Go to links here, here, and here.
I hadn't heard of her till I saw her in the TV show 'Other People's Breastmilk'.
(Summer 2008 - do watch it if it gets repeated.) What follows is my opinion and not that of the Flintshire group as an organisation.
Turns out Vanessa was in the Sudan in 2006 and met twin orphans: their mother was dead and they were refusing to feed. She just picked em up & nursed em so that they could live. (I have no problem with that, would no doubt have done the same myself. See also the much sainted Selma Hayak, and policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan.) Then a weird botched attempt to adopt them (A la Madonna?) follows and turns out they now are big strong boys living with their Dad and 2 free cows (courtesy of Vanessa).
All well & good, till you see that it was all filmed. La Beecroft was making a documentary & it was shown at Cannes. Backlash follows, along the lines of, 'How dare she seek fame on the back of poor black suffering'. In fact, I have seen a report that the Black Artist's Association is claiming child abuse. I find some of her other artwork more disturbing.
Anyway - here's an image of her from this time:
It's Art. "White Madonna with twins"
The Mother Mary style is pretty weird.
Now then, she fed the babes for two weeks in The Sudan. Had she packed the nursing frock, just in case? Or did she go away, choose a dress & then set up the shot? {Yes it was the latter! And why did the babes have to be naked?}
In Contrast:
A less self-serving (in my opinion) image is the one used by the Anti-Nestle group, Baby Milk Action (link to their website here and a short videoclip here). It was taken by UNICEF after they spoke to this Pakistani mother about her breastfeeding story.
It graphically shows the effects of using for***a milk if you live in poverty in the Third World. The tragic mother photographed here with her twins, was advised in her community that she would only be able to feed one baby with her breastmlk. She chose to exclusively feed her boy, feeding the girl (the lesser child) with formula. The poor child looks so ill, particularly in comparison with her gorgeously healthy brother. She died the next day.
As a trainee midwife says in her blog:
"I can't think of anything that so definitively and so powerfully shows why it is fundamentally important that breastfeeding is promoted and supported and that companies that produce artificial milk are put back in their box."
I printed off these two contrasting images and often pass them round at drop-in groups...it usually sparks off an interesting discussion.
Dea nutrix figurine
A new image now - of a very old object. Again it shows a woman feeding two children.
Every time we need an image for "babies"...
We see a bottle being used. Grr. Even congratulations on the birth of your child cards - have a bottle on them!! No thanks. Read more from One of those Women on the advert above, which uses a bottle to symbolise a parent choosing more time at home with young children.
Baby Milk Action
Now actually, Baby Milk Action isn't just Anti-Nestle. It watches out for all kinds of violations of the Marketing Code for for***a.
For example, did you know that it violates the marketing code to sell powdered baby milks at reduced price - in a sale, for example? That applies to any outlet, but of course 'Follow-on Milk' is excepted form the rule, and you will often see it at a reduction. Do not be tempted to allow a child of < 6 mths have these products; the mineral levels are too high for them. Here's a cracker of an ad from 'Moo-n-Gate' -
See also the BFLG
Cripes
Okay, my hobby horse is getting a little uncomfortable, now, so I'll climb down. Maybe someone else would like a turn?
Here's a group which was set up to object to Facebook's censorship policies. A videoclip here allows the group and La Leche League the chance to respond.
Just to contrast with all the politics, how about a quick visit here to see some lovely International Breastfeeding images.
And here you can visit the Flintshire Peer Support Group's Facebook Page - for images of Humans Breastfeeding.
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