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I don't know if anyone saw 20/20 last night, but they had a story on about breastfeeding. A breastfeeding ad campaign was pulled before it aired because the government stepped in and said the ads were false and wanted to see changes made before they would be allowed to air. I should mention that the government paid for the ads and the Ad Council produced them. It seems the infant formula industry objected to the claims made in the ad and used it's money and influence to get the ads watered down. Now, I believe, the ads will not be broadcast because the producers of the ads and the advocacy don't believe that they will have the same impact. In the meantime, the formula industry continues ot advertise their product on television and promote their product in hospitals and doctor's offices.
If you watched the program or read the article, how do you feel about this? I found it infuriating. I believe the only reason these ads were pulled is because the formula industry would see their product shown as inferior to breat milk and might lose sales. Maybe I am a becoming a zealot, but I don't believe that formula is "just as good" and I'd like to see a campaign that encourages women to breastfeed and educates them on all the benefits. I am not against formula, it does have it's purpose, but I think too many women opt to bottlefeed because they aren't exposed to breastfeeding.

By Amecmom on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 11:27 am:

I was exposed to breastfeeding. I had it rammed into my head from my first prenatal appt., to my tour of the hospital, to my prenatal class, to advertisements in every major magazine, especially in the formula ads. I would have liked a more balanced approach. I would have liked to learn more about formula feeding, and tips and tricks that go along with it, rather than hearing the breastfeeding side over and over again.

I was so turned off by the milk madness that I decided to give my child the colostrum and then switch to formula. My body was my child's for 9 months. I wanted it back. I didn't want to have to worry about eating broccoli, or spicy foods, or drinking milk. I'd eaten for my baby, slept for him, lived for his health for 9 months. I would continue to do this for the rest of his life, but I needed to have something back that was mine. For me, that was my body and my choice to formula feed.
Perhaps, if the breastfeeding campaign had not been so overzealous, if I'd felt more like I was making a choice and not like I was being told that breastfeeding was the only way to go, I might have had a different attitude about it.

As it turned out, it was a good choice for my son, because he was supplementing so much and wanting to feed all the time that he was getting more formula than breast milk. It turned out that he had reflux and needed to be on formula, which was thickened.

It is a personal choice, but I don't think moms make it because they are not exposed to breastfeeding. In my case, I made the choice partly because I was "over-exposed" and mainly because it was the right one for me.
Ame

By Sunny on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 12:17 pm:

We had different experiences. When I was pregnant with my first child (way back in 1988), the only exposure I got about breastfeeding was from family. The doctors, nurses and staff assumed I would be using formula. I had already made up my mind before giving birth that I was going to try and nurse and had to tell them. Even after informing them of my intentions, I was still asked if I was going to supplement and was given bottles of formula. Perhaps times have changed and more and more breastfeeding is overly encouraged, but I think that's a good thing. (We can disagree about that ) I can't say that I felt pressured by anyone after my first child because I knew by then that I would breastfeed all my kids and, if anything, had to make sure the nursery staff knew not to give any of my kids formula.

According to my mother, when she was having children (50's and 60's), pressure was put on new mothers to formula-feed. The claim was that it was just as good, if not better, than breastmilk. My mother believed differently and in just the last few years, we've heard of certain nutrients and elements found in breastmilk that are more beneficial to newborns then once believed. The formula companies quickly added these nutrients and touted their benefits. I think that alone says a lot.

I respect your choice and I'm not saying that it wasn't the right decision for you. But, I still think that the message of the benefits of breastfeeding don't reach many new moms.

By Amecmom on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 12:55 pm:

We certainly did have different experiences , and you hit the nail on the head. By the time my son was born, in 2001, the pendulum had swung in the opposite direction. I had to tell the nurses to supplement and let me get some rest. I constantly had to defend my choice, as though I was doing something terribly harmful to my child, even though there was still no concrete scientific evidence that the benefits of breast milk were so far superior to formula. The most I could find was that breast milk was better (even according to the formula ads) but only marginally so. I did feel pressured (I joked with my husband that the milk police were coming to get me), and pressure was the last thing I needed as a new mom in an overwhelmingly new environment.

I've read a great deal about the new additives DHA and AA. I also know these nutrients are provided, much like iron, to the baby during gestation. Do I feel like I deprived him of a small increase in IQ percentage? No, because I've never thought IQ tests to be very reliable to begin with. Did I deprive him of antibodies? I gave him the colostrum for the first few days to boosst his immunie system, because I knew that, at least had been scientifically proven important.

I think the formula companies added these ingredients, not becasue they were shown to be so important, but to stay competative and have an answer to the breastfeeding lobby. It's also no surprise that these formulas are significantly more expensive than those without the additives, so of course they are going to promote their benefits.

Pick up any baby magazine or pregnancy magazine or look in any OB's office or attend a prenatal class where they show a video on how to breastfeed and you'll be happily surprised that the word is out about the benefits of breastfeeding .

