But apart from that kind of online material, there are a number of other pages I have seen on my journeys about the internet which I would think are not helpful & supportive of women's wish to breastfeed their children. (As usual, I do have to stress here that this is just my own opinion.)
There are enough barriers to breastfeeding with all our historical baggage & myths, without adding more!
You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true: Prof Wilensky, 1996
Inaccurate/just plain wrong replies on forums
Parent-to-parent advice & support is a large part of what our support groups are about.
Who are we to say what is 'wrong' or 'incorrect', particularly when we stray into emotive issues to do with parenting styles. But there are some facts which are very strongly accepted by the majority these days.
If posts on forums are going against these facts but are not challenged, they are read & perhaps believed for many years. To gauge their effects, I always try & imagine I am a shy 16-year old due her first baby next week. If I read that post, would I choose to offer any colostrum to my baby?
- My current 'favourite' is this one from ParentDish, from the year 2009 - can no longer read the answer # 3, but it advised the mother to use the Bitrex preparation (sold to prevent nail-biting) on her nipples. Another advised the mother to go away for the week-end.
- Pretty much any online discussion of a celebrity breastfeeding their child eventually degenerates into comments along the lines of, "I wouldn't mind if she let me join in".
- Mother's post up their own stories on blogs etc.... just one example here on Shine, in which the myth of "colostrum just wasn't enough" is given as truth. If pregnant women use this as their only resource to learn about breastfeeding, then myths will continue as facts.
Advice pages by Formula Manufacturers
I'm a vegetarian. I don't go to the local cattle market for handy recipes.
- Above: an advert/leaflet from Cow-n-Gate in 2006.
- Here's the best, and of course it's from Nestle (Gerber) but you won't be able to view the original advice pages unless you are in the US. Fortunately, this commentary page on PhD in Parenting has some screen-captured images for you. For example, Nestle wishes to advise you as a breastfeeding mother how you can safely carry expressed breastmilk for your child when you are on a journey. (How about in those handy storage jugs we were born with?)
- Not quite giving all the facts; e.g. the huge beaker-of-milk TV advert which tells Mums that most toddlers don't get enough iron in their diet. It politely ignores the facts about breastfeeding, as if to imply that toddlers should not be breastfed.
- Adverts such as the recent (and quickly withdrawn) image of a baby being bottlefed on the front of a Supermarket-Own-Brand pack of nappies. Absolutely unnecessary product placement, rather like James Bond with his Alpha-Beta-Delta watch. The kicker in this case was that the nappies were newborn-sized. (Though to be fair, complaints got the reply that we "can re-assure you that this image was used in error".)
- Mom clubs run by formula manufacturers, also with BF warmlines - these are ways of getting your address (for a free cuddly toy) so they can keep a brand name in your head, and then push you towards follow-on milk with a well-timed leaflet/ voucher.
- Formula companies push their advice pages & Mummy clubs with Goggle ads when you search for e.g. "breastfeeding help" / "lactation consultant"- read more here on PhD in Parenting, 'Sabotage'.
- Just follow IBFAN or BMA for other examples of sneaky product placement of formula packets.
Just plain weird
Adverts discussed here which make use of breastfeeding - but...
Well-meaning advice that just ends up putting folk off
Such as:
- This page about eating healthily from Health's Gold site (just a random pick - there are lots of such pages). It's huge, and looks so restrictive! Women who are looking after young children will want to try to eat healthily & get rest (and advice from pages like these may well be useful) - whether they breastfeed or no!
- Expensive clothing which isn't necessary - like a lot of things to do with babies... great if you want it, but it's not vital. I'm not linking to any particular sites here, but I have seen one in particular which proclaimed that their bf clothing products will help you to breastfeed the most "successfully". Well, how on earth did caveman survive?
- Similarly, breastfeeding Covers / Shields / Hooter Hiders / Udder Covers - well really, what a palaver. And if it's about hiding, why are they so snazzy? See a selection on Google Images, for example, or the butterfly. (Read a comparison with the burka: here) If we see other women hiding away to breastfeed then it reinforces the myth that anyone gets upset seeing a baby being fed. I'm happy to let women choose, but I do object to women feeling they ought to use such covers. (Some airlines now give them out to mothers.)
- An advert for nipple ointment is jaw-droppingly negative about breastfeeding (shown here on the blog, Alpha Parent). Does that sell more ointment?
- Sometimes in the rush to 'promote' Breastfeeding, the media coverage is actually found to demote Breastmilk to the wierd & gross - e.g. T.V. documentaries such as Extrordinary Breastfeeding, or the hooha over Baby Gaga Human Breastmilk Ice Cream.
- Also the recent article in the Guardian: author Zoe Williams comments on how breastfeeding polarises the community. A few inaccurate sweeping statements will be taken as sensible truth - because the tone of the rest of the article seems sensible. (e.g. The scientific evidence for the benefits of breastfeeding "is not that strong" - no, no, no, this research she pooh-poohed was based on a study of breastfeeding in Dundee which is certainly not Third World.) See the marvellous Kate Evans who swooped in to reply with the rapier sword of research & common sense.
- Dreadful assumptions about what's going on with breastfeeding after 6 months. Self-weaning? (this particular article was highlighted in a newsletter style email sent out to US mothers of babies who have just turned 7 months old.)
- And this article I hesitate to describe as well-meaning but unhelpful. This kind of inaccurate opinion and negative language (dressed up as humour) should not be permitted in the editorial of a so-called parenting magazine. Several folk have complained to the PCC as it is inaccurate; it'll be interesting to watch that unfold...
- Similarly Gina Ford, or Clare Buy my-Book (Telegraph, 2006; see also this Ffeeders post, Jan 2011). Hold me back people.
And Finally...
Poor Advice from professionals
who ought to know better, find out more, or refer to someone who does know better...
Examples abound from the American Health System, but don't expect that we are immune here with our lovely NHS.
- Bad phrasing - e.g. "Will you be bottle- or breast-feeding?" rather than "How much do you know about breastfeeding?" Open questions generally work better.
- Unrealistic expectations - "Is your child sleeping through yet?"
- Snap judgements - e.g. prescribing Gaviscon for a fussy baby, rather than investigating breastfeeding management.
- Simply wrong - "your baby has jaundice because you breastfeed"... "it's mastitis, so you need to stop breastfeeding on that side for a while till it clears up"... "Your child doesn't need breastmilk now, you need to stop so I can prescribe this medicine."... "No, the growth charts are exactly the same, it doesn't make any difference - your baby isn't gaining enough"... "All babies need iron/Vit D/ other supplements" etc. etc.
- Dr Hilary should get a page all of his own - his frequent pronouncements on LK Today (British morning TV show) just show up how little he knows about BF, but they keep booking him instead of a qualified lactation professional. See also a promo he made for a Follow-on milk.
- Advice pages from Docs which focus on the negatives... for example: Dr Greene's top 5 tips
- "I was fed on formula and I'm just fine" - Fine, but lucky! We want babies to thrive, not just be fine.
Just to finish on a positive here... there are PLENTY of places online to find good positive advice. Try this for just one example - Rookie Moms' guide.
Again:
You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.
more added as I find it... Feel free to post up any extras you can?
In the meantime - "coming to bed?"
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