can't believe this conversation in the dr's surgery yesterday

[muslimah28]

little baby came in with his mummy for their 6 week post natal check. mummy is trying to wind baby in the waiting room.

another mummy with a c2 year old says to her 'i found with my son, just changing the formula helped'.

mummy to 6wk old replies, 'no i just use what i did for all 4 of mine, it can't be the formula.'

at no point did 2yr old's mummy say 'are you formula feeding', or 'how are you feeding him', there was just an assumption that she was formula feeding, and it turned out she was right.

i was just a bit shocked to see yet more proof of how much of a formula feeding culture we have here.

didn't want to add this to the other thread going on at the moment, its just way too long.........but interested in thoughts!!

OP

scottishmummy is imo protesting a little bit too much.

Feeling guilty about ff scottishmummy. Btw don't expect you to say say yes

Don't worry about her and others, the issue is too emotive for many to discuss it rationally. Yes, it is sad that ff is the norm in some areas and cultures and we should all do what we can to support bf.

....without judging those who choose to or have to FF. It is possible to do both you know.

Yes, yes, very sad. Tragic. Is it as sad as the floods in Pakistan? The Boxing Day Tsunami?
O the cruelty of feeding the children.
Why are there so many of these blasted threads around at the moment?

MrsS,nah try harder other than cod psychology.you are fishier than captain birdseye.

is that your best shot?best you can do

but i will say i nothing galvanises my interest like a silly "oh my gosh formula a symbol of corporate phallic wrongness".oh i need a lie down thread

so easy to pick apart.

Is that what you were trying to do?

i didn't need to pick this apart everyone beat me to it. i certainly challenged it,as did plenty others

I just saw a lot of straw men arguments and (presumably) willful misinterpretation.

I'm not sure what misinterpretation there could be? OP saw two women who had never met before talking. One assumed that the other was feeding the baby the way the majority of women do in our culture. The woman was right.
Op - inexplicably shocked and rightfully biscuited.
Am I wrong?

i saw ire, harrumphing,and judgey cup overflowing.there has been a glut of "omg-formula-feeding-cant-believe-anyone-would-sick-a-bottle-in-poor-weans-yap"

from the camerons to dvo,threads opining about ff babies

i think this zealous harrumphing is toxic,creates angst and taps into feelings of inadequacy some mums have.also maternal mental health and self esteem is fragile enough without anyone feeling attacked

yes breast is optimal,and if it works,if it is mums choice then fabulous.

however pragmatically,formula is legal,safe and provides adequate nutrition.it is the majority mode of feeding for most mums.this habitual inference that it is inadequate is belittling at a very sensitive maternal time.

so yes i certainly will participate in threads that belittle and poke individual feeding choices.

"i think this zealous harrumphing is toxic,creates angst and taps into feelings of inadequacy some mums have.also maternal mental health and self esteem is fragile enough without anyone feeling attacked"

What a funny piece of cod psychology SM.

"so yes i certainly will participate in threads that belittle and poke individual feeding choices."

And bravo for fighting the good fight.

There is a big distinction between shock at a particular mother ff and shock at how pervasive the ff culture is, particularly when we are told how 'pushed' the 'breast is best' is alleged to be by the NHS.

Each mother can do what she likes for her own child of course, and more power to her.

But the ff culture makes it difficult for women who do want to breastfeed and it makes it less likely than many women will want to in the first place because they'll be weird or nazis or many of the other things we've heard on this board before.
It being the norm shouldn't be a reason not to challenge the culture.

I haven't read any celebrity-bashing threads so can't comment on those.

denise van outen and flo cameron have the formulaphobes out chomping at the bit

Some people tend to hold those in the public eye to higher standards I guess.
While from the perspective of how celebs normalise some behaviours I can see where they might be coming from, they are possibly forgetting that they are real women too which seems a shame.

As I say I haven't read the threads in question.

I don't think I've ever seen someone criticise another poster for their choice.

Everyone keeps saying they have never seen anyone criticised on mumsnet but I think it's a little selective.
I have seen people state that not giving colostrum is 'lazy' and that formula fed babies have fat, rubbery faces. Saying that this is not 'criticising' another poster's feeding choice' is a little blinkered.

well foolish them for being unable to differentiate schleb from health promotion. schlebs have no compulsion to behave appropraitely.and public have no right to expect schlebs to adhere to NICE clinical guidelines

It might not be right, but our society does expect everyone in the public eye to behave in particular ways.

And yes, it would be good if we sought to change this sleb culture.

many schlebs,pop stars,footy players exhibit moral turpitude they aren't responsible to society. nor can society seek or expect such individuals to show restraint or good judgement

I know that, but the majority of our society expect polititians, movie starts etc. to behave impeccably. Hence the scandals.
Tabloid culture.

oh behave,not at all.politician=graspy,ambitious,driven and most likely to lie/shag/fiddle the expenses

to think otherwise,where have you been

Eh? Well yes I expect polititians to be power-grabbing etc. but my point was that our culture expects them to whiter than Daz whites.

oh i see other folks expect em whiter than white.not you though?presumably you is too smart

i like my actors to be sullied,brody and edgy not virtuous role models

since movies and theatre began there have bad lads and ladies.good thing too

Of course. I have been known to read the Guardian.