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Original poster

Bloody DM misreports baby's death

42 replies

laumiere · 10/02/2009 22:28

"From the Daily Mail todaywww.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1140366/The-perfect-baby-died-days-born---poisoned-mothers-milk.h tml". It was linked under "The perfect baby who died five days after she was born - poisoned by her mother's milk".

The report suggests that the poor baby died BECAUSE she was BFed, not because any protein - including formula or soya - would have killed her. Some of the comments have got me really , even when the baby's mum comments explaining formula would have the same effect.....

OP posts:
Ewe · 10/02/2009 22:29

I picked up a paper on the train today and saw this article. Piss poor reporting as ever, I hate the DM.

christywhisty · 10/02/2009 22:49

It is clear in the article that it was a problem with protein that killed the baby, you are just nitpicking because it's the dm.

scrooged · 10/02/2009 22:51

I disagree christy. The title of the article is very suggestive that the mother's milk was to blame. Very sad for the family, an insensitive article IMO.

Original poster
laumiere · 10/02/2009 23:04

christy

Unfortunately if you have a look at the comments, several people have also misunderstood and thought that BF was to blame, so I would argue that it was at the very least badly reported.

OP posts:
scrooged · 10/02/2009 23:05

It's the title that's suggestive. Very bad IMO.

NinkySWALK · 11/02/2009 08:58

From the comments:

"When will women stop thinking that breast milk is the best? it is such a misconception! everithing you eat and drink goes into your milk and it is not always good! Best is to have formula milk, at least you kow exactly what your baby will be drinking!"

HeadFairy · 11/02/2009 09:01

Why don't you write to the editor and complain? I agree it's very misleading, esp if you aren't that clued up about bfing.

BarbaraWoodlouse · 11/02/2009 09:17

I saw this too (followed another MN link to the DM site - I don't read it regularly!). I knew there would be a thread on this - and quite right too.

I don't understand how anyone can justify the big picture of a breastfeeding mother ("posed by models"). What was the purpose of that if not to play up the sensationalist breastfeeding part of the story.

A very sad story

PuzzleRocks · 11/02/2009 09:38

Headfairy, I plan to do so.

ByThePowerOfGreyskull · 11/02/2009 09:43

I didn't read the content when I saw it in the paper but have assumed that the mother had poisoned the baby by breastfeeding.

Suggesting that other mothers could be poisoning their children by breastfeeding?

Still haven't read the detail purposefully to let you know what the headline suggests to me.

Original poster
laumiere · 11/02/2009 09:59

I was also annoyed at the way they phrased the actual illness. From my reading the point of the article was that the baby's condition would have been noticed in the US but not in the UK because we don't test for it. The parents have set up a foundation to raise awareness of the condition, and this should have been the point of the article, rather than bashing the NHS (yet again) for a US-based healthcare system that not everyone can afford.

The article also didn't make clear that the baby suffered a very severe form of the condition until very late in the article, and as an expectant mum I would have felt quite anxious (if I wasn't such a critical cow).

Have complained to the DM already, we'll see if anything comes of it.

OP posts:
PuzzleRocks · 11/02/2009 10:10

Right, have just fired off an email to the Editor. Let's see if I get a response.

solidgoldbullet4myvalentine · 11/02/2009 10:15

That is an outrageous piece of reporting. ALl the implications are that breastmilk killed the baby - even when you read the piece fairly carefully, it takes a while to grasp that the poor little sod died of a rare genetic complication and the only thing that would have saved it was a fast diagnosis - it wasn;t even really the hospital's fault or lack of funding. THe baby had a severe form of a rare condition, this sort of thing sadly often leads to deaths that could have been avoided but no one spotted what was wrong in time.
But it's really just a woman-bashing piece, isn;t it? Im;lications that she was bad for breast feeding, that she was bad for having had a career.. oh and some photos of tits as well.

TotalChaos · 11/02/2009 10:19

what a tragic case. I agree with solidgold and others - the article does not make it sufficiently clear that formula would have made no difference to the outcome.

thisisyesterday · 11/02/2009 10:26

omg that is an horrific piece of reporting. how awful.

thisisyesterday · 11/02/2009 10:28

it does not say anywhere that anything she had been fed would have led to the same outcome.
just goes on about how "poisonous" the breastmilk was.

there was nothing wrong witht he breastmilk at all! totally irrelevant to the story IMO

Frasersmum123 · 11/02/2009 12:59

Its a horribly sad story which is being cynically used to inflame the old Breast vs Bottle debate.

Shame on the DM

helenhismadexwife · 11/02/2009 20:36

a trashy paper sensationalising a tragic story very irresponsible and totally misleading

thisisyesterday · 11/02/2009 20:39

puzzlerocks, you heard anything from them??

i have just e-mailed the editor too

madlentileater · 11/02/2009 20:41

more evidence for the 'first up against the wall when the revolution comes' file

Hulababy · 11/02/2009 20:44

I think the headline is inaccurate and sending out the wrong message altogether.

However I think the article itself does make it clear that the mother's milk was not the cause of the problem at all.

I don't nderstand why there was a need to have a picture of the breastfeeding baby in this articlem as really that aspect of the story is rather irrelevant.

tumtumtetum · 11/02/2009 20:54

If anyone hears back I would be interested to hear the response, but I somehow doubt you'll get one

To scream that breastmilk kills babies from a huge national newspaper is so wrong. Especially when that was not even what the story was.

PuzzleRocks · 11/02/2009 21:52

No word yet, i'm not getting my hopes up TBH.

HecateQueenOfGhosts · 11/02/2009 21:57

I don't get it? The article is crystal clear that "Ava's tiny body was unable to cope with any protein and even her own mother's milk was highly poisonous"

I didn't see anything anti breastfeeding in that article at all. It was reporting on the condition.

And normally I'm the first person to bash the DM!

PuzzleRocks · 03/03/2009 12:45

Their response to my email, 3 weeks later. Pretty much as I expected.

Thank you for email to the Editor. It has been passed to me as GoodHealth editor. Rachel Ellis, of course, did not write the headline. On your general point I am afraid I disagree that her piece wasirresponsible. It was a balanced piece of reporting aboutthis family's experience and was published to help the family raisemoney for an important piece of life-saving equipment. Anyone who read the article carefully, as you did, will have realised that protein from any source would have had the same effect. Unfortunately some people will read into articles what they want,whether we're reporting on breastfeeding or any other subject, no matterhow clearly written and balanced a piece is. As someone who breastfed her own children I do understand your concernsabout our lamentable breastfeeding rates; however, the agenda readersbring to their reading of an article is beyond our control. Yours sincerely, Justine Hancock, EditorGood Health, Daily Mail

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