With Friends like These…

Recently Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths has come in for some stick for taking issue with breastfeeding advice posted in a blog piece on an internet site run by a bottle manufacturer.

Some of the advice given was incorrect and the post was brought to the attention of our group by a mother who felt it might affect the ability of some mums to sustain a good milk supply.  At least two members of our group (myself and at least one other) commented on the blog itself saying this and there was also a discussion about the blog on our own board.

A thread ran for a day or so on the DBM facebook page, with contributions from the original blogger (who is a member of the company’s ‘Parent Panel’), and also the host-site’s management.

The whole exchange came to a pretty positive conclusion and we were assurred that it was not the intention of the website to mislead it’s readers.  We later heard that a few regular readers of the website were upset about some of the comments made on our page – and it is this issue that I want to address now.

It is natural to feel upset when someone takes issue with something you’ve said.  It happens to me all the time (and will probably happen to me again later when the responses to this article start coming in…).  No-one likes to think that they’ve said something which upset someone else, and the issue of breast/ formula feeding is one of the most emotive ones around.

Our group has always been a forum where we seek to share knowledge and dispell myths.  That is not the same thing as calling someone a bad parent or a bad mother, and it’s not the same thing as bullying.  If you have time to read the exchanges fully you’ll see that in fact all parties directly involved in were courteous and respectful of each other.

Our group wants to empower mothers to make informed choices.  Poorly informed choices are not choices at all.

So then, why did the members of DBM take such issue with the information being given out on this website?

Following our discussion, the management of the website in question have told us they will include additional links & information from recognised breastfeeding resources on their website*. They say they recognise this information is important for mothers who may be struggling to breastfeed.  We very much welcome this, and hope that they will support mothers to breastfeed by making it clear that introducing bottles can have a detrimental effect on a mother’s milk supply.

Information about good breastfeeding management as well as the risks associated with formula use is essential for mums who are considering introducing bottled milk. I accept that some women may find mix-feeding can helpful, but it requires an understanding of breastfeeding management to make it work.

Even the formula companies have to admit (by law) that ‘choosing to combine breast and bottle is not a decision that should be taken lightly and is a decision which is difficult to reverse [...] as your body will learn to produce less milk’ (aptamil.co.uk).  There are also other implications.

In addition, companies are not allowed to offer ‘any gifts of articles or utensils which may promote the use of breast-milk substitutes or bottle-feeding’.  I am concerned that this company in particular gives away their products freely (as ‘competition’ prizes mainly) on a regular basis.

Historically – and right up to the present day – companies have used unethical methods to get around legislation and make the consumer behave in a certain way.  Although this was apparently not the case with DBM’s most recent interaction, it is nonetheless something which we see all the time, both in other parts of the world and also on our own doorstep.

We all like to believe we are savvy enough not to be duped – but are we?

Do you really think that the mascara you saw advertised on the TV will make your lashes ‘up 70 % longer’ or give you ’130% more visible length’?  Get real!

When you’re feeling down about something and someone offers you a solution, you take it – and you believe that it will help because you want it to help.  You need it to help.

Those of you who keep an eye on debates relating to infant feeding will know that there has been widespread concern recently about the introduction of breastfeeding ‘helplines’ run by many of the major formula companies - and it’s not just in the States.

In Britain, because we’re signed up to the WHO code, formula companies aren’t allowed to advertise milk for babies under 6 months old.  They’re smart though, and they got around this rule years ago by inventing the ‘follow on’ milk.  Even though it’s targeted at older babies, it keeps their brand name ‘out there’.

Now many of these formula companies have also opened up ‘Baby Clubs’ for excited mothers-to-be and are offering ‘Helplines‘ for those struggling and in need of advice.

Dig a little deeper, (and I joined a few of these clubs a while back..) and you might start to see what they’re really up to.  Once they get your consent to contact you they can begin to subtly fill your head with myths and doubts without your even realising.

