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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Could somebody please explain to me why the promotion of FF would be such a bad thing?

157 replies

conniedescending · 02/05/2008 17:04

because as long as they don't say or imply its better than BF then I can't really see the problem? Or why we have to get hysterical about how other people feed their babies?

maybe if FF was made out to be not such a bad thing then there would be more mothers actually bf'ing for longer and with subsequent children as they could be supported by mixed feeding their children.

OP posts:
Izzywhizzy · 02/05/2008 19:54

Despite everyone's best intentions, this thread is going to turn into a punch-up.

I'm off!

AitchTwoCiao · 02/05/2008 19:56

that's why i used aptamil, vp, because at the time it said on the box that it was closer to bm, and because every hcp i asked said it was the best. and it was the most expensive so it MUST be the best. [stupid] [naive]

BumperliciousNeedsToSleep · 02/05/2008 19:59

I don't know how true this is but my BFC said that in general most formulas (formulae?) are much of a muchness, as they are so regulated as to what can be put in them.

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 02/05/2008 20:02

Why does anyone care.
These threads drive me crazy.

FF or BF so long as your baby is healthy and happy who gives a shit?

wayfarerror · 02/05/2008 20:08

I know someone with a PhD who switched to formula in the early days and chose the brand she did because it said it was 'for those moving from breastfeeding'. I was new to the whole issue then myself (but less tired than she was!), so did wonder then what else someone could be moving on from!

I look back now and think it just shows how amazingly effective those little phrases on the cans are that look like they're just there to fill up space - they mean nothing real, there's nothing different in the packet as a result, but they do make it seem as if the product is different and closer to breastmilk, more suitable as an alternative if you wanted to breastfeed, etc. etc. I really feel the manufacturers shouldn't be allowed to put anything on those cans that implies a judgement of a particular formula's closeness to breastmilk.

BumperliciousNeedsToSleep · 02/05/2008 20:10

If they drive you crazy don't come on them TDWP. Lots of people care because not only does it make quite a lot of difference how you feed your baby, but lots of mothers are finding that they are almost having the choice taken away from them one way or another through lack of support. And those that do continue to bf often do so under difficult circumstances.

wayfarerror · 02/05/2008 20:10

"FF or BF so long as your baby is healthy and happy who gives a shit?"

What babies get has an effect on how healthy they are, so obviously what you say about 'so long as your baby is healthy and happy' is the very reason to give a shit.

AitchTwoCiao · 02/05/2008 20:12

and if they're not healthy and you're not happy, should we care then TDWP?

moondog · 02/05/2008 20:16

..and if you think the advertising is harmless here, next time you are abroad, peruse the shelves and see what the formula tins say and how it is marketed.
The things I have seen in the developing countires in which I have been brought up and worked in are beyond belief.

it has been normal practice for example for promotions girls to dress up as nurses and set up stands giving out free samples.

Of course peopel love the novelty and the freebies. Trouble is,unlike as with soap powder and deodorant, you can't just qswitch back to your regular brand when the novelty has worn off. There is no breastmilk left usually by that time and then you are quite frankly fucked.

sabire · 02/05/2008 21:35

"But I'm also for equality. So if you promote breast feeding you can't deny formula feeding a presence. Otherwise the picture painted is that it should be swept under the carpet. Breastfeeding is the right option, formula is the dirty little secret"

Some facts: the majority of babies in the UK over two weeks old get no breastmilk at all. And 90% of ALL babies have had formula by the time they're 6 months old.

That's pretty much market saturation, don't you think?

Do you honestly think it needs any more exposure than it's got already?

K999 · 02/05/2008 21:40

I'm with you TheDevil.......cant seem to understand why anyone gets upset about how others choose to feed their baby.....

I view formula like any other product. The manufacturers advertise and if you wish to buy it, then you can. If you wish to bf then you will....I have bf and ff both my dcs...and have been happy doing both!

wayfarerror · 02/05/2008 21:43

That's a very specific attitude though, seeing it as 'any other product' with parents as consumers who can choose it or not. The issues to do with infant feeding are miles more complex than that and so are the effects.

K999 · 02/05/2008 21:46

I am not sure what you mean about 'effects'?

FairyMum · 02/05/2008 21:47

Isn;t formula often marketed for "hugrier babies" too? A lot of women who bf give up because they think their babies need more than bf. They don't realise that cluster-feeding and very frequent feeding is normal and think they cannot satisfy their babies. If I had a penny for every time I hear "he was a very hungry baby" or "he was a very big baby" etc etc I think formula often market themselves more like food and they will satisfy your baby, make baby sleep etc Their marketing is very clever, to think its "information" is idiotic.

