tbh of its putting the other down, especially not in morrisons. We don't need to make each other feel like s!*! for their feeding choices.

Theodorous · 30/05/2014 17:51

It's funny, real three dimensional people don't generally give a shit bout this. It is only on the internet all the fuss about breast feeding happens.

Jengnr · 30/05/2014 19:42

It's a shit rule and I started a very similar thread when I made the discovery I wasn't allowed to get points on my purchases too. It still annoys me now.

I had to walk away from my thread because of several women who jumped on to be horrible about my feeding 'choice' and the abuse I got, including one person (and I remember who) accusing me of lying about the gubbins I was told in one of my meetings with an obstetrician at a very vulnerable stage in my pregnancy. It was very upsetting and I'm still angry about that too.

The Nazis comparisons aren't about women who breastfeed. They're about people who see fit to unwaveringly enforce their choices on others. Most people who breastfeed are normal, lovely people. Those comparisons aren't about them.

How you feed your baby at the start is one of those things that feels hugely important at the time (not least because every fucker bangs on about it) but actually both are perfectly safe, both work well and people should just allow other people to make informed choices. No promotion, no refusal to discuss other options just talk and give information.

Devora · 30/05/2014 19:56

I have a tall adopted child. And family members who were murdered by the Gestapo. Do I win the thread bingo? Grin

Seriously, though, I'm not necessarily defending this law (can't summon up a strong opinion either way) but you have to see it in its international context. There is a nasty history of formula manufacturers using promotions to encourage women who can breastfeed not to - with horrendous results in some very poor countries where formula is made up with unsafe water and lots of babies actually die as a result.

So this law comes from WHO guidelines. I agree it can seem a bit OTT in a country where formula feeding is very safe. But that is why is it as it is.