It WAS very childish of me, but I got a dig in at some Formula companies today......

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Got sent a market research survey today asking me my opinions on formula milk.

So i gave them.....

LOL!

In fact, this whole thread has me pmsl as usual - same old people, same old snidey comments!

I was thinking that ealier GDG - we should most of the comments on here (from both 'sides' of the fence) could easily have been copied and pasted from numerous other threads - on which no-one ever agrees - and which often turn nasty

Eulalia, both my children were bottlefed from very young (dd 10 days, ds 1 month) and they've only had occassionaly had vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation.

I've always stuck with one brand (tbh I'd only ever heard of 2 before coming across mumsnet)and I doubt I would have considered the formula to be the cause of any vomiting etc. I would have put it down to tummy bugs.

It's a pointless exercise.

I'm not bothered at all - I've got fit, healthy and bright children and I'm not doing too badly myself , but it bothers me that less 'self assured' mothers could really be upset by some of the posts. It's not even necessarily what is said - it's the language they use (e.g. substandard - as you pointed out) which is clearly used to evoke a response. Bobbybob harping on about it being 'a fact' is insulting to our intelligence - it may well be but there are better ways of phrasing it. Bollox to em!

Sorry bornberry or whatever, not bobbybob!

I quote from Gabrielle Palmer, chapter 1:

"If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by the consumers' needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market..."

"women have been producing such a miraculous substance, breastmilk, since the beginning of human existence..."

Actually both my kids were breastfed until I went back to work and then mixed fed. Both got constipated during the mixed feeding stage. I put this down entirely to the formula.

GDG, I was about to jump there! I worship Bobbybob!

... because of her broad knowledge of allergies, of course

eeek, as soon as I clicked 'post message' I knew it was wrong

LOL GDG - you've been watching too much CBeebies - boobynobs (or whatever they're called)

koolkat - well of course she's going to say that

"Powerful and provocative: proving that breastfeeding is much more than a matter of personal inclination. Women all over the world are still being tricked into feeding their babies artificially and this affects us all: our health, our environment and the global economy.
This book should be read by everyone who cares about the wellbeing of the world's women and children."

A description of the book you've quote that from (which I may add for those that don't know is called "The Politics of Breastfeeding")

Yes, I was most definitely tricked.

GUFFAW!

you know what - people like Gabrielle Palmer aren't even what I'd call "Pro-Breastfeeding" - they're positively anti bottlefeeding. And those type make me mad.

Clearly a nut job

I don't think she is talking about women in developing countries being "tricked". However being tricked into powdered milk use is very much true of the entire developing world. You may not have been fooled by advertising, but millions of poor women have. That is why the International Code exists.

I have to agree there, I'm all pro breastfeeding but despise BF fundamentalism.

I agree that some people get riled by the use of the word 'substandard' and while the one person who used it gave a vigorous and perfectly rational defence of it, I think it is a loaded term, and best avoided in the interests of keeping the peace and just being sensitive to other people.

So I agree with GDG - and I'd add, GDG, please don't ever stop coming on here and telling us how unbothered you are about bottle feeding. Once every few days is truly never enough. We might forget otherwise, or even start not giving a toss.

And that would never do.

:)

HRH - yes she probably is anti-bottle feeding, although she bottle fed her first child, but she is not here to defend herself, so I am not going to speak any further for her.

But then she seems to have travelled the world, and has seen many babies in poor countries die from formula use when they would have survived if they had been breastfed.

I think it is rather unfair to depict any one who promotes bf as anti-bottle feeding.

Tiktok - no need to be so condescending. Once every few days? I think not.

Can you talk about nothing else?

I have no shame in admitting that I am anti-bottle feeding for women living in poor countries. Formula feeding is linked to 2 million baby deaths per year (according to WHO), so I think it is irrelevant whether you think people like GP are bf fundamentalists or not.

Her work is backed up by the world's major health organisations.

However being tricked into powdered milk use is very much true of the entire developing world.

Good god - now you've really riled me. What a bl**dy ignorant statement to make. The entire developing world???. You know what - some of those people actually choose, and with their own minds, make an informed choice to bottlefeed (my SIL being one of them). That's if the milk is actually available. Baby milk is rarely found in village shops (more like scuds - cheap local beer, cigarettes crisps and coca cola) That means it's only really the people living int he towns who have the opportunity to bottlefeed - if they can afford it (still trying to figure out how my SIL could have afforded it).

Chubby white babies adorned the tins I saw out there - just what every black woman wants isn't it??? - a chubby white baby??

It's downright ignorant, and highly offensive to people like myself who have close family and friends living in devloping countries to insinuate that they are all swayed by advertising (for starters most of the poorest won't even see it - they probably don't own a TV and if they do it's only one channel that runs a few hours a day with most of the adverts for ciggarettes and beer!).

I think it is rather unfair to depict any one who promotes bf as anti-bottle feeding.

Where did I say that - I have no problem with pro-breastfeeders - I have great respect for Tiktok and the likes who promote it while seeing the other side.

I've said this before about the deaths "caused" by formula. It's actually (in most cases) caused by a lack of clean water - perhaps if money was spent on providing clean water to those who need it there would be fewer deaths.

"have no shame in admitting that I am anti-bottle feeding for women living in poor countries."

Ooops - better tell my SIL that she's killing her DS hey???

HRH - I think you need to calm down.

I think you need to stop making sweeping generlisations!!!

I'm afraid many bottlefeed babies in developing countries are not even feed formula but teas, rice milk, etc, which makes formula look as a privilege. Breastfeeding can fail to be established even in the poorest conditions, I'm afraid...