<sigh> It seems that the Government is paying lip service to the whole B/feeding issue

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Guardian article

quel surprise...

I just came on here to see if anyone had mentioned this article, it shocked me as I have never bought formula so therefore never look at it. How to we lobby or stop it though? They won't listen to the government and trading standards so how can we stop them. [sigh]

do not to

The Government are assisting it with their "BEtter Regulation Executive"

[snort]

In my ongoing battle with Cow&Gate re thier assertion in a promotional movie that the baby referred to 'might not need breastmilk now' I note also that thier is an interview on their website between their promotionla figure Deniece Lewis and the doctor from Radio 2, Sarah jarvis!!

Am so sick of this ...
if the govt was really bothered about bf it would pay for proper education for hv and midwives to support mums to bf, instead we get lots of expensive propaganda and advertising but no tangible support -
( apart from mn -but its not paid- ah you know wot i mean)

You are having a battle with them??? Do tell......

good point hotbot. i desperately tried to bf and begged for support. didn;t get any at home and ended up jacking it in after a few weeks. most of us KNOW how fantastic it is for your child, but it can be so painful and isolating without support. these sort of articles just add to the massive guilt!

VVV documented in another thread.Taken them to task over silly graphs and this claim and they handed me over to woman from 'regulatory affairs' who promised to send me proper refs and give specific answers.

Eight weeks ago.

She probably thinks I've forgotten.

I haven't....

Ah yes, I remember the thread where I brought up the graphs with c & g and got a flaky response after being asked if I was a "professional"

They then sent me a load of marketing bollox in the post with similar, unsupported 'facts'.

Surely if a woman wants to bf, then she will. No formula campaign would have stopped me, and if no help was forthcoming I would have asked for or even demanded it.

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

bomothers, yes you're absolutely right, but you only need look on mn to read about all the dodgy advice given to struggling bfeeders from professionals.
All the best advice i got was from mn

I was so shocked at the lack of support for bf. I managed for 9 months after very shaky start. I am a well educated lady but knew very little about bf. Why don't we all learn about it in school?

I was very lucky because my mum had breastfed me and my brother and was very supportive in my bf (almost pushy - but in a good way!). She helped me out a lot. I think part of the problem now is that we've hit a generation where new mum's can't get advice and support from family and friends because they didn't bf. Also I think people really don't understand how hard bf can be, I don't mean latching on, just the amount of time you have to feed for and how often. I've tried explaining to friends that with a newborn you will probably end up feeding it every few hours. " days of that they say they can't cope and switch to formula "it's just so much easier".

I'm shocked that there are people out there who think ff is better for baby, but I have met some so I know they do exist, but even educated people I know were surprised that I was still bf ds at 7 months (and I don't even think of that as extended).

Sorry that should have said 2 days of bf and they've had enough.

yes,
i think its very sad,
its fine to ff , i just think that an informed supported choice should really mean that

what nickytwotimes said, I really wanted to breastfeed and feel terribly guilty that I've failed, not because of the marketing of formula milk but because I couldn't get it right in my first few days after baby was born - and then baby was taken back into hospital after a week of trying to breastfeed with mixed success, and put on formula. I'd like to see how the services in Norway actually help women get off to the crucial start I don't have, but this article ticks me off, sorry!

BandofMothers, I'm glad you didn't share the unfortunate experiences of nickytwotimes and myself, but asking for help or demanding it isn't always enough. I begged, I'm still looking for help, but my baby's over 6 weeks and my efforts to express etc are barely producing an ounce of breastmilk a day.

just an aside, but my mate teaches all her classes(all boys school) about bf, probs with,benefits of etc so hopefully next generation will be better informed

Breast feeding is meant to be promoted in schools since the Govenment undertook "The Every Child Matters" in 2006

BandofMothers - wow, such confidence, such naivety!! You need to get out more, you really do

As Monbiot says, a third of mothers believe that formula is the same or more or less the same as breastmilk. No one can assume parents know what they need to know.

Manufacturers persist in making illegal claims for their product. The promotion of formula brings infant feeding into the commercial arena, where it really has no justification to be - decisions about the sole source of nutrition for the most vulnerable members of our society should be made without commercial pressures, and based on health and mother's preference.