Mumsnet undermining breastfeeding again.

[Redebs]

Just read the Mumsnet article on caring for newborn babies. It's sponsored by a bottle manufacturer.

Much of it is misinformation that will seriously interfere with mothers' success with breastfeeding. For example trying to get a feeding routine for a two month old baby. This is totally against normal practice for on demand breastfeeding.

Anyone aiming for regular naps will be seriously frustrated and will think there is something wrong with them and their baby. Night feeding is treated as if it's a massive burden that should be shared by using a bottle.The massively negative impact of inaccurate information and expectations is aimed at discouraging breastfeeding.

There's a 'helpful' link to another article on 'combination feeding' aka introducing formula, along with references to a whole lot of bottle feeding products you should buy.

The WHO condemns companies that use misinformation and pressure on mothers not to breastfeed. While it may be subtly disguised, that is exactly what articles like this are doing.

And for money.

Always the “my breastfeeding journey was hard” as if they’re just such martyrs to persevere. I went straight to formula with my second- making your baby hungry and everyone miserable benefits no one.

So if if wasn’t easy for you, how come you don’t appear to get why lots of other women find it difficult, or prefer to formula feed?

I completely get why lots of women find it difficult! That's why there should be better support and the last thing needed is insidious formula advertising which was the original point of this thread.

People who write posts like these clearly get off on making moral judgements of others and feeling all smug and superior that they’re ‘better’. Perhaps it’s a symptom of low self-esteem.

But some women don’t want to for a million reasons. And that’s ok guys. And so the adverts relevant to them. It wasn’t intended for you lot anyway-wrong audience-so ignore it:)

And how do you think that shaming other women will help with your aim?

How did we feed babies before FF?
we didn’t, babies died.

how did we deliver babies before c sections? We didn’t, babies and mothers died.

I would not have survived both of my pregnancies. My first was in special care and my second was born with a knot on the cord.

i know what I prefer - 21st century with choice.

I have exact same story and both my teenagers are great although ironically the bf one has awful immunity, loads of allergies and academically struggles. Formula only one us flying on all counts. Thank god I saw that insidious advert for SMA formula 15 years ago 😂

And how much ‘support’ do you think there can be that prevents mastitis? Have you had it? It’s excruciating. And breastfeeding can be incredibly painful without that. Not to mention restrictive and inconvenient.

It’s ok for women to want to not be in agony multiple times a day. It’s ok for women to choose an option that ensures their mental health.

If women have already decided not to BF, why do they need an advert for formula?

Good luck OP, but don't get your hopes up. Mumsnet is staunchly anti-breastfeeding as I'm sure you've figured out by now. Formula is the sacred cow of infant feeding on here.

Me too!

I love formula and C sections and medication, as much as I love central heating and clean water. Thank God we live in the 21st century, with all the benefits that brings. We’re so incredibly lucky to have a safe food for infants that provides the nutrition they need if their mothers can’t bf or prefer not to.

What has anyone said that is ‘anti’? Quote?

To decide which one to buy..?

i’m not anti breastfeeding. I’m more than happy that those who want to do it are helped to do so as much as possible.

I just don’t want formula to be demonised, or mothers who use it to be patronised and shamed.

we are spoilt for choice the ads help us decide. You’ve only got 2 boobs

Me too!!! I assumed they all had100% natural births with zero pain relief or intervention and would have been happy to bleed to death like so many women in the good old pre formula days though. Get on the cow and gate guys dabble in the dark side you know you want to if only your nursery kids would accept the dreaded silicone teat

A lot of women I know only wanted to breastfeed for the first few weeks, as they knew the colostrum was the most beneficial part and wanted the baby to have that, but didn’t want to do longer term breastfeeding for one reason or another.

In other cases mum may have a ‘preference’ for breastfeeding but not a strong one, and stop when she decides she’s had enough.

It’s not always a case of ‘80% start off breastfeeding so if they’re not still doing it 6 months later something has gone wrong’.

Many women are happy to try it but simply don’t feel strongly enough about it to keep going if it no longer works for them 🤷🏼‍♀️

Exactly! You’re being questioned like this is a thread you started titled ‘Breastfeeding is worse than formula, here’s why’.

When actually it’s the opposite - a breastfeeding mum interfering in the safe and valid choices of other people and offering unsolicited ‘advice’, before accusing them of being ‘anti-breastfeeding’ just because they don’t want to be lectured or controlled. It’s madness!

That was classic DARVO, accusing others of being ‘angry’. Projection, much?!

Then the other poster sneering about only 5% of women not being able to breastfeed and if anyone dares not to, it must be because they’re either too thick to withstand the wiles of the evil advertisers, or they just haven’t had enough ‘support’ to make the approved, correct choice.

Who then turns out to have apparently found it really difficult to bf herself, while somehow coming out of that experience devoid of empathy for anyonr in a similar boat. Unless it’s a case of ‘I suffered, so I think you should too’.

There’s something about bf that brings out in some a need to judge and attempt to control other women like nothing else.

Agree with this. No reason to assume all of that 80% want to carry on to 6 months or beyond.

There’s something about bf that brings out in some a need to judge and attempt to control other women like nothing else.

Like I said my personal theory is that they spent years exhausted and pursuing their ‘breastfeeding journey’ at all costs, and are a bit riled that these magical properties haven’t turned up - their child is basically the same as anyone else’s. So to make themselves feel better they take to the Internet to make sly attacks on formula feeding mums. Nobody wants to go through that much effort to find out it hasn’t had much more of an effect than something you can buy at Tesco. Still, not my problem.

You're not spoilt for choice, they're all the same. The law dictates their composition has to be identical.

Have you read the thread?! The vitriol in the past couple of pages against BF is astonishing.

She’s in her knees with exhaustion according to another thread so we should cut her some slack.

why so tired? Because neither she nor her three year old have slept for more than 2 hours at a time since birth because up breastfeeding throughout the night