New Government sponsored commericals regarding feeding babies

[DisneyPhD]

I don't think anyone on this thread is offended by ads that encourage breastfeeding. What IS offensive is ads that liken formula feeding to something dangerous like riding a mechanical bull......

My opinion about what the adds are about is shock value. No you wouldn't dream of doing something that MIGHT harm the baby so why do so many women go right to bottle feeding with out considering, learning about and trying breastfeeding? I think they are trying to get women to stop and think about it. Like the adds that have kids talking about how much and when they smoke. It sounds crazy, but it makes people who do smoke around kids stop and think about it.

Not that bottle feeding is the same as smoking. I think a better comparison might be pacifier use. I have an almost 2 year old that wants her darn pacifier all the time. She calls it "up high" because we keep it up high. I let her have it because we are currently going though a long weaning process from nursing. Is it the best thing for my child? No it isn't. It could harm her teeth, it can affect her language skills and development. Do many kids have pacifiers past the 1st year of life and end up with no lasting damage from them. Yes (my older DD included in this.) Am I taking a risk with my DD? Yes I am. Do I feel guilty about it? Not really, but it is a choice I made and I will have to live with the consequences of it (and that might mean thousands on braces, but then again many kids need them that didn't use a pacifier...........) I am comfortable with it right now, I may regret in the future.

The same goes for bottle feeding. When a mother choices formula over breast feeding with out trying to bf, for the supposed convince of being able to sleep better at night and share feedings with the father, is she taking a risk? Yes she is. It is one that many women do take, and often the results are fine, but it could be the results would of been even better if they did breast feed. We will never know.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I know I'm going to get flack for this and this is taking the post way off topic but...

so is urinating and having sex... just because it's natural doesn't mean it should be done in public. Now, I will also say that I have no problem if it is done discreetly (as your sister seems to have done).

P.S. Sajetto - I really like your and your posts and hope you don't take this personally

So formula feeding cannot be related to riding a mechanical bull or cigarette smoking--but you think you can get away with relating it to peeing, pooping and sex.

Please!

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

They want to stimulate women to bf? Great. But don't put guilt on all the mothers that choose not to.

TY. My feelings exactly.

New mothers have enough problems as it is without b00bie bullies getting on their case about whether or not they are BFing their kid.

The sad thing is, that no matter how the tide rolls, there will always be something that new moms will do wrong. It could be that they don't AP, get their sons circumsized, choose to vaccinate their kids (OMG..the horrors! EEE! Vaccinations make kids ********! ), use disposables, publicschool them, spank, not spank, eat non-organic food, whatever. Even if there wasn't a breast vs formula debate, they'd find something else to fight about. Sheesh.



TOV

 

[disykat]

I think it really must be a regional thing. I honestly only know one mom under 50 who CHOSE not to breastfeed - and that was a mom who had breastfed #1-#3, but chose not to breastfeed #4 due to exhaustion.

When I was breastfeeding, I only ran into one person - my elderly neighbor from the South - who showed any negativity about breastfeeding.

Again, no one here has said breastfeeding shouldn't be advertised. Only that accusing women who don't of abuse is not a productive way to do so.

 

[jodifla]

My opinion about what the adds are about is shock value. No you wouldn't dream of doing something that MIGHT harm the baby so why do so many women go right to bottle feeding with out considering, learning about and trying breastfeeding? I think they are trying to get women to stop and think about it. Like the adds that have kids talking about how much and when they smoke. It sounds crazy, but it makes people who do smoke around kids stop and think about it.

Not that bottle feeding is the same as smoking. I think a better comparison might be pacifier use. I have an almost 2 year old that wants her darn pacifier all the time. She calls it "up high" because we keep it up high. I let her have it because we are currently going though a long weaning process from nursing. Is it the best thing for my child? No it isn't. It could harm her teeth, it can affect her language skills and development. Do many kids have pacifiers past the 1st year of life and end up with no lasting damage from them. Yes (my older DD included in this.) Am I taking a risk with my DD? Yes I am. Do I feel guilty about it? Not really, but it is a choice I made and I will have to live with the consequences of it (and that might mean thousands on braces, but then again many kids need them that didn't use a pacifier...........) I am comfortable with it right now, I may regret in the future.

The same goes for bottle feeding. When a mother choices formula over breast feeding with out trying to bf, for the supposed convince of being able to sleep better at night and share feedings with the father, is she taking a risk? Yes she is. It is one that many women do take, and often the results are fine, but it could be the results would of been even better if they did breast feed. We will never know.

