... to contemplate participating in a SMA guide to breastfeeding?

[toSMAornottoSMA]

I responded to the advert on MN yesterday for mums to take part in a SMA guide to breastfeeding. I haven't heard back, but I wondering if actually I'm out of order to consider taking part. I breastfed DC1 for 15months and intend to do the same for DC2. I have never bought formula.
But - I can see the benefit of quality breastfeeding advice being available online, and think that SMA would have the resources etc to produce a quality resource. I've loved breastfeeding, so I'd love to pass some of that enthusiasm on.
So ... I know I'll probably get flamed by some, and its totally theoretical at this stage, but what do you think?

[ruty]

My hyphens don't work!

[ruty]

It is like Bernard Matthews stuff has changed all its packaging recently so it looks all leafy and farmy and not at all 1000 turkeys being crammed into a garden shed being hit by cricket bats like. Nasty underhand marketing.

[BeehiveBaby]

It is long BTW, but worth reading all the way.

[BeehiveBaby]

one-of-those-women.blogspot.com/2009/04/signs-symbols-barthes-bottles.html

Very good blog post IMO, very relavent to why YwouldBU.

[Lulumama]

and the formula company wants to appear more fuzzy and wamr and nurtuirng and cherishing, to get a bigger slice of the market, there are a lot of formulas out there

SMA
Hipp
farleys/heinz
cow & gate
apatamil

are the ones off the top of my head as the main ones

then there are the follow on milks, hungry baby milks, night time milks, toddler milks. some in tubs, some in cartons, some in bottles

that is a lot of product for people to buy

i should think they are hoping that for those who breastfeed to start with, when they go to buy the ;essential follow on milk, they will chooose to buy the prodcut from the company that gave all that supportive and caring breastfeeding advice

[Springfleurs]

Going to read the rest of the Thread in a minute but has anyone seen the Cow and Gate follow on milk ad?

The baby in that is as SMALL as possible and could easily be judged to be under 6 months. He/she is lying back in his mothers arms being assisted with drinking the bottle. The fact that it is follow on milk is mentioned only briefly. IMO it is a most blatant ad for FF. It shocks me that formula manufacturers are allowed to advertise in this way when it is supposed to be illegal.

[Lulumama]

morris, if i was a cattle farmer, and suddenly started promoting vegetarian/ meat substitute products, people would wonder what i was getting out of it. subliminally, it would be saying,look how sweet and warm and caring i am , even though i am a cattle farmer, i love and cherish and nurture non meat eaters.

i thikn it would raise a big fat

i know it is a clumsy analogy, but a formula company cannot wholeheartedly support breastfeeding. it just can't. there is another agenda.

i would again urge anyone with an interst in this, or who can;t see whgat the fuss is about, to read 'the politics of breastfeeding'

and again, i have no agenda, i formula fed both my children

[CherryChoc]

Morris, it's because ideally all companies want to increase sales year after year, meaning either gaining more customers or selling more to each customer.

The formula companies can chase each other around and steal each others' customers as much as they want, but there is always going to be a sector of the market who choose to breastfeed - and this is a sector who potentially could be spending money on formula, but aren't.

Finally, certain companies have been known to aggressively market their products in third world countries. As the mothers there often don't have access to clean water and/or information on how to store and make up feeds safely, many babies become ill and die, literally. When you know this, it's difficult to believe that they would have a conscience about ignoring the breastfeeding sector of the market in this country, where generally babies thrive on formula.

[FrannyandZooey]

it's illegal to advertise infant formula
and formula companies certainly do try to convince mothers to ff rather than to bf - it's not in question that they use underhand tactics to do so

baby milk action can give you more information if you are unaware of the issues

[Flibbertyjibbet]

[MorrisZapp]

I don't get why this has to be such a controversial issue. I'm not a mother so have no experience of any type of feeding, and obviously can see the benefits of BF, but in terms of advertising formula:

Why the disgust about formula companies being 'profit orientated' etc? So are all companies, including those that sell, for instance, reusable nappies.

Why the horror at advertising their product? I'd have thought the main aim of such advertising was to gain customers away from rival brands, not to persuade people to become customers in the first place.

It bamboozles me - I've never come across any bf/ff arguments in RL in my life, yet on here it's like the Middle East.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

And the bit about how they might want to feed all the time, or other times not feed as often but for longer.

In other words, bf and you will just have that baby clamped on 24/7...

[MrsTittleMouse]

I agree - the secret to breastfeeding for me to DD2 was to wave my nipple in her general direction. She did the rest. No determination, no perseverence, no practice.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

"The secret of successful breast feeding? Plenty of practice, determination, perseverance"

Right so according to sma its just like becoming a world champion triathlete or something....

[JollyPirate]

I say nothing apart from suggesting that people read about the powerful effect of subliminal advertising. SMA do not write cheques to promote breast-feeding because it gives them a nice warm fuzzy feeling - they do so because advertising works. Nuff said.

[fishie]

and look how pissed off the bfing mother looks compared to the other happy bottle feeders. the baby on the breast lower down the page is very pale looking too.

[mawbroon]

sorry, I posted that link to the site last night and then went to bed! But I see that you all saw what I was getting at.

It's almost like, well, breastfeed if you must, but you know you will have to do all this......

[fishie]

i reported the sma ad, mn towers deleted and explained it was a mistake.

[MrsTittleMouse]

MN have removed the ad, and the earlier thread.

[moondog]

Is MN carrying ads for SMA?
They promised not to do that after Aptimilgate......

[duffpancake]

It reminds me of when cigarette companies in the States produced anti-smoking leaflets and ads for young people, which when analysed by psychological types, were actually found to subtly promote smoking.

I am so that I didn't complain to the ASA about the do I look like I have a dodgy tummy ads; I certainly spent enough time bending my family's ear about them.

[Ninkynork]

Oh FFS that really is awful "advice". That would have put me off trying to BF again and I've been feeding my DC2 for the last two years.

No practical tips then such as how to detach your newborn if necessary by pulling gently at his mouth to release the suction? When I asked for help in hospital from a midwife she just pulled DS away hard hurting us both and making my sore nips bleed. My trusty MN recommended Lansinoh saved us.

Detaching even? Will SMA want their potential customers to see and recognise a good latch? Will they feck.

[MrsTittleMouse]

No problem. Wish I'd thought to copy and paste, it would have saved me some typing.

[FrannyandZooey]

yes sorry our posts crossed mrsT
it's definitely going to worry some mothers, reading that list of dos and don'ts
it makes bfing sound very hard work to get right
and that your milk could easily become substandard