I absolutely respect what you are saying, but will politely disagree and say that it is virtually impossible for the messsage not to have reached the moms who choose formula. Moms who do chose formula go into it with their eyes wide open and have made a conscious decision. If they were just going with what was expected, or going with the flow, they'd be breastfeeding.

I am currently expecting my second baby, and you'll be pleased to know that things haven't changed. I'm still expecting a visit from the milk police.
Ame

By Kaye on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 07:16 pm:

When I had my first child in 94 I have to say that I was very uninformed about BF. I felt like I had to do more than just that, supplement, etc. After about 2 weeks, a starving child, and a stressed out mamma I went to formula. After child two, it never crossed my mind to try again. Well when number 3 came along, I started doing some research, BF was well making a comeback and the studies were starting to roll in. Thing one I learned, there are options and you don't have to be exclusive, also you don't have to be a fanatic. BF didn't have to mean losing my body, my food etc. Then I had to evalutate how my other children did. My oldest, had ear infection after ear infection, had to have allergy testing, etc, end up fine after a year or so. But I wrote off, that all children get ear infections. NO THEY DON"T. Ear infections have a cause, you have to figure that out, my daughters cause, allergy to soy. Second, my son, bad reflux, bad spitting up, always hungry. Interestingly enough he was amazingly better after finally finding the right formula, carnation good start ready to feed, in other words big $$$. So here I am with child three, I decide that bf is best. It was an amazing difference, I pumped, he took bottles, I never nursed in public (i am a prude), i never changed my diet and boy was he a different kid. I think the one book that I read that made a huge difference is called "so that's what thay are for". It had an amazing wealth of stories. For example, mothers that tandum feed, meaning have an infant and a toddler have had their milk tested and each boob actually produces a different type of milk for each kid, the breakdown of what is in your milk is different depending on the age of a child. For example a newborn needs more fat and less protein. I think the breakdown was under 2 months was very different that 2-6 months. I wonder how come formula doesn't do that? Also i read that the medical term for formula is Artificial baby milk, and certainly is good and better than plain milk. But in reality if you get to choose your real arm or the bionic top of the line artifical arm, wouldn't we choose the real thing? I think although we get a lot of education about how it is best, and we should BF we aren't really given all the facts. yes it could be a few iq points, but there really is a lot more. Your body continualy produces the exact milk your child needs, if they get sick, by sucking on your breast it signals your body to find the right immunities, your body produces a more fluid, less thick milk, etc. You milk is really the only perfect milk for your child everything else is just second. If you have a premie, they make you pump because it increases the survival rate astronomical. I will agree that in an otherwise normal baby that formula is usually suffiecient, but if you end up having a special needs child, an allergy child, a sick child etc, they are really missing out. I didn't bond differently, but to do it again I would have stuck it out for my other two because I think the health benefits would have outweighed the inconviences.

By Kellyj on Saturday, June 5, 2004 - 08:42 pm:

I had my DD in 2003 and I agree with Ame that there is a huge push for BF now. I think that BF definitely is better for the child but I think that people need to respect moms who choose not to BF. My childless coworker had the nerve to tell me that I would be a bad mom because I wasn't going to BF my daughter. My main reason for not was that I was extremely uncomfortable with BF. I felt that my discomfort would translate to frustration and awkwardness for DD and me. My healthcare providers respected my choice and dd did great on formula. In the time that she was on formula she had only been sick once and that was really only just a bad case of the sniffles. I was actually surprised by how little she was sick because she was in daycare for 4 months. I think that it is important for people to know the benefits of BF and to be able to make a fully informed choice. Many people don't take the iniative to research it themselves. However, I do not think that it is anyone's place to pass judgement and to make a mom feel like they are dooming their child to a life of illness etc as my coworker tried to do.

By Tink on Sunday, June 6, 2004 - 12:03 am:

I think that BF is a personal choice and needs to be something that is comfortable for both mother and child. I think most of us agree that breastmilk is best, nutritionally, but the emotional ramifications can make a bigger difference than the small nutritional benefits. I was able to BF all 3 of mine, my youngest until she was 15 months old. I am really glad that I was able to do this but I certainly don't look down on mothers who choose not too do this. If a mom feels pressured to BF, and resents the demands that are still being put on her body, she is not able to be the best mom that she can be. My cousin, who is not the poster child for Mom of the Year, chose to bottle feed because she thought that it would be easier to make a bottle before going to bed and then keep it by the bedside until her son woke up. Guess what baby got food poisoning at 3 months because he was drinking formula that had started to spoil from sitting out warm for 6 hours before he drank it. Not a problem for most mothers but it made me really see that BF was a heck of a lot more convenient to me to doze on the couch with the lights low at 3 in the morning than to get up make a bottle and then feed and burp. I was very aware of the benefits of BF due to magazines, doctors and hospitals, but the biggest influence on my decision was the support I had from my husband and other family. My dh was great about keeping the dks quiet while the baby nursed and since I had to get up during the night for the feedings, he would take the morning shift so I could sleep in. That quiet support meant the world to me and kept me very comfortable with my decision.