Why is MN carrying breastpump ads now?

[Brollyflower]

Anyone else think this is a bit odd? Especially as it's promoting the brand name of a well known nipple cream too...

Tootles -who said you must do x, y or z on this thread? I don't see that ?

You are in a roundabout way by saying it can cause confusion etc. Yes it can but the majority of women who use them do so because it means they can continue to breastfeed for longer. The cream as well does also help with soreness, so why shouldn't it be advertised?

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with advertising these products, if you don't want to use them then don't.

What a bloody odd question - and what an odd objection

I actually quite like the fact that breast pumps are being advertised: it sort of "normalises" breastfeeding in all its forms.

DD2 is 18 months and been exclsuively breastfed then complimentary with full diet. Last month I bought my first pack of nipple cream because, following a tummy bug she fed until my breasts were empty and then continued to suck.

This was fine, it was the only way to stop her crying for a few minutes. However, this led to me being very sore.

I think that advertising is unnecessary (I got advice on what to buy from other bf feeding friends). However, I think that to ban all advertising of complimentary products is a mistake. The more breastfeeding is normalised the better IMO. By banning advertising you may prevent someone having a conversation which leads them to either initiate or continue to feed longer.

So it's not breast pumps you object to - it's the advertising of them?

OP are you seriously arguing against Capitalism?! pmsl

brollyflower... i had to send poor dp to buy that cream on day two as i was bleeding and in agony. The HV recommended it and in my case positioning had nothing to do with it, dd had reflux and fed 24/7 and had a latch like a hoover.

As for the pumps.... I was certainly aware as are most women who plan to bf that other than exceptional circumstances i shouldn't pump before 5/6 weeks, advertising wouldn't have made me suddenly believe that i needed to bring one in the hospital bag ffs (and on that note for the baby who i did need to pump for in hospital as he was in SCBU the hospital provided a pump free of charge which worked as a manual but also hooked up to their machine in the feeding room, so personal choice and marketing wouldn't have made any differance)

Mothers are grown adults capable of researching the issues and understanding the recommended advice al by themselves without needing to be protected from certain information.

And why do you assume the ad is aimed at pregnant mothers.... it could well be aimed at mothers returning to work who do need to pump if they plan on continueing bf-ing

Brolly, no, I am not arguing that advertising them is a good thing or a bad thing.

Advertising and marketing is part of the world we live in. It can certainly be unethical - I dunno, insert your own example here....guns and knives to teenagers, cigarettes, alcohol to schoolkids, prescription meds so people urge their doctor to prescribe them (happens in US, doesn't happen here).

In the field of infant feeding, we already have an internationally-supported document that lays down minimum acceptable standards, and that's a v. useful benchmark.

This ad does not violate it.

Anyone can have an opinion, beyond what the Code says, of course.

But personally, I don't have a problem with the ad. I think it it's hard for anyone to argue that advertising is always a benefit to consumers - that's defintely not its purpose, anyway.

Brolly you also ask me:

"Tiktok -do you think all use of breastpumps is helpful to any breastfeeding woman in all circumstances?"

No, of course I don't! Strange question!

I'm sorry you thought it a strange question . What I'm getting at is if people accept that breastpumps are actually unhelpful in some circumstances, why should they not be treated in the same way as other items that can interfere with breastfeeding? Your answer is because unless they are advertised alongside items that breach the WHO code it doesn't bother you.

Engels -I'm not arguing against capitalism, just against breastfeeding products being advertised in this forum .

Brolly - it was strange, sorry! Yes, I agree breastpumps can be unhelpful to some women in some circumstances, when they are used inappropriately and/or used without proper help for the bf.

Why would not having a strong opinion on whether they can be advertised mean I would think they are always helpful in all circumstances??? :)

Most bf women don't really need breastpumps, I agree.

But brollyflower...

Breastpumps can actually be helpful to BF-ing mothers. By extending the time a child gets breastmilk if the mother has no choice but to work away from their baby during the day - to give a mother who is suffering severe nipple pain/damage a break, time to recover a little and thus continue BF-ing - to give a mother who is on the brink due to lack of sleep and exhaustion a couple of hours' sleep while someone else feeds expressed milk, and thus KEEP BF-ing when they might otherwise have stopped - to ensure that a baby really struggling to BF can continue to get optimum nutrition while a mum attempts to find help and a solution.

There are many examples like those above on this forum alone.

I understand that breastpumps may be unhelpful in some circumstances. But they may be actively helpful in others. They can 'interfere' with BF-ing, but they can also support it.

As they did for me. EBF-ing DS at 5 months, and aiming to continue. With one expressed feed a day.

I would understand your objection if it were the case that breastpumps were only wholly bad for BF-ing, and carried no benefits. But that's just not true, sorry.

