Perturbed by this article about bfing

[Haylstones]

Ok, this is an 'artice' in Love It! magazine, which I'm assuming is not the most accurate or well informed publication but even still I am shocked at what I read.

In the editor's introduction she talks about life with her new baby, who is now 12 weeks old. There is too much text to copy it all and I can't find it online so I will try to copy the relevant parts but I would appreciate some comments/thoughts on it.

The editor talks about how she is happy to be losing weight so quickly because she is bfing on demand and says she might feed until baby is 12 months old instead of 6 months because she could be a size 12 and still eat 2 doughnuts a day.
After taking the baby to the doctor because she is grizzly the doctor 'carefully examined her and looked at me, her face serious'. 'Your baby is very big for her age. There's nothing wrong with her except her size. She needs to go on a diet'
'Sure, she had 2 or 3 chins and dimples on her cankles, but she was a cute chubby baby, not obese'. (editor)
'Your baby is the size of a one year old. Breast milk is full of everything- including fat. No more feeding on demand. Feed every 3 hours. And only one breast each time, not 2'.
The editor took this on board and talks about how she kept her 'brimming breasts under wraps and 'even when she started to gnaw at her fingers and my milk began to leak down my new size 14 dress, I stayed firm'
'2 more hours to go, I told her, trying not to get upset as she hollered. But she screamed and screamed until her chins wobbled and her dimples shook'
'I'm sorry sweetie, I wailed finally, whipping out my boobs and letting her binge-eat for the rest of the day.'
'I'll go on diet so you don't have to, I promised her'
'I'll only have one doughnut a day. just don't tell the doctor!'

This article saddened me as it seems to me that she was given totally inaccurate advice (it struck a chord with me as my ds is the weight of an average 1 year old at 5 months and I ex bf)that she attempted to follow but also that this was published in a women's magazine that will presumably be read by so many new mums. I was told so many times tha I cannot overfeed ds with breastmilk and not to worry about his size.

I know it's not a medical article or even a reliable source but I still think they have a responsibility to take a serious approach to this subject and it could have been a very positive story about successful breastfeeding.

tbh, i think the article is a load of rubbish. written to get a reaction. thats it. in fact probabaly written by someone who is very anit breastfeeding.

It is a load of rubbish, I agree.I certainly won't be buying it again

It's weird referring to feeding on demand as 'binge-eating'!

is she trying to make some sort of ironic point about our society's obsession with binge drinking and obesity?

I don't think it's an intelligent enough artice to make that point belgo.
Rest of the magazine is tosh anyway

well no, it's not an intelligent article on any level.

Not at all intelligent. It would have possibly been slightly less offensive if that was what she was trying to do but I think the only reason for all these comments is sheer ignorance.
It just drives me mad. It's the kind of thing somebody not very informed about bf might read then say to me that my ds is overweight because a. I feed him too much and b. I eat too much fatty food (neither of which is true, I hope!) It would inevitably invoke the comment that if I bottle fed at least I'd know how much he was having

She didn't actually keep following the inaccurate advice, though, did she? She stuck with following her baby's cues and listening to her instincts (admittedly not while really understanding how the whole thing works, but still The Right Thing To Do).

Why not email her at the mag?

True, she did abandon that advice in the end I suppose, albeit with a decision to stop eating fatty food so that the baby wouldn't put on too much weight- surely this isn't
right?
It still came across as saying that it would have been the right thing to follow the advice (don't tell the doctor)- anyone without some knowledge about bfing might have accepted what she said.
I did consider emailing the mag but I genuinely don't knwo a great deal about bfing (excpt for how to do it!) so wouldn't know what to say other than the advice your doctor gave you stinks!
Am getting ranty now, I apologise

It won't hurt to eat fewer doughnuts, though (won't have any effect on the baby, but will be healthier for the mother). I thought it was quite a sweet article -- a mother perfectly happy with her baby, having her confidence undermined by an ill-informed medical professional but then learning to ignore the bad advice. Granted she's not a bfing expert but I think the message of "whatever the doctor said, bfing on demand was right for me and my DD" came through. Goodness knows enough Mumsnetters have been through the same thing.

I might remind her that she doesn't need to get her DD weighed at all if she's happy.

I was upset when I failed to bf my ds quite early on. He then grew really huge - I don't think he's been fat though some rude people have called him chubby - just tall and broad - he was taken for a 1 year old at 6 months and looks more like 2+ than 15 months now. But no HV or doctor ever said to me that he was too big.

Haven't read this magazine but it sounds like editor made a good decision in the end, though I wish she'd stuck to enjoying her doughnuts too. I would think it would improve bfing rates if women felt that it would give them a chance to enjoy their food more!