Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Luxurious RANT thread about bf - long sorry

6 replies

choosyfloosy · 26/05/2007 23:19

Oh what fun. I did a practice paper for my a-level the other day (human biology). It included the following question:

'The table below shows the nutrient composition of human milk and a dried milk formula used for bottle feeding babies.

[table of nutrients]

a. Compare the protein carbohydrate and fat content of the milks

b. Using the information in the table, suggest possible nutritional advantages and disadvantages of feeding a baby with human milk as compared with feeding a baby with a dried milk formula.'

Sorry to give all that. What got me was the mark scheme. A mark for saying it would be better to feed formula because it is lower in sodium. A mark for saying that it would be better to feed formula bedause it contains more protein. [Lots of other stuff positive about bf].

Surely both those are fairly irrelevant? There was no defined mark for suggesting that a species is likely to evolve the milk that suits it best, and that therefore it is possible to hypothesise that babies may need a higher-sodium milk. No mark for suggesting that the formula milk is likely to come from another species and therefore may not contain amino acids in the right proportions for humans.

What a bf-friendly culture we do live in, eh.

OP posts:
hunkermunker · 26/05/2007 23:22

I have had to delete my reply because it was Too Rude.

I am amazed they didn't put something about there being more iron in formula so that is "better" (although the iron in bmilk is totally bioavailable and exactly right for babies to absorb, and there's more iron in formula because it's not as easily digested and lots of it is excreted and can constipate babies).

Who wrote the paper? Which board?

NineUnlikelyTales · 26/05/2007 23:24

Good grief.

choosyfloosy · 26/05/2007 23:25

ah hunker, thanks phew, was afraid i was going ott.

It's Edexcel - 2005 I think. Makes you wonder how many future midwives and health visitors took that paper

OP posts:
hunkermunker · 26/05/2007 23:29

b. Using the information in the table, suggest possible nutritional advantages and disadvantages of feeding a baby with human milk as compared with feeding a baby with a dried milk formula.'

That misses the point so spectacularly, doesn't it?

cazee · 27/05/2007 13:38

Do you get a mark for saying formula is better because it comes in a shiny tin too?
I don't trust myself to say much more, am really

choosyfloosy · 27/05/2007 17:00

am pondering a request to edexcel to review the mark scheme for this one

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread