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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Anyone Watching Coronation Street?

127 replies

ilovemydogandmrobama · 06/07/2009 20:40

Was it really necessary for Maria to say that she wasn't sure how much the baby was feeding and then for Audrey to say, 'ooh they say breast is best, but look at our Gail....'

OP posts:
KingRolo · 07/07/2009 09:58

We could complain to OFCOM, what they are doing (promoting formula, denigrating breastfeeding) does go against public health policy doesn't it?

Original poster
ilovemydogandmrobama · 07/07/2009 10:06

Aitch is right about the script writers being, um, less than sympathetic about b/fing, but these people have bosses, right?

Am wondering if there is anyone else on Corrie who is pregnant and could be given a b/fing story line or at least given more than 2 days to adjust to it!

OP posts:
greeneyed · 07/07/2009 10:23

anyone else notice how maria had her figure back within 1 day of giving birth

JoesMummy09 · 07/07/2009 10:28

I've complained to Ofcom and forwarded the complaint to ITV with a link to this thread.

I have never written a complaint email before so am a little but I thought it needed saying.

AitchTwoOh · 07/07/2009 10:31

right, we need to collect all our memories of weirdy corrie bfing stuff and fire them off to the exec producer and ofcom. i believe i have an email for the exec prod. cos this is ridiculous, if it's not going anywhere. (it may yet do).

i remember sean making a hideously anti-bfing speech about how violet was feeding all the time and it was separating him from his baby. (the one who she was planning to steal away from him with jamie as the daddy).

SusieDerkins · 07/07/2009 10:33

The thing that really narked me about this was it wasn't just a neutral comment about breastfeeding or formula, it was very much a pro bottle feeding/give up if you can't do it within a day situation. Grrrrr.

CookieMonster2 · 07/07/2009 10:46

Haven't seen this episode yet, rather lost the will after I saw the episode where she gave birth. Maybe I am just over cautious but when I was overdue I didn't drive miles away from home and then walk a considerable distance away from car across the beach. I would say that no one in real life gives birth that quickly either but mine was a very fast birth so I'm not so critical of that now, but no one on Corrie ever seems to have time to get to the hospital. At least it was better than the last Corrie birth that happened in the Rovers with people at the bar. The women of Corronation St must all be tough women though, none of them ever seem to need any pain relief during labour and it doesn't seem to cause them too much pain either! I'll watch this episode later and see if I can make myself more angry in the process!

PlasticQueen · 07/07/2009 10:54

Didn't EE Lisa make quite a few comments about how bf was 'great -free, easy and convenient' and how she didn't understand why everyone didn't do it as it was totally natural.

Contrasted with Natalie who was falling apart and considering giving up breastfeeding but was worried she was letting her baby down?

PrincessToadstool · 07/07/2009 11:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CherryChoc · 07/07/2009 11:08

I did find it funny that the baby had no cord and within about 10 seconds of giving birth she looked totally normal, not a bead of sweat on her brow

thegingerwhinger · 07/07/2009 11:42

I was really angry when I watched this. I know it's just a tv programme but it really got to me. It's the fact that they made the effort to make negative comments about bf when they could have just not mentioned the feeding at all. Audrey's rather random tirade was indeed unnecessary "I know they say breast is best..." and completely undermined bf.

I also remember Roxy's rant about the yummy mummies looking down on her for not bf in Eastenders. [sigh]

Bf will never be normalised in our society.

Mind you, the whole birth process is never 'normal' either. Spontaneous labour, woman always on her back which we know is the most unnatural and unproductive position to be in when giving birth. Babies born without umbilical cords. Babies disappear to a bedroom for most of their baby life without a squeak except when being bottle fed of course).

I love Coronation Street, I've watched it for about 20 years but I actually feel so strongly about this that I will stop watching it if nothing comes of that bf discussion. Because if nothing is mentioned again then that was simply just a completley unnecessary attack on bf.

KingRolo · 07/07/2009 12:38

Hurrah Joesmummy, I'm going to complain to ofcom too.

Aitch, are you going to email the exec with all the comments or shall we all email him / her?

Positive action!

JoesMummy09 · 07/07/2009 12:42

It's on ITV2 now. So will be on in an hr on ITV2 + 1

KingRolo · 07/07/2009 12:44

Link to Ofcom complaints page.

KingRolo · 07/07/2009 12:49

Email address to complain direct to Granada:

[email protected]

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 07/07/2009 12:58

Strangely enough, I was thinking of MN watching that scene.

I don't feel all that strongly either way, but even I was at the anti-BF stance in that episode.

ineedalifelaundry · 07/07/2009 13:23

Didn't see corrie but was also saddened by Roxy in EE. As I recall she said "I found breastfeeding a pain - literally" before her comments about being judged by middle class mummies. So off putting to potential breast feeders

Ileach · 07/07/2009 13:27

I think it just hit me where it hurts most because I am breastfeeding and facing the realities, and am sick to the back teeth of negattive comments!I'm not breastfeeding because health proffessionals have rammed it down my throat to boost their statistics, but because I believe it to be the most natural and pure thing that I can do for my baby, and because I can !! I feel that corrie has totally knocked this and if they werent going to support breastfeeding then Maria should have bottle fed with none of the sarcy comments scripted at all!! If i get round to it i'll complain too!! Thanks for the welcome folks

AnnieOneForTennis · 07/07/2009 14:43

I was watching it last night, and immdediately thought, upon Audrey's comment, 'uh oh, this will definitely be a MN thread'. Very negative, and I hope it will develop into something positive, but can't really see it, being Corrie.
The birth also, while 'dramatic', was completely unbelievable. And the baby was 'asleep at last' upstairs... I didn't let go of my PFB for about two weeks! Even when he was asleep!
Indeed, it should only be colostrum at this stage, the baby is only 2 days old. Just you wait, Maria, when your boobs fill up with milk...

AnnieOneForTennis · 07/07/2009 14:43

I was watching it last night, and immdediately thought, upon Audrey's comment, 'uh oh, this will definitely be a MN thread'. Very negative, and I hope it will develop into something positive, but can't really see it, being Corrie.
The birth also, while 'dramatic', was completely unbelievable. And the baby was 'asleep at last' upstairs... I didn't let go of my PFB for about two weeks! Even when he was asleep!
Indeed, it should only be colostrum at this stage, the baby is only 2 days old. Just you wait, Maria, when your boobs fill up with milk...

CookieMonster2 · 07/07/2009 15:13

OK, I've watched this episode now, and the comments made about feeding the baby did seem really weird. But then I thought maybe those scenes were more true to life than anything else in the programme. She is worried about how much milk the baby is getting. Stupid brother doesn't want to see her breast feeding, well meaning but not useful friends are encouraging her to just give the baby a bottle... Far more realistic than anything else in the programme, particularly the birth of that baby. I really had to laugh at that. I'd hate to see programmes like Corrie become a thinly disguised government information film on what we should be doing, but agree that they do need to be careful about some of the content, esp as its on at a time when children will be watching.

I'd like to see a scene where Maria's shirt is covered in milk stains from breast feeding, but she can't be arsed to change it as she is trying to minimise the amount of washing she is doing

tiktok · 07/07/2009 15:28

Corrie has a very poor record with bf - though when Judy's twins were born, probably more than 10 years ago now, she breastfed and went back to work at the pub, having expressed...and then looked down at her shirt and said 'whoops! leaking!' in a way which was very believable.

So it can be done.

I agree with CookieMonster that 'government information' has no place in a soap, but it does have an obligation to get things reasonably factually correct. Maybe this will happen with Maria - maybe we'll see the midwife explain to Maria that if she feeds and gets attachment right, things will be better (we don't need details), and that giving a bottle, while understandable, is going to increase the risks of her not breastfeeding at all. And, of course, that it doesn't matter that she doesn't know how much he's getting.

All the comments and pressures on Maria are realistic - but someone, surely, will have told her that 1-2 day old babies don't need huge vols of milk.

sweetkitty · 07/07/2009 16:48

Nevermind the breastfeeding the baby is a miracle it was born without an umbilical cord!

And what about a realistic soap birth for once, Mum going overdue, doing everything to get baby out, going in getting induced, labour taking longer than 5 mins or actually having baby in the hospital not delivered by it's fathers murderer or some other loon. Didn't Viv in Emmerdale have twins in a remote hut somewhere delivered by Paddy the vet in about 5 minutes too. What about an elective section soap babies are never born by section either are they?

Or maybe have Maria waddling about with her bra and knickers on as she is too hot, breast shells clamped to her boobs as she cannot bear anything to touch her nipples, huge sanitary pad stuck down her pants, jelly belly everywhere bursting into tears every 5 minutes.

AitchTwoOh · 07/07/2009 19:41

i'm disinclined to send anyone anything until i know what's going to happen with the plot, kingrolo, but if it all comes to naught i think we should put something together.

Rindercella · 07/07/2009 20:02

Agree with Aitch. I mean the storyline could be that Tony is sooo controlling that he undermines Maria's wishes by f/fing her son and that, coupled with the silly (and actually quite realistic) comments about b/fing that she has been getting, Maria goes against her instinct and f/f her son.

Personally I do not think that the script writers think that deeply about the pros and cons of b/fing which is why every time a soap character has a baby, b/fing is mentioned, passed off as a nusiance/weird/blah-di-blah and then if the baby ever makes another appearance (anyone seen Tanya/Max's son in EE recently?), it's got a bottle shoved in its mouth. They give breastfeeding lip service (I guess they have to by law?), but that is as far as it ever goes.

God alones what they would think of me continuing to b/feed 22 month old DD

I will send email once I have seen how the storline develop.