What to say to people who say "this formula is CLOSEST to breastmilk" -

[Lucy1977]

Hi

I don't want to cause offence to anyone, but in my mind an infant formula cannot be "closest" to breastmilk but I cant get my words together to explain this to people who say "I use "x" formula because it's supposed to be closest to breastmilk".

Anyone help?

Thanks
Lucy

"this is what happens when free formula samples are given to women in hospitals in the developing world with the implicit association that if it comes from the industrialised world it must be a good thing"

no, this is what happens when there isn't enough clean water/ clean housing to go around.

All forumla I have ever bought has on the tin the measurements you should use. If someone uses less or doesn't use sterile water/equipment this isn't the fault of the formula.

intersting thread

tiktok - interested int he research on lower rates of bfing in low socioeconimc groups - do you know who condusted it / anything more about it?

yes but riab, it has got to be unethical for formula companies to encourage women to buy their product in countries where by virtue of the lack of clean water and the consumer's meagre resources will actually put the babies in danger, doesn't it?

especially when there is (hopefully) an alternative that is sterile and free?

tutter, the most comprehensive research on this for the UK is the five-yearly Infant feeding surveys - they are on the DoH website if you look.

No, riab, not the fault of the formula.

It's the fault of the formula marketing.

I am continually surprised when people fail to get their heads round this:

Feeding formula to babies has an impact on their health. Breastfeeding is the physiological norm, but it may be culturally fragile.

Therefore, the way formula is marketed is crucial - don't do any marketing that might impact on a mother's choice to breastfeed, or leave her not knowing the impact of her choice.

What's not to like???

that's what I mean riab - I meant controlling the distribution of formula to stop the kind of marketing that undermines breastfeeding.
If there was no marketing then you would get more and better infomration - I mean right now we don't know what's in formula, which I hink is astonishing and completely unacceptable.
If the production and supply was better controlled, then hopefully it woul be cheaper to buy (because the cost of formula includes the cost of all those marketing compaigns) and we would hopefully avoid the problems there have been in the past with contamination of formula.
I never mentioned getting it on prescription or being "amde to line up at the chemist and buy my formula for DS only after filling out numerous forms etc. When we ran out of formula in the mniddle of the week I would be forced to travel/fill in yet more forms instead of nippng over to the local store."
I didn't say anything of the kind and I rather resent you putting words in my mouth tbh.

"I should have been given no information or help about formula feeding because that would be marketing and so i should have been left to work out for myself how to feed my baby." er, no I am suggesting you should be able to get more information than you get at the moment which is dick all, btw. Marketing is not the same as information and I surprised you think it is.

"I should have been marked and shamed for needing such supplies of a controlled subtance." look I don't mean to sound exasperated but I really didn't say anything of the kind.

LOL.

Put that way, it does sound like a rather free interpretation of that post!

tiktok - i agree wholeheartedly. It just interests me that the single mums living on benefits are the ones sending their kids to school in Timberland boots - or out to the local park in Tommy Hilfiger,Gap etc whereas the cosy middle class/mortgage/dad at home/happy family types are quite happy to send them in stuff from Primark or Tesco. We tried running a 2nd hand uniform shop, thinking it would help people on low incomes, but the only people who bought stuff were the well off ones.
I wonder if there's a link - that the mums who crave the kudos of the designer brands are the same ones who believe that by feeding a particular brand they are enhancing their status in some way?

And before I start a riot - I am in no way intending to make derogatory comments about those who either make an informed choice to bottle feed or who are unable to bf for some reason. It just seems crazy that - completely forgetting any benefits to the health & welfare of the baby - the people who would gain the most in FINANCIAL terms from breastfeeding are choosing not to do so.

yes I was rather alarmed at how we got from : I think formula marketing and distribution should be mnore strictly controlled to : women who use formula should be marked and shamed
bit of a left turn at the traffic lights there

I suspect the difficulty is that some women feel very sensitive about using formula, or if not that, they feel that criticism of the way formula is marketed, or a discussion of the health impact of using formula, is somehow a criticism of women who use formula....hence the long post starting another thread listing all the reasons why someone might use formula, which I read as being quite defensive, and hence the way-over-the-top response to a suggestion that formula distribution is controlle, because the poster (riab) feels that this thread and others are criticising mothers who use formula.

But we know women use formula, and we don't need them to give reasons or to hear them justify themselves - I wouldn't dream of having the cheek to decide which was a good reason and which wasn't. We are talking about the way the product is presented....ok?

fortyplus, your analysis is a bit heavyhanded, but I know what you mean.
However, no one can see which brand of formula a mother is using (maybe the manufacturers are missing a trick there - maybe they should add food colourants to the more expensive brands!) and I think the reason for choosing not to breastfeed is cultural - it's what feels normal.

On the other hand, there are many areas where single mums on benefit start to breastfeed and then don't get good help or support and give up.

You also need to remember than formula is cheaper if you are on benefits.

hmmmmm - not as cheap as breast milk, though. I found bf very hard with ds1 - it took a good month to get established - ds1 lost 1lb 12oz and i had the cracked nipples from hell. I had the 'luxury' of supportive dh, parents & friends running around for me. If i'd been on my own without support i would have given up, i'm sure. But i'd like to think i wouldn't have wasted money on babygros from Gap!

Yes, it's an unarguable fact: people living in poverty, whether relative (as in the UK) or absolute (as in Africa and Asia) really do have different priorities as to how to spend their scarce resources.

They make decisions that seem mad to anyone more well-off, but I would feel uncomfortable at the thought of telling someone else how to live, especially someone having a very hard time.

What really makes me angry are the likes of Nestle who exploit the fact that very poor people are prepared to shell out for their product when there's a healthier, free alternative available to almost all.

Seeing that "closer to Breastmilk" is just a marketing slogan without any truth in it...well, if someone would actually say something like that to me, I'd say, actually, all the Formulas are more or less the same and non of them is colser to breastmilk then the next one, no matter what they claim!

sounds good to me fortyplus

i'd love to know which is the 'best' formula... can't help but think that they are all the same but of course i've been buying Aptamil because the doctor who started her off on formula told me that's the one that is, you've guessed it... 'closest to breastmilk'... it costs me a fortune.

i thought they just add the 'now even closer to breastmilk' slogan when they add in another ingredient that they find breastmilk has but not formula. so when they discovered breastmilk contains prebiotics, they added them to formula, and so it's 'now even close to breastmilk.' so if tomorrow they found breastmilk contains chocolate they'd add chocolate to formula and say 'now even closer than ever before, to breastmilk.'

and so it'll go on and on as they discover more things that formula doesn't have, but breastmilk does have.

My breast milk probably contained copious amounts of red wine and curry - do you think they would've put that in if i'd sent them a sample?

look PLEASE no-one mentioned marking and shaming anyone so can we stop saying that please? that really is a gruesome and untrue accusation and I can't see who is being helped by keep repeating it.

as tik tok said, we are talking about the marketing and promotion of formula and the somewhat grubby practices of the formula companies to increase their profits.

Aitch - Aptamil is marketed very heavily at healthcare professionals. Any doctor who promotes it as being the best is basing their opinon on this, and this alone.