So does anyone else find the term 'artificial feeding' in relation to the use of formula milk a bit irritating?

[bangandthedirtisgone]

Or is it just me?

To clarify- I obviously don't think that BLW completely cancels out any negative effects from ffing, but I'm keen to have DD regulate her own appetite as much and as soon as possible.

It is very interesting and it seems like there is lots more research to be done. However, i do feel that for those of us who really had no choice and wanted to bf, these types of discussions are probably not particularly helpful. That is not to say they shouln't happen by the way, just not sure what I am doing here so probably should just get on with my work

Twofalls- I sympathise with you I really do

See my first (on topic!) post. I was so unvelievably desperate to breastfeed. Not only that but I'm a neonatal nurse who's done many many course re: bfing and was hoping to return from mat leave to do a ridiculously long course to become an NHS bf advisor, something which I simply can't bring myself to do now because it literally hurts.

"But MANY people do eek that last ounce so as not to waste it"

I just want to know how they get the baby to drink it. Forcefeeding my dd results in a face full of formula milk.

Just a thought in terms of obesity - one of the reasons people often switch to bottles is particularly hungry babies. . I would have to be given evidence of this, my ff daughter is currently the skinniest baby I know.

Actually puzzle I think you may be right, I probably am feckless

Sorry "foxytocin but "what babies are fed from birth matter a helluva lot more than what they are fed for the rest of their lives"-you don't seriously believe that do you?

So if a person was breast fed until 6 months then ate turkey swizzlers and no fruit/veg or exercise for the rest of his life he would be healthier than a ff fed baby who ate a diet rich in fruit/veg whole grains and no crap and took plenty of exercise.

We're talking 6 months here. I agree breast milk is preferable but it's not the elixir of life. Somebody who eats McDonalds daily and no fruit/veg or exercise is going to have a shortened life. 6 months of breast milk aint going to save him.

You, sorry you're having such a tough time .

I've found ff really hard too - it's horrible isn't it?

hear hear

Or is it here, here? I never know.

But then it is a bit rich surely to talk about the 'thread' making you angry when you can only identify one poster who has used language that you object to.

If I said 'I wanted to breastfeed but the fucking FF nazi's shoved a nasty latex teat so far down my throat' - well that wouldn't go unchallenged, would it?

Why would you want to say that????

That said, I'm also surprised how upset people are by the word artificial.

I don't know either puzzle

its not nice for either side of a 'debate' to resort to name calling.

whatever side of the debate you are on, you must recognise that you are talking about a very fundemental part of parenting, something primeval that a parent provides.

I never understood the mafia association anyway. It's beyond silly.
Do they leave severed nipples in peoples beds? [boak] Fund their bullying of formula feeders from betting pools and seedy strip joints?

How can we find out Brett? I am too scared of pedants corner.

any small powerful or influential group in an organization or field; clique.

from an online dictionary

although the term itself is used with a derogatory tone and as other terms used in that tone is unhelpful in discussions

me too, perhaps it helps that we've seen this many times

why are you adding 'exercise' to the equation now?

but to simplify the arguement into absurdity by talking of 'only turkey twizzlers' but then being further absurd by adding oh, and McDonalds....

Having said that, I did meet a man who ate nothing but hotdogs. He ate hotdogs 3x a day every day for hte week that we lived on teh same liveaboard diveboat. His wife professed that that was all he ate at home too. I was amazed that that was all he ate besides white bread hotdog buns. I am not sure about how he was fed as a baby though.

Thinking back he must have been on the ASD spectrum so entirely plausible to me now.

So being that those hot dogs are as unhealthy as turkey twizzlers....

The best campaigners work with connotation, not denotation.

We are social creatures with an amazingly well-developed sense of belonging to a group, or being shunned. A word with a negative connotation has a job to do within that context.

So if people want to improve breastfeeding rates by improving society's attitude to breastfeeding.....they'd better be watching out for the connotations of every word, every phrase. Otherwise it's all a pile of wankery.

Puzzle, it's 'hear hear' . That will keep you safe from pedants' corner .

Have been following the debate but not getting involved cos these threads are always so unbelievably predictable!

But, yes, I hate the term 'artificial feeding' . . . . just for the record .

Thanks Spongebrain.

While I absolutely agree that breast milk is best and bf should be encouraged and normalised and all of that, I am SO glad I never heard this term when ds was little. He had major heart surgery which left him too weak to bf and he needed high cal formula to build him up. This was after weeks of me getting up in the night to express using the horrible industrial hospital machine so that he could have breastmilk in his tube. I remember crying as I did it as I was so upset that it wasnt my baby sucking at my breast but this horrible machine and how unfair it felt. When I was told he needed the formula instead I was devastated although it was a relief to see him able to suck without falling asleep within seconds and actually put on weight. I felt real envy when I saw other mums bf and although it was irrational I felt like a failure that I couldnt feed him myself. I would have felt for people to say I was feeding him artificially would have really rubbed it in and made me feel worse. It may be technically correct although I think really then it would have to be called artificial breastfeeding rather than artificial feeding as you are still really feeding them but it is deeply insensitive and not a term I woud use.

Back in the 70s and 80s "artificially fed" was the standard term used in medical and midwifery records for babies who were being fed on formula milk rather than breast milk.

I think "formula fed" is an american term that is more popular nowadays. Certainly I had never come across it until I saw it on here, and I was a midwife and HV for years.....

It was never used for any form of breast feeding, whether that was via a pump and NG tube or any other way.

I picked the food to simplify things, ok any diet high in trans fats,sat fats,crap etc is going to shorten your life especially if you take no exercise.

The fact is if you don't manage to breast feed your child it is NOT the end of the world regarding health,your child is NOT doomed.

If you manage to breast feed great but it does NOT mean you can sit on your ivory tower thinking you have ensured life long good health.

A healthy child needs a lot more than 6 months of breast milk. It needs a decent supply of food,exercise and fresh air. You can still raise perfectly healthy children and have a huge impact on their health regardless of whether they were breast fed or not. If that isn't the case I'm not sure what the point of campaigns like the 5 a day scheme etc are.

I think most scientists are of the opinion that healthy diet and exercise are extremely beneficial to good health regardless of how you were fed as a baby. Not sure how that is absurd