I think the ads and the ad campaign are abhorrent. Women have enough guilt heaped upon them for every choice they make without adding this to the mix.

Certainly any woman of any means has read the endless literature about how "breast is best."

And I'd dispute the 5 percent figure....I think it's a lot higher than that. When breastfeeding was going so horribly for me, even after consultations with the person in our area absoutely renowned for breastfeeding help, lots of my friends confessed they didn't really enjoy it and/or it didn't go well for them, and/or they hated the pressure they felt from having to do it. This just makes it worse.

And it's not a "supposed convenience" of more rest...it's real. One of my friends gave up breastfeeding at four months after her doctor ordered her to, because she was so tired she was walking into walls! (You have to ask yourself: How safe is it to leave two kids with a mom who is so exhausting she's walking into walls?)

One of the HAPPIEST days of my life's (and Ds's) was the day I decided to give up breastfeeding, in spite of the fact it wasn't the politically correct thing to do.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

Again, no one here has said breastfeeding shouldn't be advertised. Only that accusing women who don't of abuse is not a productive way to do so.

Did I miss something in this thread? I saw no one accuse anyone else of abuse. If someone did, I apologize for missing the comment, but based on what I've read here, I think some people need to take a step back and realize that this is not personal. Saying that someone is taking risks by formula feeding, is not the same as accusing them of abuse. The closest comment I saw compared risks of ff to risks of not using a car seat and subjecting babies to second hand smoke. If that's abusive, call CPS on most parents of baby boomers!

Several here say that ads explaining the benefits of bf are OK, but not those that state the risks of ff. It's the same thing though, only the feeding method used as the standard has changed. "Benefits of breastfeeding" makes it sound like ff is the norm and women who bf are giving their babies some sort of special added benefits.

But humans were intended to supply their babies with human milk, and if that is used as the norm, the words used to compare the two have to change. The switch in advertising and medical literature from saying "breast is best", to "ff is risky" is not meant to make ff moms feel bad, it's meant to change the public perception of the standard feeding method from ff to bf, which IMO is a good thing.

Same with the ads. They aren't meant to make ff moms feel guilty. They are not targeted to women who are already formula feeding or formula fed their kids 5 or 10 years ago. That would be a complete waste of money! Bf ads, info packets, etc, are targeting only those women who have the option of bf in the future, with the intent of persuading women to give their child what is usually the best possible nutrition.

I'm truly sorry that any of you have experienced "b00bie bullies" ( at that one!) that tried to make you feel bad about your decision. But please don't lump us all in that group when we are merely trying to educate.

 

[binny]

exactly Jodi,


btw I think this is the first time we've agreed on something. Cheers

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The only problem with saying that most of the people you know either do this or that--we tend to hang out with people like minded as ourselves. And Jodi since you are very up on women's issues--I would suspect your friends are as well. And typically feminists would rather promote feeding as a women's choice as opposed to what is best for baby. Just an observation on my part. I could be very very wrong--I am just not surprised that you are able to say that most of your friends didn't like it.

I can say i have lots of friends who did enjoying nursing their babies. And for you that probably would not be a surprise either.


BF is not politically correct--if it were people wouldn't get upset with BF ads and noone is harping the political correctness of it.

In fact the discouragement of welfare recipients from buying formula as the motive was the most talked about here.

 

[jodifla]

The only problem with saying that most of the people you know either do this or that--we tend to hang out with people like minded as ourselves. And Jodi since you are very up on women's issues--I would suspect your friends are as well. And typically feminists would rather promote feeding as a women's choice as opposed to what is best for baby. Just an observation on my part. I could be very very wrong--I am just not surprised that you are able to say that most of your friends didn't like it.

I can say i have lots of friends who did enjoying nursing their babies. And for you that probably would not be a surprise either.


BF is not politically correct--if it were people wouldn't get upset with BF ads and noone is harping the political correctness of it.

In fact the discouragement of welfare recipients from buying formula as the motive was the most talked about here.

Feminists are certainly all about choices. That being said, almost all my friends worked hard to breastfeed so their children could reap the benefits.

But I think it's totally overblown to associate FF with "risk taking." To me, risk taking is slowly starving your infant to death in a misguided attempt to keep breast-feeding, which is what I would have done if I'd listened to some of the ****ie bullies (love that phrase!) who harped at me that I wasn't trying hard enough.

I know lots of women who did enjoy breast feeding. But it was only when I had struggled through it, and women knew they had someone who wouldn't judge them, that they started confessing their TRUE thoughts about breast feeding to me.

