"Please breastfeed"

[hunkermunker]

I saw the slogan "Please give blood" today on one of their vehicles and it set me thinking - we all know "breast is best" is trite and unhelpful - but what would be a good message?

I like "Every breastfeed makes a difference" - but would the give blood phrase work for this?

The problem with these slogans is that implying that the alternative to bf is bad just doesn't fit with what most people think. Most parents are entirely comfortable with the idea of ff, as they should be.
The problem is that not enough people are comfortable with the idea of bf, it certainly wont get there through preaching.
Imo what you want is to make people engage with the idea in their own minds, if posters are necessary then make the image the thing that people notice. A really good, clear, engaging

elkie, you're right in that there are plenty of women who want to breastfeed but struggle, and posters aren't going to change their outcomes - only effective support will do that. But there are plenty of people who equate baby feeding with a bottle, and just bringing breastfeeding into their awareness and getting rid of some myths may be a good thing. They may be pregnant, but i think it's more likely they'll be pre-DCs (so never thought about infant feeding) or even a partner or family member whose support for breastfeeding could be crucial.

(Cont) images of women happily, unapologetically bf.
I hate that in our society, for anything to catch on in the general psyche it has to be presented as the glamorous/ sexy choice, hate it, i really do BUT ad agencies know what works. The image of bf needs to be changed, it needs to look absolutely unashamed and
We have to start trying to appeal to the next generation before they're anywhere near having children. Lots of images of young, happy, attractive women looking proud and entirely comfortable to..

But surely the people to target is the people who aren't considering breastfeeding - usually because they are way off having children? To normalise it so they realise it is an option and to explode some of the myths before they become exposed to them in the first place.
riven, I understand why they would make you feel bad, but you were already aware of the facts and (I'm assuming here) had planned to breastfeed. The posters weren't aimed at you. All they're trying to do is get people to consider it, and to try it unless circumstances do make it impossible, as in your case.

But support will only improve (and it does need to , I totally agree) if there's funding. The funding will only come if bf is seen as important enough to throw money at it. That is more likely to happen if the average voter understands that it is important, rather than something done by sandal wearing hippies.

Posters are only part of the issue. Seeing people bf, even in pictures, is important and it helps normalise it...this is a challenge to the culture.

Riven, it is understandable that posters showing something you cannot hope to do is saddening for you

But pictures of mothers and fathers and babies and children will always depict something someone is not able to. Do we ban pictures of children running and walking 'cos some kids have to use wheelchairs?

tiktok, I don't think Riven is arguing against using posters, I read her posts as another angle on putting money into real support not posters which often adorn the walls of the very parts of the hospital where women are struggling to find help.

Actually, I think posters with nice pictures of mums breastfeeding are lovely and I liked seeing them even when they made me really sad because I didn't bf ds1. It's supposedly catchy but actually rather glib slogans I have an issue with.

i don';t think a slogan that will encourage people to breastfeed is to be discounted as it may upset people who weren';t able to breastfeed. that is just ridiculous. should we not have green cross code posters incase they upset people who got run over?! i;m someone who couldnt breastfeed for as long as i wanted to and all i would like to see is more people breastfeeding, not less so that they don't offend me!

also i don't think people should be comfortable ff unless they have tried bf first or there is a reason they cannot do it, other than that they chose not to. its not ok to ff you're child when you can bf them. it is obv perfectly ok to ff your child (as I did) when you can't bf, but lots of peopl, partic teen mums don't bf as they are jus comfortable with the idea, i think they shouldm for want of better turn of phrase 'man up'

how about let people make their own choices

yes of course. i chose to dangle my newborn out the window and feed them on chips and curry from birth. And coke.

agree support defo needs to improve. the bf support in my three series of antenatal appointments amounted to a form i had to fill in saying if i would bf or not. that was it. if i said 'no' - as i tried with 3rd kid to see what they;d say, they just ticked 'no' on the form and we moved on to taking my blood pressure!

somewhere along the way people have forgotten that their tits are there for feeding babies with (and I say this as someone who has bottle fed, mix fed and breastfed a child until their first birthday) so I am not sure a slogan will help

PSCMUM - telling people what they 'should' do has no place when it comes to infant feeding!

People need information - whatever they are inclined to do, breast or formula, they need to know the implications of that choice, and the longer-term effects of that choice. It's exactly like choices in birth - if you want a home birth, or a section, you need the chance to talk about it first and become informed.

But judgements about what people 'should' do are misplaced.

Nicely put tiktok

Fio is right but I think posters help- I remember there being a beautiful one at work and t helped me keep going if not start it up.

Angelene that info for the Valleys is sad (Also S Wales), been wondering about training as a BFC< maybe I should after all.

PSC, re comment about teen mums should be told to "man up", I don't think stereotyping any mum on grounds of her age or anything else is helpful in this debate (ref comment about teen mums). I suspect teen mums suffer even more than many others from the lack of support and confidence to make real choices about feeding. I know young mums who've bf longer term, ones who've tried as hard as I did first time round, and older formula feeders.

I think peer and people pressure works better than anything else, like with most things

the breastfeeding leaflets in our Gps look quite nice btw. DD liked them anyway

Elenor-

you're right you know,people do need to make thir own choices.But you see that's why posters etc are important. Formula companies are very clever at subtley 'informing' us of their products; MIL's and a whole host of other people are pretty good at that too, often with good intention (My Mum was genuinely told by a MW that a baby neeidng mroe than 4 hourly feeds is suffering, why wouldn't she be concerned)? So fotr a woman to be able to make a choice that is onformed the info ahs to reach her.

Which is why I don't like the Please Breastfeed slogan, but think a calandar with lovely happy BF pics and a 'congratulations! You have.....' for ecvery week should be provided in Bounty packs, ut they won't onb, as Bounty packs seem to be mroe sponsored by Hipp etc (judging by what was in my 4)

also in bounty and things they only give breastfeeding advice up until certain points (like 1 month )

I think the HVs need a kick up the arse though. Ours did more to discourage than encourage. they are obsessed with their charts and their answer to EVERYTHING is 'give them a bottle'

Yep, ours was crap, told me that I couldnt bf coz I ddnt drink milk (clearly had been reading book of bf cliches LOL).

I say LOL, another Mum would have panicked, only coz I had some knowledge / MN I didn't tbh.