VictorianSqualor · 02/05/2008 21:50

God points fairymum.

milkgoddessmakesthefinestmilk · 02/05/2008 21:52

the formula company's are just so sly and unethical though, they need keeping under close supervision, i mean take that bloddy formula advert for "follow on" milk that had a dad promising to do his share of the night feeds etc, made me want to scream

and this latest one that tries to make out that formula is as good as BM

alot of people just do not understand normal infant feeding behaviour, ie feeding v frequently fthe first few months.
its all hes/shes not satisfied or content.
what aload of bull.

K999 · 02/05/2008 21:54

I get the point about feeding frequently in the first few months when bf.....am not sure why this does not seem to be the case if a baby is ff.....

I bf dd1 for 2 weeks and she was like this. When I switched to formula she did not seem as hungry. Is there an explanation for this? Is formula full of bulking agents do you think? Does anyone know?

sabire · 02/05/2008 21:57

"I'm with you TheDevil.......cant seem to understand why anyone gets upset about how others choose to feed their baby....."

Sigh.

Why do you think the government spends scarce resources promoting breastfeeding?

It's a public health issue.

And most people care about the health of babies generally - not just their own child.

That's why they care about the fact that so few babies in the UK get breastfed for more than a few weeks.

wayfarerror · 02/05/2008 21:57

The effects of the 'choice' to buy it (it's often not really a choice) - there are public health effects and so on - that go beyond individual consumers. Also, you say 'if you wish to bf then you will' but people who wish to bf have a chance of succeeding that depends on loads of external factors that are themselves influenced by things such as formula advertising. I don't care how others choose to feed their baby but I care about the effects of formula advertising on people who formula feed and need to choose how, and on people who don't want to formula feed but want to breastfeed. Many people care about the principle of all of us being able to have good information - if I have another baby and need to choose a formula, I'd like a detailed breakdown of what's in each one and the origins, how much research has or hasn't been done on different ingredients, and so on - but I can't have that information at the moment, which is wrong. Having an opinion about this has little or nothing to do with having an opinion on whether or not other individuals should formula feed - how any individual decides to feed should be up to them (though often it's not, in that if they want to breastfeed there are many things that can make it impossible for them).

Like I said it's a complex issue, and it's also a big complex issue. So I think it's far more than just a consumer issue.

Ledodgy · 02/05/2008 21:58

k999 f is harder to digest.

expatinscotland · 02/05/2008 21:59

i know how to support bfing: pay for childcare for a woman's other children when she's on her own and needs to cluster feed!

get her some help with the house when she's on her own and her other kids need fed, picked up from school, taken to afterschool activities, the washing needs done, etc.

and please, spare the: 'you can do it if you really want.'

that's right up there with the 'relax and it'll happen' clause.

some of us do NOT have the energy levels others have. some of us feel the lack of sleep very keenly, have mental health issues and/or SN other children.

or can't let the house go to rack and ruin because it's a rental home.

truly, the more people i talk to IRL, the more turn to FF with subsequent children because a) they have other kids to look after on their own and aren't the Energiser bunny b) they truly cannot afford to stay home from work for very long.

i got to 4 months with DD2, but i had to start weaning at 3 months because i had to go back to work. it was not a job where i could express and yes, maybe i could have sued them, and made my life even worse and more stressful in the meantime whilst i struggled with PND.

it's NOT all about the mother and baby a lot of times.

it's about the family as a whole, as a unit, and how the mother and baby have to fit into it in order for the whole thing not to collapse.

wayfarerror · 02/05/2008 22:00

As I understand it, the 'foreign' (i.e. from another animal) proteins in formula are harder for a small baby to digest, so they get knocked out (a bit like us having to digest a big Christmas dinner, say) and that makes them sleep more and take longer to digest each feed. At least that's how it's always been explained to me!

Ledodgy · 02/05/2008 22:01

I agree Expat.

K999 · 02/05/2008 22:06

Thanks for the explanation. I am not sure why people are so adament about banning the advertising of formula though. I have known loads of kids (mine included) who have been ff. They are all healthy, happy,etc. It perhaps may help if bf was more heavily advertised and products such as pumps etc were seen on TV?

bluewolf · 02/05/2008 22:09

This is on a bit of a tangent but the whole advertising thing made me think - when you are a little kid and are interestred in dolls they are always sold with bottles and the boob element completely ignored. While thinking that having a little girl holding a doll to her nipple would be very weird, surely this must effect how people think about the issue?