It wouldn't surprise me if people close to you didn't confess their true feelings on the subject.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Certainly any woman of any means has read the endless literature about how "breast is best."

And I'd dispute the 5 percent figure....I think it's a lot higher than that. When breastfeeding was going so horribly for me, even after consultations with the person in our area absolutely renowned for breastfeeding help, lots of my friends confessed they didn't really enjoy it and/or it didn't go well for them, and/or they hated the pressure they felt from having to do it. This just makes it worse.

And it's not a "supposed convenience" of more rest...it's real. One of my friends gave up breastfeeding at four months after her doctor ordered her to, because she was so tired she was walking into walls! (You have to ask yourself: How safe is it to leave two kids with a mom who is so exhausting she's walking into walls?)

One of the HAPPIEST days of my life's (and Ds's) was the day I decided to give up breastfeeding, in spite of the fact it wasn't the politically correct thing to do.

In my experience the target audience that the commercials are geared has not read endless literature about how "breast is best." The literature is out there, the studies are out there, yet many mom's still don't receive the education at the important time. Hence the making of these commercials (that are not being aired.)

Breast feeding is an commitment at 1st, but it does pay off in the end. I said "supposed convenience" because for me just getting your child and brining them into bed to nurse is MUCH easier then mixing, warming (some don't do I hear,) and preparing a bottle, not to mention to cleaning and sterilizing later. Also my DH did help out, many times I would have him get the baby, bring her to me and take her back to her bed. As far as lack of sleep I know all about that. My 1st DD was a good sleeper. My 2nd DD did not sleep though the night until she was over a year old 14 months. She woke every 2 hours and insisted on nursing. We think the issue now was her food allergies, once we identified them and eliminated them she is a great sleeper now, but even if I was bottle feeding and DH took care of it, I couldn't sleep through that anyway. (if she has too much of minor amounts currently she will do the same thing at 22 months old.)

About my DD's allergies. Because she was exclusive bf I was able to eat milk and eggs with no harm to her. After she had her 1st encounter with formula (at 7 months with her cereal because I had no expressed milk available, and she vomited it all up.) did she have an issue with it in my diet (it was a few months later.) Because my commitment to continue to breast feed her was so strong I gave up ALL eggs and milk in my diet for a year. This was not easy thing to do, but was a very easy choice for me to make. It helped me know how to cook and prepare food for her, and also keep only safe foods for her to eat in the house. If I had started supplementing her diet with formula earlier, she would of developed the allergy sooner and it would of much likely been more severe. It also might of make it harder for her outgrow it. So in my case formula would of been risky. I am still kicking myself for letting her have it a 7 months, just because I could of eat dairy myself longer and given her the benefits of it, with out the harm.

So I know about sleepiness and giving up things I want in order to do what I wanted more (breast feed my DD.) This was my own choice, I was supported by my family and close friends. I do enjoy breast feeding. (my youngest still does once a day, or so sometimes she skips days, we are near the end.) I can't even tell you how many times I was told "I would just give up, why don't you? Are you crazy? Just give her soy formula." For a while I was asked at least once a day why didn't I just stop breast feeding her? It was only recently that I started reading some of the info on how BAD soy based formula (not just not as good but bad for babies) is and I am so glad she never had a drop of that. (some of the links to this can be found on this thread, posted by JennymomRI.) I honestly might have had more pressure to stop then many women have to breast feed. I did have the support of both her allergist and her doctor. However while both said they were pleased with my decision and felt it was best, they didn't even suggest it. I think they were scared to put any pressure on me.
I think the 5 percent figure is more who really can't breast feed, no mater what they do or how hard they try. I think who has a hard time of time with it (both baby and mother) , many struggles and issues or doesn't like it would be higher, but those are 2 different things. Breast feeding can be more complex then just "hold the baby to your breast and feed it" For that reason a nursing mother needs a lot of support and help in the mater. Things come up, (teeth, infections, milk supply issues, thrush) but often with help they can be fixed and continue to nurse.

 

[LisaNJ25]

New moms need support and acceptance and they need to know that if they are doing the best they can then its OK. They dont need these shock ads to try to make them feel guilted into doing something they cant or arent willing to do.

grrrrr, this really irritated me today!

They irritate me also... I feel no guilt at all for not breastfeeding my four children.

You would think they would spend the money on something else. Instead of trying to scare new moms...

