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.

She’s got me craving nestle chocolate now. Sure they work for nestle all this subconscious advertising 😂it’s working

Attacking you? Goodness you have thin skin. Where?

Pretty much all of page 18?

@Prochoice11 I combi fed my first and formula made him very sick. I had first hand experience of how formula doesn't solve every issue and isn't right for every baby. I EBFd my second. If anyone asked me which I preferred I'd say EBF. I wouldn't recommend it to them as they aren't me. I don't know their situation or whether it's right for them.

You're ok to do it though because it's ok as long as you're recommending formula and not breastfeeding. If you recommend someone to breastfeed you're pressurising them but if you say formula you're respecting choice. I've got it.

Advertising influences all of us. It's a billion pound industry. It works best when we don't realise it's happening.

Doesn’t everyone has their personal passion? Yours is obviously obesity and food (along with not wanting anyone to discuss MN’s bottle advertorial, for some reason), @Twizbe’s is breastfeeding. You want to talk about junk food and children, start a thread on that – this thread is about the sponsored post.

That’s great that EBF worked for you. ThTs lovely thanks for sharing x

@Lovelyveg82 you went through mumsnet to find a post of mine from 2020 to try and make out I was hiding that I'd used formula with my first child ... I mean ... that's normal behaviour right?

@Prochoice11 it's great formula feeding worked for you, thanks for sharing ... goes both ways

You're ok to do it though because it's ok as long as you're recommending formula and not breastfeeding. If you recommend someone to breastfeed you're pressurising them but if you say formula you're respecting choice.

YOU 👏🏻 ARE 👏🏻 THE 👏🏻 ONE 👏🏻 WHO 👏🏻 WANTS 👏🏻 TO 👏🏻 IMPOSE 👏🏻 RESTRICTIONS 👏🏻

How many more times? I haven’t seen a single poster who has asked for ‘pressurey breastfeeding posters to be taken down’ or ‘midwives to stop talking about breastfeeding because it makes me feel harassed’.

There is one side, one side only, that actively wants to control what other women do or read or see and that’s you Twizbe.

Breastfeeding DARVO or what!

For fucks sake 😂’Boohoo I started a thread saying I want what other women read or see restricted, and now I feel picked on because they’re disagree and are therefore undermining what I want them to do’

I mean for crying out loud!

You weren't able to interpret the advertising in the article were you

Absolutely so let’s not undermine flocks as many like me love it and found it significantly better in every way than bf. I tell people that but they may prefer bf. I can only tell from my experience. 💙

Formula not flocks:)) massage mushed my brain as well as body it seems:)

My choice for formula was solely based on my all round dreadful experience of bf for many months with first. I said never ever again and meant it. Formula was the best thing ever for me with 2nd 😀

@Prochoice11
Absolutely so let’s not undermine breastfeeding as many like me love it and found it significantly better in every way than ff. I can only tell from my experience. 💙

Well if I can’t then your average woman probably can’t so there’s no problem is there?

You could have shown me a million adverts for bf and I would have rather died than bf again. In fact a blinking bf advert keeps popping up above me here on MN 😀

@YouSoundLovely i am not disputing that at all but when a poster or thread has multiple posters who have all categorically stated that they have formula fed their children - so the ability to breastfeed those children is gone - what benefit is there to telling those mothers their children are more likely to get leukaemia and die? As that is what happened on that thread.

The only reason I can see is breastfeeding zealots somewhat sadistic need to bring down formula feeding mothers and try make them feel as bad, small and guilty as they possibly can for making a different feeding decision. And therein lies alot of the issues with these types of threads.

That’s great -we aren’t love.the name of the thread says MN is. Which they aren’t IMO. I’m not saying ‘formula is best’ like some others saying ‘breast is best’ and other nonsense. Best for you great. Not for me and millions of other parents and babies.

I didn't start the thread.

My response was to another poster who literally was telling women how to feed their baby.

But it's ok for that poster to tell women how to feed their baby because they were telling them to use formula.

Btw I've never told a woman how to feed their baby. Or said anything on here saying a woman cannot make the choice that's right for her. You like to put words into my mouth a lot.

No, you couldn't interpret it as being advertising. You're not supposed to be able to. It doesn't mean it doesn't influence your thinking.

Where are the history book recommendations by the way? I'm still interested in them

Thanks for your reports about this thread. As you can see, we've deleted a number of posts which we considered to be personal attacks. Disagreeing with someone on a thread is absolutely fine, but we ask people to do so politely.

OP, thanks for starting this thread. We're taking everyone's comments on board and have stopped the promotion of this page for now while we review the content.

I guess the end point is: if you want to whack a boob out and have a go great see how you get on. If you don’t grab any brand formula you wish. If you start bf then find it as vile as I did pop to boots and grab formula. If you start formula then fancy whacking a boob in and suddenly love it unexpectedly too-great. If you fancy a mix and match pic n mix option also great. Still craving nestle chocolate 🍫

@Prochoice11 and I'm not saying breast is best.

This thread was about mumsnet having a sponsored article that could be seen to be undermining breastfeeding. Way back at the start, once I'd read the article I said it wasn't that bad, a bit close to the wind in terms of the law.

In general terms I support the code and advertising restrictions because I've seen the evidence as to why the code is there.

On an individual level I don't care what a woman does and I won't tell her what to do.

I've said that I would like to see unbiased information on infant feeding.

Of course much advertising is subconscious but my decision 2nd time around to FF was based on my own experience for months 1St time around of BF so no adverts played a part. You could have tried paying me a million to bf and I would have said no chance 😂