Still being subjected to the cow and gate ad.

[LookingForwardToSummer]

Grrrrr. It's so annoying! Is there nothing we can do?

I am fed up at the level of crap spouted on this forum about formula and bottle feeding

yes breast is bes, yes breastfeeding should be supported but formula is not the incarnation of all evil and if you don't like the advertisment change the bloody channel

in a few years when you've finished feeding yoru baby mlk you won't give a toss. Maybe you should try and get some perspective. IT is only when you're in the early years with your children that you care so vehemently about this issue, with distance of time then distance of emotion kicks in. Strive for the distance in emotion now and realise that there are worse things than formula advertising within UK guidelines.

in the meantime keep supproting the people who want the supprot but do give it a rest with the disgusted of surbiton posts

Have you actually read the posts?

I can assure you that I will still care in a few years time about how my baby was fed. I used formula and I was glad it existed. But I had no way of finding out which one was the best - are you saying that is acceptable?

FWIW, the women who you dismiss as disgusted of surbiton were commenting on the ADVERT, not other people's feeding choices. They are also some of the same women who gave up their time and energy to support me in continuing to bf as well as formula feed. Somewhat more constructive than your post
moopdaloop.

i don't know the answer to that small.....i see these adverts as....'we sell this....come and check us out, if you see what you like buy us'. Would there be many parents out there thast would really buy this milk because it had smiley babies on?

Aren't the adverts just to let you know that the product exists from that manufacturer? Someone couldn't even begin to make a decision about something if they were unaware that there was a choice of products. Of course if it's persuasive and a 'nice looking' advert you might be more inclined to investigate further. But even so, I think most people would weigh up various factors, such as comparing milks (as much as they understand that), price, ease of use and possibly other things. Unless your baby has a specific problem I think most of the baby milks are much the same anyway. From what I've seen people seem to try a milk and if it doesn't seem to agree with the baby they'll try a different one until they find one the baby seems happy with.
So I'm not sure what the problem is with manufacturers bringing their products to our attention.

maybe i am being thick here but why are the public being mislead?

my children are almost 3 & almost 8, so infant feeding is far behind me. but i still care about the legality and ethics of advertising formula and baby food. it impacts on us all as a society

i formula fed both of mine, but have learnt a lot about breastfeeding for work

the insidious nature of advertising formula does a huge amount of harm in undermining breast feeding

yes, we know breast is best, but many women do not make the connection that formula is not as good, and in fact is inferior and not as good as breastmilk. which is nto what the ads would have you believe

there is a thread today about farley's milk being increased by £3 a tin as they are putting some new wonder oil in it that £3 is not spent on really researching formula i would not have thought, but on making the tins prettier. IMO.

formula marketing is not whiter than white

and caring about it is worthwhile IMO

But juule, your comment about thinking most of them are the same is exactly the point. None of us actually know. Advertising is not information. We should have access to information.

The fact that many people believe formula is as good as breastmilk just goes to show what a persuasive culture of advertising exists.

I don't think people are saying that the ad is trying to inform people about the actual differences between formulas, but IS trying to persuade those who've chosen formula that theirs is best (just like all advertisers of nearly identical products, ie all ads) - rather than trying to persuade breastfeeders that their product is almost as good.

I shall back away slowly from this thread, I momentarily forgot that this is something one doesn't comment about on here.

We are all just having a discussion moopdaloop, don't let people disagreeing with you put you off!

The ad is annoying for several reasons - the babies laughing are obviously manipulated by CGI for one. And, to me at least, it appears to be suggesting that their milk is as good as breast which it isn't. And people are persuaded by adverts, that's why companies do them. and not every one has access to lots of info / may not be getting support with bf and I think an advert like that could influence desicions when people are having a tough time. It's a sneaky advert.

Moopdaloop - of course there are worse things than advertising formula, and yes of course as I'm spending 6 hrs a day bf it's kind of on my mind. But of you're not interested why go on a forum about feeding? and I don't live in Surbiton!

i would ave thought..yes..breast-milk is best as long as the mother eats sensibly. I chose the formula milk continuing with the milk given in maternity.....which on 2 occasions i had to end up swapping until i found the right formula for my child.

It might be the best formula ever made..but if aint staying in babies tummy it aint doing no good!

am i going off point now?..lol

I don't think diet affects the quality of breastmilk though, Idobelieveinfairies.

isn't this what brand loyalty is about in the end? Why do we choose any one brand over another, e.g. Ariel over Persil or vice versa? Isn't it on the basis of their adverts? But they can have negative impact as well - I have not bought any M&S food on principle since their bloody ads "this is not just food.." in the most drippy caramelised voice.
It is all about persuasion, not information, as has already been said. If they have made any dodgy or misleading claims, they can be reported to theAdvertising Standards Authority. I complained about FLora Active when they showed an ad with their flora molecules zooming around the bloodstream zapping the cholesterol - load of bollix, very misleading science - never saw the ad again after my complaint.

The more people complain about it, the more likely someone at the ASA is likely to take notice, I guess.

I think in the end, most people choose formula on the same principle as anyone chooses anything - they ask people already using it, or professionals who they expect to know the answer, which one they like to use and which one to avoid and then go with that - I am not totally convinced that the ads will sway many people unless they have no one to ask. But I could be very wrong...

There should be some prime time telly telling mums-to-be how great breast feeding is...why don't they do that?....would that be ok?

does it not? if someone was eating too much junk food and alcohol and not enough fruit and veg..would their milk still be better than formula??

my diet affected my ds through breast milk.

if i ate windy foods, he was windy

if i ate food with little substance he would be at the boob constantly as he never fed full.

if i ate spicy things he wouldn't take a full feed as didn't like taste.

if i ate loads of smoothies and sweet stuff he would gorge himself to the point of being sick.

I think it would be, (unless a raging alcoholic which I imagine wouldn't be great....)

perhaps someone more knowledgable would come also an give us some exact information about this????

It is my understanding that the ability to produce breastmilk is unaffected by diet, but I am not qualified in any way.

Fairies, Cr is pretty much right - breastmilk tends to remain fairly constant despite diet - I checked because I was worried about how much chocolate I was eating and whehter I was sugar-loading my milk for poor DS.
The only things that will really affect it are if there aren't sufficient basic proteins and fats in the diet, which is one reason why you shouldn't go on a diet when bfing. Even then, breast milk will still take from mum's body for a long time. Think about the poor Africans who still manage to produce breastmilk - it might not be the absolute best quality possible but it still does the job.
Of course, if you don't have the vitamins and minerals at all in your body then they won't go into the milk either but you would be quite ill if you were devoid of most vitamins and minerals.

"if someone was eating too much junk food and alcohol and not enough fruit and veg..would their milk still be better than formula??"

yes
breastmilk is so protective that it is always superior to formula, no matter what the diet of the mother
if a mother was starving to death then the quality of breastmilk would be affected
otherwise it is absolutely the best thing to give your baby

I think the fact that people are still confused on this shows that we need more information about breast and formula milk, and less advertising