Hmm maybe campaigns about smoking, drinking and doing drugs while pregnant.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Feminists are certainly all about choices. That being said, almost all my friends worked hard to breastfeed so their children could reap the benefits.

But I think it's totally overblown to associate FF with "risk taking." To me, risk taking is slowly starving your infant to death in a misguided attempt to keep breast-feeding, which is what I would have done if I'd listened to some of the ****ie bullies (love that phrase!) who harped at me that I wasn't trying hard enough.

I know lots of women who did enjoy breast feeding. But it was only when I had struggled through it, and women knew they had someone who wouldn't judge them, that they started confessing their TRUE thoughts about breast feeding to me.

It wouldn't surprise me if people close to you didn't confess their true feelings on the subject.

Just b/c their feelings don't match yours they must not be their true feelings? WTH is that??

A choice is a choice only if it is the choice you agree with?

That is hog wash. I loved BFing and am not afraid to say it. There were some tough spots--but since when is any enjoyable endeavor ever smooth sailing the entire way.

Isn't it better to be an informed choice. Don't you think women deserve that. I'm sorry to say that despite what you think is politically correct and that everyone "knows" about breastfeeding--that just isn't true.

Yes if you have a malnourished baby you would be a moron to not do something about it.

 

[jodifla]

Just b/c their feelings don't match yours they must not be their true feelings? WTH is that??

A choice is a choice only if it is the choice you agree with?

That is hog wash. I loved BFing and am not afraid to say it. There were some tough spots--but since when is any enjoyable endeavor ever smooth sailing the entire way.

Isn't it better to be an informed choice. Don't you think women deserve that. I'm sorry to say that despite what you think is politically correct and that everyone "knows" about breastfeeding--that just isn't true.

Yes if you have a malnourished baby you would be a moron to not do something about it.

I'm not explaining myself well, I think. My point was more that women felt comfortable telling me their stories of woe, because they knew how upset I was about my breast-feeding fiasco. I did not confess my true feelings to a close friend, who was relentless in her advocacy of breast feeding.

And as for the moron comment, the problem for me was I DIDN"T KNOW my DS wasn't getting anything to eat. How could I tell? I was a brand new mom with NO experience around infants that young. It was the follow-up lactation nurse who told me, after hearing about the diaper count for the day: "Put down the phone and get some formula NOW and give it to your son. He's dehydrated!" My milk didn't come in until 12 days after he was born.

By that time, my DS HATED breastfeeding. We both got a lot happier after I started pumping milk and giving it to him. After three months we switched to formula. Not sure what all the hullaballo about sickness and allergies is. DS didn't have his first sniffle until after his birthday, and he has no allergies, either. So what risk was involved in FF for DS?

I think the push toward low income women will make things worse if they don't have the support network. Is Le Leche going to go into the projects to help struggling nursing moms? Is the low-income mom who works ab McDonald's going to be able to afford a breast pump so she can continue working and nursing?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

And as for the moron comment, the problem for me was I DIDN"T KNOW my DS wasn't getting anything to eat. How could I tell? I was a brand new mom with NO experience around infants that young. It was the follow-up lactation nurse who told me, after hearing about the diaper count for the day: "Put down the phone and get some formula NOW and give it to your son. He's dehydrated!" My milk didn't come in until 12 days after he was born.

I wasn't calling you a moron or your experience moronic. I was saying that if your child was indeed starving you would be a moron to insist someone BF if their baby will die as a result.


My daughter slipped from 99th percentile to 50th percentile in her first year of development. But she always gained weight and she was satisfied after nursing. Doc was only going to say it was an issue if weight loss stalled between visits or declined. Neither of those things happened.

She was just a large overcooked baby (nearly 3 pounds heavier at birth than her older sister).


She even had BM issues that weren't issues at all blood tests revealed. Yet the hospital didn't like her diaper count on BM's (my doc was on vacation and the backup didn't have nursery privileges so I was "stuck" with the staff doc). Turns out--not one single solitary thing wrong with her--she was just on low end of the bell curve after repeated testing showed not a single thing wrong with her in that function. (she was a once every 2-3 week BM diaper).

Urine diapers are different and certainly a low diaper count on pee pee diapers--no wonder your nurse was scared.

So MORON would be if you told your nurse NOPE--and insisted on BFing. You didn't do that and any mom who would would be a moron.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

By that time, my DS HATED breastfeeding. We both got a lot happier after I started pumping milk and giving it to him. After three months we switched to formula. Not sure what all the hullaballo about sickness and allergies is. DS didn't have his first sniffle until after his birthday, and he has no allergies, either. So what risk was involved in FF for DS?

