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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Is there a thread about Eastenders having a prem baby and not mentioning BFing?

40 replies

Neenztwinz · 21/11/2008 19:39

This has got me really mad, although I have missed an episode so perhaps they have mentioned it, but Roxy has had a baby at 33 weeks, she is in SCBU but there has been no mention of BFing. No mention of how important breast milk would be for the baby.

Is there a thread already about this?

OP posts:
scorpio1 · 21/11/2008 19:40

They did mention expressing

She didn't say she would or see any expressing though.

misdee · 21/11/2008 19:41

she is expressing. dh watching yesterdays episode and she just said 'i feel like a cow' in ref to expressing.

AnarchyAunt · 21/11/2008 19:43

Why am I not surprised?

There was a big fuss on here a while back when they had the SMA logo on prominent display in Tanya's kitchen, with Sean doing his share of the feeding of teeny Oscar.

AnarchyAunt · 21/11/2008 19:44

X-posts with misdee.

Well thats something I suppose, they could be more positive though

bristols · 21/11/2008 19:44

She is expressing and I was quite impressed that they mentioned it!

Tinkerisdead · 21/11/2008 19:46

and the midwife said, can i ask about expressing, your milk really is the best thing for your baby to digest.

Original poster
Neenztwinz · 21/11/2008 19:48

Oh that's good. I was going to complain! The more it is spoken about and seen on tv etc the better.

Tanya had her baby and then it was as if nothing had happened, she just got on with her life. She was out christmas shopping the next day .

The labour scene was ridiculous (but why did I expect anything else?). The midwife gave her no reassurance and Roxy shouted at her 'having a good rummage down there are you?' Why can't they just ask a labour ward what would happen and try at least to make it a little bit true to life?

OP posts:
Tinkerisdead · 21/11/2008 19:54

im overdue and i had to explain to DH that the midwife doesnt peek under a blanket and say "you're 10cms" and that a baby does actually require pushing out, you cant talk to your sister about a night in a club and push!!!

mamadiva · 21/11/2008 19:57

Roxy has twins in RL so youd think shed know what labour was like unless CS.

I shouted similair at Doctor who was examining me whilst telling me DS heart kept slowing down on contractions and would need an ECS, I shouted

'Well stop pulling at my fanny and get the baby out then'

LMFAO very embarressed and took LO up a few weeks later to apologise and give them a better gift as gave them a box of chocolates when was skint.

mawbroon · 21/11/2008 20:15

Yes, the nurse did mention to her that she might like to express some milk.

She'd have a bit of a job though eh? Her milk can't be in already!

They probably thought that nobody would know what colostrum was. (If they thought about it at all of course!)

kathryn2804 · 21/11/2008 21:31

Eastenders is notoriously bad for breastfeeding. The only time anyone has actually been shown as doing it was when Honey had her second baby, in time for National Breastfeeding Week (!) and Ian Beale got all aireated about her doing it in public. Since then...nothing. It would be a great storyline for Roxy to breastfeed. It's so important for prem babies.

IlanaK · 21/11/2008 21:40

And why is there no beeping in the room the baby is in? She is hooked up to all sorts of monitors. When my baby was in SCBU, you could barely hear yourself over the beeping. And how is this baby in a room on her own? And there are regularyly no nurses in there - this would never happen as there would always be someone in there checking the monitors. And how is Roxy in a room on her own?

Naive · 21/11/2008 21:55

Neither did the mention the state of her nether regions and she happened to stand up and walk off straight after having a baby and didn't even waddle. It doesn't really matter does it?

They don't have some obligation to say something everyone knows anyway.

Some people can get a little too caught up in the BFing thing and let it rule their whole life.

(grabs and angry bf'er and uses her as a human shield against the egging that is about to come this way)

babygrosandgros · 21/11/2008 22:00

The birth scene was a joke .. have they no female writers who given birth?

mamadiva · 21/11/2008 22:10

Agree with Naive.

Although I have to say my mum had twins naturally after 3 hours of labour and phoned me 20 minutes later to tell me, she was outside having a fag, and sounded bloody fine I thought she was kidding!

So kind of believe the getting up thing.

Alishanty · 21/11/2008 22:22

Thought it was good they mentioned expressing but I bet the time the baby comes home she is on bottles like every other baby in eastenders (apart from honey's).

Naive · 22/11/2008 11:34

A lot of people bottle feed. I can't imagine if Roxy was a real person she'd BF so it'd be quite unrealistic if she did just to keep people quiet.

babygrosandgros · 22/11/2008 12:10

Agree with Naive actually.

Roxy the chartacter likes a drink so cant imagine her abstianing any longer than is absolulty neccessary

tittybangbang · 22/11/2008 13:24

Except Naive that soaps like Easties have a public education remit. You'd be appalled if they covered - say - a Down's story line and allowed character's misconceptions about this condition to go unchallenged or uncommented on.

Or if they routiney showed adults smoking around babies as if this was normal and not worthy of being remarked on.

Or if every pregnant character who gave birth on the programme had a c-section and comments were constantly being dropped about how dangerous/unpleasant vaginal birth was.

As for stereotying Roxy as a non-bf.... I live in a rough inner city area which has an 85% bf rate. I know attractive young women like Roxy who breastfeed. Women will do all they can for their babies if someone explains how important it is.

babygrosandgros · 22/11/2008 13:52

Neither me nor Niave stereo typed Roxy by class titty.
We merely said the personality that has been created by the writers for Roxy, is one that would be unlikely to breastfeed.

Claire236 · 22/11/2008 14:34

I think it would be great if Roxy breastfed without it being an issue. I know a few total party girls who bf because they knew it was the best thing & were quite happy to give up their previous heavy drinking ways. Peoples priorities change when they have a baby so I don't think Roxy deciding to bf would be out of character at all. If soaps showed breastfeeding as the totally natural thing it is it would send out a really positive message. I agree the labout scene was awful & having had a baby who was in SCBU myself I also wondered about the lack of beeping. I used to hear the beeping in my sleep.

AnarchyAunt · 22/11/2008 20:38

BF needs normalising.

That is, showing as part of everyday life in soaps (specially those funded by the license payer that do take on a public education role on some issues).

TinkerBellesMum · 22/11/2008 20:53

Why wouldn't she have anything to express? My daughter was born at 31 weeks and I was expressing for her very soon after her birth. I didn't think it was much and it wasn't as much as she was having but it was the right amount (teaspoons at a time).

Why should Roxie abstain if she breastfeeds? The blood or milk of someone who is over the drink drive limit has the same %age as orange juice. As long as she's not getting comatose on a regular basis, in which case she's not capable of looking after her child anyway, abstinence isn't necessary. Why can't EE write that in?

There's lots of things that aren't quite in the character of a particular character but they can't keep it real all the time. Can you imagine a real Sean without swearing?

LentilMoussaka · 22/11/2008 22:56

When I still bothered to watch EE I used to occasionally notice how many episodes passed between each of Oscar's feeds. A newborn baby that only needs feeding twice a week? And only cries once a month?

Also both Dawn and Roxy drank heavily in early pregnancy but have had no problems with feotal alcohol syndrome. Worrying that the not so bright might consider this normal behaviour...

TinkerBellesMum · 22/11/2008 23:16

I forgot to say, someone said something about her feeling like a cow (going to have to catch the omnibus) in the NNU we often joked about feeling like cows. Four or five women sitting in a row all attached to a pump, it was like being in a modern milking shed! We'd look up and down the row and fall about laughing. When you're there you laugh and make jokes about anything because it's better than the alternative.