They send out regular mail shots to keep their brand in your mind.  They hint at early weaning.  The WHO counsels not to introduce food to your baby before 6 months, but the advice of these companies is quite different ~  ‘not before 17 weeks’ or ’from 4 months’.  If you start feeding solids that little bit earlier then they can get you buying their baby food for longer – simples!

They hint that your child might not be getting enough iron and have whole pages dedicated to ‘feeding problems’ which reads like a liturgy of breastfeeding misery.

How many mothers have worried needlessly about their milk supply simply because their baby fussed or fed frequently (ok, constantly!)?

Many mothers worry hugely that their child might be hungry because they don’t know how to interpret normal newborn behaviour.  They can’t ask their friends or their mothers because no-one they know ever breastfed, and they’ve never even heard of the La Leche League…

Aptamil lists night feeds under ‘problems’, and they suggest that after the magic 12 week mark, babies shouldn’t really need to be fed at night.  This is total rubbish whether you breastfeed or formula feed.

Babies should be fed on demand whatever your feeding method (Baby Friendly UK).

Aptamil also give information about storing breastmilk which makes it sound much harder than it is.

Obviously the websites don’t give information about breastfeeding rights at work either – now that they’re unable to advertise milk for newborns they’re focusing more efforts on mums who have to go back to work - ‘if you decide to move on…‘.

They want to encourage you to combine feed, not because it’s convenient for you, but because it means they can target their campaigns towards mothers who are still breastfeeding.  Although some babies don’t seem to experience problems with combined feeding before 6 months of age, the WHO, UNICEF (and a long list of others) recommend exclusive breastfeeding until this age in part because ‘gut closure’ has not usually taken place.

Formula companies don’t tell you this about combined feeding – you can read their advice here.  If I tell you about it, I get called a bully.

But what’s the truth?

The truth is that your child might well be absolutely fine, and seem totally unaffected by drinking formula.

You might even call me the ‘breastapo’ for suggesting otherwise.

And what about you?  There are longer term implications for mothers who stop breastfeeding too.  Recent studies have also shown that lactation may also help protect mothers from post-natal depression*, & evidence shows that breastfeeding mums actually get more sleep than their formula feeding counterparts.  They also report having lower stress levels.

However, many desperate mums just reach the end of their tether and do turn to (some very reluctantly) to formula.  Quite often it’ll be in the house already.

When you’re feeling down about something and someone offers you a solution, you take it – and you believe that it will help because you want it to help. You need it to help.

I’m not saying (by the way!) that there aren’t plenty of occasions where a mother makes an informed choice to mix feed to formula feed her baby, without being duped by anyone.   When someone says ’I did the right thing for me’, who am I to question them?  I’d much rather see a woman happy with her choices than regretful, but  I’d also rather women were given enough information to allow them to make informed choices for themselves and their children.

I DO question how many mums – had they been able to access proper breastfeeding support and knew their rights - would have chosen to exclusively breastfeed?

I know there are mums who fall into this category because they post on DBM.

Although the websites above seem to be giving helpful advice, they have no intention of pointing mothers in the direction of the genuine breastfeeding experts elsewhere.  That’s the last thing they want!

Nope, call the helpline or log on to live chat and you’ll be assisted by one of their experts.  A ‘feeding advisor’ or a ‘baby care advisor’.  Not one of these advisors will be an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, though – that I can promise you!  I would be very interested to know exactly what breastfeeding training they HAVE received…

Just as DBM has an agenda (to dispell the myths about breastfeeding) – so do they.  You can draw your own conclusions about what it might be.

By commenting on questionable advice in the way that DBM did this week we were not bashing the mother who wrote it.  Far from it.

Mothers like her can be the strongest advocates since they are frequently the ones most passionate about breastfeeding support, and know how best to give it.

But given the ways in which so many companies try to undermine or curtail women’s breastfeeding experiences in order to make money – can you blame us for being cynical?