You pumped for THREE months! That is awesome! You didn't BF but you certainly gave your baby Breastmilk!

You tried, it didn't work, you went to PLan B and then did that for as long as you wanted.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I'm not explaining myself well, I think. My point was more that women felt comfortable telling me their stories of woe, because they knew how upset I was about my breast-feeding fiasco.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe they exaggerated their tales of woe, in an attempt to make you feel you weren't alone? It goes both ways you know. If you can doubt women who say they like to bf, I can doubt some that say they didn't.

Personally, I loved breastfeeding. The first 6 weeks were tough, learning how, doing it so often, getting supply established, etc. But after that, it was the easiest, most convenient thing in the world, and honestly, it's hard for me to imagine anyone for whom breastfeeding works as it "should" preferring bottle-feeding, which I hated, just as it might be hard for you to imagine anyone preferring bf.

Oh, and on your son's health, and what risks did ff involve for him... He had the same risks as anyone else. They didn't happen for him, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. That's the thing about risks, we don't know. My dd jumped on her friends trampoline yesterday, with no netting around it. She didn't fall off, but that doesn't negate that she risked falling off as she did it.

Besides, he got breast milk for over 3 months, so he got plenty of the benefits. The earliest weeks are the most important. They even say that just doing it for 2 or 3 days, so they can get that colostrum, is better than not at all.

 

[chobie]

Feminists are certainly all about choices. That being said, almost all my friends worked hard to breastfeed so their children could reap the benefits.

But I think it's totally overblown to associate FF with "risk taking." To me, risk taking is slowly starving your infant to death in a misguided attempt to keep breast-feeding, which is what I would have done if I'd listened to some of the ****ie bullies (love that phrase!) who harped at me that I wasn't trying hard enough.

I know lots of women who did enjoy breast feeding. But it was only when I had struggled through it, and women knew they had someone who wouldn't judge them, that they started confessing their TRUE thoughts about breast feeding to me.

It wouldn't surprise me if people close to you didn't confess their true feelings on the subject.

It goes both ways. Many of us who did BF were harped at as well (are you still doing that? Shouldn't you go in the bathroom to do that? etc). God forbid a woman should ever admit that she enjoyed the bonding of nursing.

I would agree, though, that we attack each other as mothers way too much. As one poster pointed out, many of the same women who have a problem with being told the benefits of BF, are and would be quick to condemn other peoples' parenting choices and declare their way is the only right way to "be a parent."

I BF, I even did it until they were "gasp" toddlers. AND I'm a feminist and I did not revel in it or try to push it on others. I recieved so much grief and accusations FOR bfing, I would never turn around and do that to mothers who don't BF.

 

[DisneyPhD]

You pumped for THREE months! That is awesome! You didn't BF but you certainly gave your baby Breastmilk!

You tried, it didn't work, you went to PLan B and then did that for as long as you wanted.

I have to agree! pumping is so much more work then bf. That is awesome.


AnaheimGirl, I completely agree with you about the 1st 6 weeks being hard, but for you nursing is so much easier in the long run. I feel just the same way. (Oh and the diapers aren't as God awful stinky too.)

chobie, I also agree as I stated before about all the comments I got about just giving up. (as I am in the end stages of nursing an almost 2 year old, and this could go on for a month or so until I just run out of milk.)

I agree we need to support each other as parents, I have always said and believe that. There is not one right way to be a parent, also every child and situation is different.

I guess my point was it seems many of the mothers that I talk with who are struggling with nursing in beginning often get a lot of, "oh well you tried just give them formula," advice, when a bit of encouragement and saying "this can be hard, but you CAN do it, it will get easier and is worth the effort." can really help. (I know it helped me, but it was mostly my mother who supported me, I had a lot of problems with my 1st getting started, it might be why we continued so long. I worked darn hard for this and wasn't going to give it up at 12 months if she wasn't ready.) I think people are too scared to "push" so they don't even encourage.

 

[TDC Nala]

Okay, I don't have any kids...have at me.

But if the kid isn't starving, I'm fine with it.

 

[robertsmom]

Breastfeeding reduces the risk of baby developing type I (juvenile, insulin-dependent) diabetes.

WOW. I sure do wish someone had handed me this article when my breast-fed son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 2. It would have been entertaining fiction when I sat by his bedside in the ICU as I waited to see if he would come out of his coma. Does BF keep the boogey-man away too?