I'm sick of that "bf expert" on This Morning!!!!

[Dalrymps]

Did anyone just see her talking a load of rubbish?

My intention here is not to start a bf/ff argument thread.

There was a woman who had bf her baby and at one point let her friend bf her baby as she was ill. She said her reasons for this were that breast milk is the optimum food for nurishing babies and that she didn't want to support the formula industry as it has undermined bf for the last 50 years.

The bf expert said that this wasn't true and that some women just don't produce enough milk in the same way some women can't have babies. She stated ff is not the best in developing counties as they don't have clean water and sterilised bottles but here in the uk it is perfectly fine as we do have this. She said the problem was that 50% of women give up bf within 6 weeks as they don't get the correct support (ok this point is true). She then went on to say tat formula was not liquid poison as we give cows milk to our toddlers. Although she said that very small/ prem babies need breast milk.

The bf woman stated that the comment about women not producing milk was not really that relevant as in 98% of cases bf problems can be resolved so it's not like that is a widespread problem.

The bf woman told the "expert" she was sending out a very dangerous message.

Then then finished the interview before the bf woman got to correct the expert any more and went on to a phone in about whether people agree with cross feeding.

I'm getting a bit sick of this expert woman as she was on not long ago going on about the dangers of home birth and having a go at a woman who had decided to give birth alone at home without a midwife present (she did call the midwife to check the baby over once it was born). I just feel this woman is a bit ill informed and sending lots of confusing messages to mothers out there.

There, rant over, I feel so much better now

It's GMTV - switch it off. They know nothing on there!

No, it was This morning. I get your point though.

Still annoys me though cause lots of people watch it grr

Oh, sorry Dal! Similar thing as you say.

Breast feeding is a great thing, but I really hate breast feeding militants!! They actually do the cause more damage cos everyone then thinks breast-feeders are a bunch of looneys!

I breast fed for a couple of months and would do it again but I didn't ram it down other people's throats all the time.

Just read my above post, I mean I didn't ram my point of view down people's throats, not the milk you understand!!!

I actually agreed with her, I thought that what she was trying to say was the breast is best but if you cant breast feed your baby will be fine on formula in the UK. She also said women need more support in breastfeeding which is true.

Think waht expert was saying, which is a very good point, its not the end of the world if you dont bf your child.

And taht ff and cows milk is not poison.

what exactly would you want her to say? That formula is poison and that women who feed it to their babies are child abusers?

IMO she was spot on. She never said that breast wasn't the best thing for babies. But she said that formula isn't poison, which is right. And that not all women have a close friend or family to breastfeed their baby if they are unable to, and that really it's not a good idea to let just anyone breastfeed your baby as you don't know what infections they might have.

And there are people who don't produce enough milk. I didn't. I produced collostrum but never any milk, none.

OP do you think its a good idea then for women to give birth at home alone with no midwife then? I don't.
In my area the bf experts support the mothers that do wish to bf, and seek to inform and/or gently educate those that do not, so that in the future there will be more bfers. They also understand that some mothers, for whatever reasons, do not manage to fully bf and that you need to be sensitive not to heap more guilt on me them.
So they give out the message that Breast is best, but that if you need to give formula then its not poisoning your baby.
You seem to be confusing bf expert with lactivist.

Well her information about women with hiv being told not to bf wasn't correct. The latest studies show that women with hiv that bf have a lower chance of passing on hiv to their baby than if they didn't bf, so by bf them they give them a higher chance of not contracting hiv.

Her statistics weren't correct about other things either and most women CAN sucessfully bf, given the help and it should be a priority to get women that help rather than say formula can be used if they can't bf. Tell women where to get the help they need rather than suggest formula but of course if a woman still cananot bf or doesn't want to then formula is the next best thing.

I've formula fed and bf so I'm not being biased either.

Well her information about women with hiv being told not to bf wasn't correct. The latest studies show that women with hiv that bf have a lower chance of passing on hiv to their baby than if they didn't bf, so by bf them they give them a higher chance of not contracting hiv.

Her statistics weren't correct about other things either and most women CAN sucessfully bf, given the help and it should be a priority to get women that help rather than say formula can be used if they can't bf. Tell women where to get the help they need rather than suggest formula but of course if a woman still cananot bf or doesn't want to then formula is the next best thing.

I've formula fed and bf so I'm not being biased either.

I think she was trying to make a point that its actually ok to ff but the way she said it was quite bad.

I wasn't aware she was pro bf actually, i know her as GF's "aid" so in my head she is a 'bottle at 2 o clock sleep at 2:17' kind of person

she pissed me off too. It is ok to formula feed but that statement that some women can't b/f was too sweeping the percentage is about 2% of all women. Lots of women give up because the think they can't or think they aren't producing enough milk. When they can, and they can increase suply. That women will just make them think that they must one of the many women who can't bf.

also her coment about infection through cross b/f she didn't mention the bathces of formula being recalled from boots every other month.

woman and be should be there too.

i'm b/f ds and one handed typing. And typing isn't my strongest point at the best of times.

I probably didn't make my point very well. I am not someone who believes formula is the work of the devil, in fact anyone that knows me on here will know I only managed to bf my ds for 5 weeks and then he was mix fed til 5 months, he is now totally formula fed. I know it isn't poison.

I suppose my main problem was that the bfing woman was trying to get the point across that formula manufacturers undermine breastfeeding women and the epert said this wasn't true. I feel it is true. I think it is especially dangerous that they promote formula in developing countries regardless of the fact that it is not always a safe option with regards to sterile equipment etc. I also feel that society has to some extent been brainwashed to believe that the 'norm' is to bottle feed, as in, we see a lot more images in every day life of bottle feeding than breasfeeding.

I also feel she was a bit quick to say, if you can't bf just ff as there isn't enough support for you. I feel she sould have said that there is support but you have to reach out for it and keep asking for it until you get good enough help.

I agree with mumofmonsters, it was the way she said it.

Yes, I know. Good on them

I don't see how they can possibly know that only 2% of women are physically unable to breastfeed.

Surely they could only know that if women who give up bf because they say they can't are then extensively tested for physiological reasons as to their inability to bf?

Let's face it, most women who give up bf don't then go and demand answers. They go and buy bottles and lots of them then beat themselves up over that decision.

I would put money on the percentage being higher than that. But that the means just aren't there to get an accurate figure on it.

I see your point wannaBe, fair enough, the figure is probably more.

I just feel she should have been promoting the help that is out there and maybe given info on who you can contact if you're having difficulty.

I did beat myself up a lot over my decision to stop bfing but in the end it wasn't really up to me. I had been advised to give formula too much and ds prefered the ease of ff to bf, he refused to feed from me at all in the end.

I feel I should have had more help in the first few days. Instead, a midwife shove my nip in his mouth and he sucked a blister on it cause he wasn't latched on properly, it was downhill from there.

I know it is an emotive subject, I don't mean to upset anyone. I just think it's a shame that bfing is not seen as the norm by some people considering all the health benefits it has. I do appreciate however that this is my oppinion and other people don't have to agree with me.