OK, I get BF, but am totally fucked off with the smugness

[FunnysInTheGarden]

Most of us are failed BF, but the tone on here recently has really pissed me off. We generally FF? Non? So why the smug shit and the passive aggressiveness towards those who have to/chose to FF?

So tempted to name names, but I won't.

Just stop being so smug and holier than thou please, some people

"Most of us are failed BF".

Are we?

Ah, but Formula is the devil's work. Babies who are FF will get horrible illnesses and die. Women who breast feed are by far superior to those that don't.

Yep, it pisses me off too.

And all formula companies are evil.

Do you mean those who give up BF before the children start school?

I think there is a smugness on MN about this and I really don't get why.

I agree and I am still bf dd. Some posters are very very smug -every other time they post they have to mention BF.

I don't get it either. I used to haunt the La Leche League forums, long after I became a "failed BFer" (loving it :o ) and they don't bang on about it as much as some here. And that did surprise me.

Thanks TTTT. OK namey so you are not a failed BF........please feel free to feel smug.........and launch into a tirade about how shit companies who produce formula are.........

God it winds me up. After a small amount of research, it transpires that the number of babies who fall ill in the UK having drank a poorly prepared bottle of formula is less than 1 a year.......according to WHO stats.

Don't be fooled FF mums, tis a conspiracy I tell thee......

glad it's not just me.........I BF my two babies for about 6 weeks. Twas all I could manage. Without the evil of FF they would not be here.

so, if you don't fail at breastfeeding then you are automatically smug?

you sound like you have a massive chip on your shoulder IMO.

Oooooh you are making an awful lot of assumptions there.

well I'm one of them probably, then, and it doesn't take a genius to work out who the others are

Probably the ones who provide a lot of support and help to mothers who are struggling to breastfeed, help ones who feel guilt about stopping talk through what went wrong and also try to debunk a few of the crap myths that get passed around and undermine breastfeeding. But you know if you say "no formula is not 'just as good as breastmilk' and the fact your one single baby is now 2 and is in perfect health is not proof that formula does no harm" then you are being smug and patronising. So lets lie to mothers to be and new mothers. God forbid we should give them the facts, treat them like adults and let them make their own minds up! In the name of not making a single person feel bad lets pat a few heads and murmur a few lies.

Funnysinthegarden, genuine question, but why are you still here if you are FF?
There aren't half as many questions to be answered when you FF (ime). When I switched I stopped haunting this section and coulbn't tell you what's happening here.

(I don't normally post on this topic anymore, as I mentioned, just clicked through on Active)

Maybe they aren't smug just really really proud of theselves. I only managed 9 weeks with DS1 and am proud that i am still BFing my DD at 10 mths after ALOT of initial problems. If it appears smug then so be it i am just so proud i carried on and we are still Bfing and loving it.

funny? Make assumptions. Yep, that'd be about right.

TBF some of the formula companies practices are quite evil...don't think that's up for debate[shrugs]

DuelingFanjo - I don't think that's true. I BFed DS until he was 6months but I'm not smug about it. Then again, the way some posters go on about BFing you'd think I had failed.

I don't think it's true either but I think that's what the OP is implying. they feel that all successful breastfeeding mums are smug.

Who?? Who would claim that bf to six months is failing in any way?
Or are you by any chance reading that into people who point out the WHO and NHS recommend bf until at least 6 months? Usually to someone who believes (or has been told by their HV) that there's no point after 6 months/6 weeks/6 minutes

I have never had a chip on my shoulder, but it angers me that so many people think that formula is evil.

If you can BF then that is fantastic, but there are some on here who have smugness written though them like a stick of rock simply because they BF and so feel able to opine how shit formula manufacturers are. Actually, I don't think they are all BF, I think some people here have a hidden agenda.

hidden agenda? Like shares in the breastfeeding market? Oh...

OK, I get your point. Maybe many of us who FF are failed BFers, which is a good thing as it means that people are still trying to BF. Have not come across the smug attitude, just lots of support. It does make me sad to hear all the negatives of FF but that does not mean I have a problem with people who pass on the information, as long as it is accurate.

However don't spend much time on this board, just hover around in case I see anything which might help me become a smug non failed successful BFer next time round.

we generally ff? non?

non.

SPB - it's more the people who quote the WHO as recommending breastfeeding until a child is 2. They give the impression that 6 months is just not good enough.

Dammit I meant 2
But they do.
So what are you suggesting? Lying?
Usually people are told by their mum/MIL/HV/friends that there's no point and they should be off that by now. The person needs an argument to stand their corner. The argument is that.

I don't get how it is smug to say that the formula manufacturers are greedy and (quite often) shit. Don't you WANT safe, affordable food for your baby, with clear easy to understand instructions on the tin? Because without "smug" campaigners this would not be the case.

Criticising formula manufacturers =/= criticising FF parents.