To think we don't need a formula feeding month

[LilacSky95]

I have seen a couple of mum 'influencers' on Instagram writing posts about how it's not fair we have breastfeeding month when so many mums can't/didn't breastfeed, and we should start a formula feeding month too.

AIBU to think this is totally unnecessary?

Disclaimer - Not looking to start a breast v bottle debate

An easy breach to point out would be aptimils famous lie 'closer that ever to breastmilk'
Aptimil were found to be telling lies and the whole ad had to be pulled cause funny story, its nowhere near breastmilk.

Yep, this too.

Either would be pathetic, attention seeking and ridiculous. Really, apart from the militants who are borderline lunatics, nobody, but nobody gives a fuck how you feed your baby, gerbil or self.

I think for a lot of people on here, the hatred of formula is so tribal it helps them feel less insecure and inadequate. And that's fine, I doubt anyone who made a choice or actually didn't even think about it, isn't interested in their bile. We are too busy going back to the gym and work 😀

I'm not sure a month is needed, but there definitely needs to be more advice and support for those who formula feed for whatever reason.

My hospital was a "baby friendly" hospital, and the midwife told me that this meant that they could not advise on "artificial feeding" as they sneerily referred to it. I was left on my own to find the bottle washing facilities, sterilisers, fridge etc which was tucked away down a very long corridor. No one would even tell me where they were - and hobbling round looking for it after a general anaesthetic c section wasn't fun. Armies of breastfeeding supporters went from bed to bed helping others. I think it's great they had the support, but a shame even basic advice wasn't available to me.

I was given a leaflet to say that breastfeeding is best and therefore no bottle advice would be given and to ask my gp if I needed advice.

Luckily I had done lots of research so knew how to safely make up a bottle or what to do when my baby started to refuse his bottles. Unlike other formula feeders I've since witnessed who were still mixing powder with cooled boiled water. In my personal network I don't actually know anyone who formula fed, so I didn't have friends etc to ask at the time.

Twice I had strangers come up to me in cafes and tell me off for formula feeding. Seems like you can't win, no matter what you do.

You read that article, that horrifying article about millions - MILLIONS - of babies dying because their vulnerable mothers were manipulated by immoral and awful business practices from formula companies who lied about their products, all but bribed HCPs and deliberately weren’t clear about the ongoing cost of formula (cos they’re keen on that - profit!), including marketing their products deliberately in a language customers couldn’t read, making it impossible for them to prepare formula for their babies safely so that MILLIONS died of malnutrition and diarrhoea, and that’s your take away? Genuinely speechless.

Formula feeding is absolutely shamed.
I breastfed DS until he was 2yo.
With DD i struggled since early months. I power pumped, supplemented, woke up every 2 hours to increase my supply for mo nths. Now she is 9 months old and 75% formula fed. I really really tried my best.
And i still get the random people looking at me like i am a bad mother.

@Grizzlac 👏👏👏👏

I'm not home so can't write long replies but that sums up what I think quite nicely

I'm not against formula. I've used it myself. But I'm not naive enough to think the manufacturers care about anything other than profits. All of the 'closer to breastmilk' bs is nothing other than a marketing technique to get your money 🤷‍♀️

I agree. I formula fed my son but I don't feel like I need a month to go on about it and to profit the big companies. It doesn't need to be "normalised", it already is.

But I actually think formula not being able to be advertised at all (with the bs fake ‘follow-on’ loophole closed) is great and that there should be a standard NHS formula produced and supplied at cost to mothers who need it. And maybe you’d get it from the HV so it’s not in your face everywhere in shops, on tv, insidiously the message everywhere that baby = bottles. Cheaper for parents, better for babies (as more would end up with at least some breast milk and to their parents who did ff would have more spare cash with spending less on formula) and what absolutely is a lifesaving product isn’t subject to the whims of the free market and profiteering. No idea how you’d do that and of course it will never happen. The ‘armies of breastfeeding support going bed to bed’ sounds great; what is the problem with giving brand new mothers the help and support they need to bf? I don’t think it’s bad that ff wasn’t promoted, although of course PP shouldn’t have been left struggling to find sterilising equipment etc after a c section with no help. That’s obviously not on. But my experience of HCP is actually a huge willingness to abandon bf or at least ‘top up’ (like a baby is a kettle?!) with formula at the first sign of trouble, or even when there’s no trouble at all. Trying to redress the balance so that bf is the normal, default option rather than that being ff (as has been for decades in the UK); I can’t see how that’s a bad thing, although it of course has to be done sensitively and supportively and not abandoning new mums to not know how to feed their babies if bf doesn’t work out. Incidentally my NCT class covered ff in detail; I don’t recognise this stigma about bottles. I DO feel the stigma and stares of bf my 18 month old still and did when she was younger too; endless, endless questions of ‘when will you just give a bottle / why not give a bottle / give yourself a break it’s fine / aren’t they supposed to go onto follow-on formula at 6 months?’ Lots of insecurity and defensiveness and also just wild how deep seated all the misleading formula marketing has been; multiple people genuinely thought you ‘had to’ move on to follow-on formula, a completely redundant product.

I will feel guilty until my last breath for not being able to breast feed.

I had surgery on my breasts which involved removing my nipples years before I gave birth so I physically couldn't. Yet I still don't feel a need for FF month.

I will feel guilty until my last breath for not being able to breast feed

Please, please don’t. It’s heartbreaking to think you feel guilty on top of something so dreadful happening to you. 💐

I didn't say there was a problem with women receiving breastfeeding support, in fact I said it was great. It just made the variance in support very clear.

The language used is stigmatising " I don't think formula feeding should be promoted" as of It's wrong. Why do we need to redress the balance? Why can't both be seen as normal? You don't have to stigmatise formula feeding in order to support people who want to breastfeed.