I used a pump for a week at the start when I needed to and it was amazing and it totally solved the problem I had and did not interfere with normal breastfeeding at all. However...

I see where you are coming from Brollyflower. This is about money. And lots of it. Promoting the use of breastpumps in order to make money might not contravene the code but it is still a small part of a big mess of a situation in which taxpayers find themselves funding government subsidies of the dairy industry while simultaneously paying the same people to use their plastic, carbon producing products to support doing something that should be just as 'quick and easy' as pumping milk with their product. Breastmilk is worth millions, if not billions, in terms of the physical and emotional benefits of breastfeeding and its health giving and therefore money saving benefits, and if governments globally were to invest in mothers and babies everywhere, the world would be a better place.

Breastpumps can support breastfeeding. In this (rather conveniently for the big names in the infant feeding industry), economically driven world in which we live.

OP - this is purist crap. Both times I would have stopped b/f in the first week without use of a pump.

Poor MNHQ, they knock back ads for so many things, and now they are getting a hard time for advertising breastpumps? (without which, btw, i would never have been able to bf my two even the paltry amount i did). i would have LIKED to have seen a breastpump ad, tbh, it would have normalised my experience.

I take it, OP, that you will be asking MNHQ to re-design the MN logo, as it contains a woman holding a bottle?

I'm not against them being allowed to advertise but I do feel it can create a kind of expectation/pressure to express. For example, I was invited to a day long conference by people who know i'm bfing - they probably hadn't given it much thought but assumed I'd be able to express. I don't think I'd be able to express enough for a day even if I wanted to and I certainly don't want to! I think people can feel like they ought to express so they can leave the baby for longer or so dad can feed the baby. No one should be under any pressure to do so (although obviously some people want to and that's fine or have to for work/illness etc)

ooh twirlymum, I'd never noticed that about the MN logo before!

haha wow they do don't they! I do wish there were more pictures of women breastfeeding around the place generally like this one I mean the pictures of the bottles and the pumps have done a great job in normalising and promoting bottles etc - this country could do with some glossy pictures of breastfeeding.

marzipan - have you ever seen the Daily mail / GMTV website whenever they have a story about breastfeeding in public? They are littered with "these women should just express and give a bottle" comments.

tiktok -no it's the other way round. I was saying one reason I don't like seeing them advertised in places frequented by breastfeeding women is because in some circumstances they can cause problems with breastfeeding (eg oversupply, soreness, problems with baby's latch if used to express to give bottles in the early days etc). I wondered if you agreed that they could be unhelpful sometimes, which it seems you do , and whether this had any bearing on your view, which it doesn't. We disagree. No need to make a mountain out of it .

Aitch , I'm sorry you had a rough time,I have read about some of your experiences as they happened. As I said further up, I too was reliant on a pump for my DC1. Having to express repeatedly round the clock is tiring and I, like many, found a big burden. I wouldn't want that experience to be 'normal'. I don't mean you're abnormal, so please don't misunderstand. I appreciate that it can be isolating to be in that situation and think I sort of understand what you mean.

However, there is something in our culture now about expressing milk. I have had friends with babies whose friends without kids are unable to understand why they couldn't leave their breastfed baby for a number of hours to attend social events. "Can't you just express some milk?" is the question, thrown in as if this is the most normal thing in the world. No mention in the advertising that it's common for new mums to not be able to express much on top of breastfeeding and that they might have to express repeatedly to get enough for just one feed; no mention that some mums never manage to learn to express much with any kit, despite breastfeeding fine; no mention that some babies won't accept milk from any receptacle other than their mother's breast. Where do people get these ideas from that expressing is an easy and convenient alternative? Yes, it can be, for some and in some circumstances. But why is it expected somehow? I wonder if adverts that talk about expressing milk as being "quick and easy" could perhaps be playing a role here? also, what woman who has just eeeked out the normal few mls by hand or with a pump she owns might not be attracted to buying a pump that makes these sorts of promises? Yet in some cases it'll make no difference, or in fact supportive suggestions for using her existing pump more effectively might be more beneficial.

As SPB says. Making money out of breastfeeding mothers.

twirlymum I assume it is a sports bottle of water . That's what it looks like to me.

Brolly

You are absolutely right, wtf is mumsnet doing advertising breastpumps? Shocking.

I suggest you boycott mumsnet immediately.

I don't see a problem with this at all. We all see advertising every day for things we may or may not want or need. As adults we're capable of making our own informed decisions about all of these things.

Women don't need to be "protected" from adverts for formula, breast pumps or anything else some of us might not personally agree with. Or if womankind does need to have our delicate eyes averted, then why don't we also ban ourselves from seeing adverts for cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and gambling, all of which are far worse for us than formula or breast pumps?