Did anyone else feel rage at Karen Millen's comments on breastfeeding?

[Hoooray]

According to Karen Millen (who is, notably, a clothing designer and not a child development expert), breastfeeding beyond six months has no benefit for the child, is selfish, and is a sign of addiction.

You're not allowed to get it right as a mother, are you? Bad if you don't breastfeed but also bad if you breastfeed for too long, apparently.

God knows why Karen Millen was being asked for her opinion on the subject in the first place 🙄

One of my babies was badly asthmatic and allergic to all sorts. The advice from the paediatrician was to breastfeed solely for at least 6 months because starting on formula would create more problems.

If I wanted to listen to her opinion, it would be in overpriced polyester clothes and not breastfeeding.

I think that it is probable that has a lot to do with additives and processed food, pesticides on crops etc. I don't know how carefully the information was collected and interpreted.

I didn't know Karen Millen actually existed, so I can safely continue on with my life without her half baked views on breastfeeding.

Well that’s just it, she is entitled to a view and to be wrong! We don’t get to silence people because they’re wrong or we don’t agree with them.

I mean, I get there are people these days who seem to think they can do just that, and they try to cancel people for the ‘wrong’ views etc. But that isn’t actually a healthy development for society.

What should happen is that she says her view and then others get to challenge it and state their own. Not that she is silenced. She’s not a health expert and any vaguely functional adult should have the sense not to swallow her opinion uncritically.

Fortunately the NHS and WHO disagree.

I'm quite pleased she has voiced her opinion. Its probably what most of the UK population think anyway. And at least now its caused some fuss online, she has had to apologise and whatever programme it was aired on has had to state the WHO guidelines.

I feel so much pressure to stop breastfeeding, and if you tell people its recommended to continue until at least the age of 2 they look at you with disbelief.

No idea who she is, but it doesn't surprise me.

My now 12 year-old put on lots of weight when she started solids as her reflux got better. At her 10 month review, the HV said it must be because I was still breastfeeding.

I mentioned the WHO guidance and she replied, "That's only for poor countries, dear".

I didn't go back.

Fuck Karen Millen!

The NHS disagrees with you

What gets me is how Vanessa was quite obviously mocking those ladies who called in. She didn't even try to hide her utter disdain/disgust for those women. They were treated as a laughing stock!

Utterly shocking.

Yes. I stand corrected on the peanuts and high risk groups - thank you for updating me there. But i think its a leap from that to suggesting everyone should wean earlier to avoid missing a window.

As has been said earlier on the thread, there is a lot of misinformation out there already about feeding.

I’m not a member of the breastapo (in fact, I bottle fed)

but breastfeeding is recommended by the WHO (world health organisation). Exclusively for 6 months, and along with other foods to 2 years (or longer)

The World Health Organisation would disagree with you there. Two years is the recommendation. I couldn't manage two days, so more power to the women who can breastfeed their babies for two years.

I only briefly breastfed my first and haven’t breastfed my second at all. I think the woman is an idiot.

When we want an opinion on over priced, dry clean only polyester clothes, hers would be most welcome. Her opinions on anything else, are entirely irrelevant.

It's the kind of addiction l can get behind!

Yup! Remember seeing a woman breastfeeding in the café I used to work in the first time. Took me a second to work out what she was doing, then thought nothing more about it. We had some women come in and ask me what I'd do if I saw someone breastfeeding and I said absolutely nothing because she has the right to breastfeed wherever she wants to, then fetched my manager for them to ask.

What utter piffle. I am older than Karen Millen and disagree with her views on breastfeeding.

I find your comment rather ageist.

I just went to find the clip of it, and am actually really shocked that these sort of views were presented in this day and age not only without any alternative viewpoint but without any actual attempt at fact checking when it comes to such an important subject. I’m actually shocked that people still think this!

Yes Karen Millen is wrong on this but she’s not presenting herself as an expert and she’s entitled to her opinion (though definitely should have thought before she spoke as a figure in the public eye). But they definitely should have had an expert there before opening any discussion on this topic. It was the blind leading the blind.

I’m actually more offended at the man’s comments as he seems to be implying that women get some kind of perverted sexual pleasure from breastfeeding (clearly he has never breastfed and suffered the numb or cracked and sore nipples from it!)

you are entitled to your opinion, but not entitled to your own facts. The facts are that there are significant benefits to extended breastfeeding, hence its recommendation by WHO and NHS. You can choose not to breastfeed of course, you can choose not to like others who do…. But you can’t change the evidence?!

Her apology today was lacklustre and I am disappointed channel 5 didn’t apologise. Yes it’s her (completely misinformed) opinion, but they should have had someone on to present the science based facts.

I finished breastfeeding my daughter in February just after she turned 2, she would have been happy to carry on and i know she would still have benefited, but i wanted to stop. I was confident enough and informed enough in my choice to breastfeed into toddlerhood, but not everyone is. Breastfeeding support and advice is so hit and miss from the likes of midwives and health visitors, and in some areas women are having to pay excessive amounts for professional help privately. Some women are the first in their family to even attempt to breastfeed and they receive no support from that side.

Most mums who have breastfed past infancy will tell you they get the ‘are you still breastfeeding’ and ‘when are you going to stop questions.’ And then as soon as you mention any slight issue you are having in your breastfeeding or just motherhood journey it’s because you breast feed. Baby not sleeping through the night at 6 months? Give them formula. Baby not taking well to solids? Its because you breastfeed. Baby taking a while to settle into nursery. It’s because you breastfeed.

If a mum of a 6 month old BF baby was watching this and struggling - for example baby still waking several times in the night which is still completely biologically normal - maybe she’s not entirely confident in her decision to breastfeed, maybe her partner or mum isn’t the most supportive of it, maybe she hasn’t met any other mums who breastfed. Karen’s Millan’s words could definitely impact her decision to carry on.

When was this? And how old is your baby now.

A lot of more recent research is actually indicating that those babies who are at higher risk at allergies (or with parents who have allergies) would do better to get introduced to the allergens during the 4-6 months window.

There is a lot of research on this and some guidelines in some countries are looking at this.

Comfort for your child, connection, to pass on antibodies, nutrition. WHO recommends until 2 and beyond. No wonder rates drop off when women have these views and judge other women for carrying on.

Whose silencing her...? Getting to spout misinformation on national tv is the exact opposite of being silenced.

She just sounded incredibly out of touch and small minded. But she is a washed up old has been, with a crap facelift, so I’m not surprised.