Absolutely.

And the breach of the advertising standards by Pfizer (Sma) was the line “Thinking of trying combination feeding”. To be honest it makes me more angry that they are prohibited from saying that than that they did. Women are not stupid and are totally indoctrinated about breastfeeding by the NHS. We’re not going to suddenly start formula feeding because a website asks if we are thinking about combination feeding.

What patronizing crap that women are so feeble minded that they would stop breastfeeding to get some boots points, etc.

but I don’t care if brands are advertised at all. As long as women are given accurate information and advice about formula and how to bottle feed and that we stop stigmatising formula and formula feeding mums. I think promotion of that is a good idea. Not in a “oh so sorry you were a big failure at breastfeeding way but formula is safe” way but positive, accurate, non judgemental information.

I was also delighted to move on to follow on milk. Not because of the marketing ploy, but because its eligible for promotions and I didn't have to spend the huge fortune I was spending on infant formula that's not eligible for promotions

We need better quality feeding advice and support.
Some mothers need encouraging to try BFing after several generations of FFing destroying practical support within the family and sometimes in localised communities. I used to go to a Sure Start group that had priorites to mums from disadvantaged backgrounds. I filled a surplus place. The rest of the small g
roup were early 20s and needed a little support and encouragement along the way. There was one conversation where they were really glad that they'd been encouraged to try BFing as it hadn't been their normal. I wanted to BF and had sufficient confidence and reading around the matter not to be put off by things like my mum always disappearing from the room for a ciggarette every time I fed a baby. She wasn't anti BFing as such, just not-so-helpfully believed that it's a private matter and I should go and shut myself off into a room on my own for half an hour or so every time I had a hungry baby 🙄

Likewise there are mums that have sound reasons for going straight to formula and they should be able to access clear support and advice, and not face obstructive healthcare policy.

There is rightfully concern about promoting formula based on the historic conduct of formula producers/ marketing, and there shouldn't be a FF month, but mums shouldn't be denied practical advice and support either.

Absolutely. Women should get breastfeeding help and support if they want to and formula feeding help and support if they want that. And they should never be made to feel like a failure if they want to give up breastfeeding nor like some kind of baby poisoner if they don’t want to try. They should be offered help and support to feed their babies in the way they can.

This is ridiculous. Formula feeding is already normalised. The universal sign of a baby is a bottle not a breast.

Breastfeeding needs a month the same way you have black history month and not white history month. Because it’s actually needed.

Of course they should be supported. That’s not the point.

Spot on 👌

This threat is really helpful to know which posters to avoid in future so sad. And comparing it to Black History Month is just grotesque.

Why not? We have days and months and weeks for all sorts. If people want it, there’s a need.

You do give every impression of wanting to start a breast vs bottle debate.

Try leaving people to live their lives.

@Grizzlac

I think an NHS standard formula is a great idea, but you aren’t allowing for the fact lots of people don’t want to breastfed.

Perhaps better education about formula is needed. That's it a very closely regulated market in the UK and each brand is largely identical. The rest is marketing. So you don't need to spend extra on aptimil when aldi will do. That switching brands is generally fine. That follow on milk is marketing to get around the WHO code.

Formula is great for those who have clean water and sufficient electricity to make up bottles as they should be made and not be tempted to put one less scoop per bottle to eke it out.

It's not so great for those living in poverty here and abroad who might struggle with the above. Formula companies do not need help with their profits.

The UK has some of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world. Far better support is needed to help those who do want to breastfeed. Let's focus on that instead.

Obviously this is a nasty goady OP. The I'm not against formula but... is on a par with I'm not racist but.. I hate all these goady trolly posts about formula, babies ears and fanny hair. So transparently nasty.

Lol You’re not actually “genuinely speechless”though as you wrote a big reply.

I read the article yes. Did you? Doesn’t seem like you did from the hyperbole above. As I said- war on want wrote an article about nestle that they were successfully sued for as it wasn’t true. It wasn’t about “formula companies” as there is no such thing. It was about nestle.

im a second generation immigrant. In the developing country where some of my family are from, babies who can’t breastfeed in poorer families are often fed sugar water, boiled cows milk and so on. Because they can’t access formula free and it’s too expensive to buy. Or if they do get formula they dilute it too much or don’t make it up properly. That’s why education is so essential and probably a lack of stigmatization would make it more readily available.

Babies are still dying from poverty and lack of adequate nutrition in the developing world. That didn’t disappear in the 70s. Nor did banning nestle from promoting one of its products solve the problem. Because the problem was more complicated in the first place.

of course women in the developing world shouldn’t be encouraged to use formula if they don’t need it and can’t afford it (many in the developing world can afford formula just fine of course).

But not everyone can breastfeed regardless of your dogma or wish to find a simple answer. That’s true in the developing world too. Many women need formula in the developing world too and if it was cheaper and less shame associated that would help. Also if there was better education on bottle prep etc.

However we are talking about the uk anyway. shaming women in the uk for using formula because you think nestle (who produce no formula in the uk) behaved inappropriately in the developing world in the 70s is bonkers. Campaign against smarties or something instead.

if one company produced a rogue or ineffective medicine would you rail against all medications no matter who produced them? It’s nonsense. What nestle did (or according to the court didn’t) do in the 70s in Africa doesn’t justify the maltreatment of women in the uk in 2022 and stigmatization of the use of a generic product in the uk which isn’t even produced by nestle.

anyway as I said, formula milk correctly used saves millions of babies globally on a daily basis. It’s a wonderful thing and we should stop behaving as if it’s poison.

I formula fed because I couldn’t breastfeed. Some women in the uk formula feed because they want to. so many of us are made to feel awful for doing so. Also we are not given information on how to make up bottles etc. that needs to change. It’s a feminist issue imo.