If you wanted to eat a healthy lunch, but had a craving to scarf down two Mars bars instead, would you call the Mars company for advice on how to curb your cravings? If you were trying to get in shape and exercise, but didn't feel like going for your morning run, would you call your couch potato friend who always tries to convince you to skip your workouts and join her on the couch? If you were struggling to remain faithful to your spouse, would you call the hot guy who is always flirting with you at work for advice? If you were struggling with breastfeeding, but really wanted to continue, would you call an infant formula manufacturer for advice?
I hope the answer in all cases is an emphatic "NO!"But if you were an online media property that is trying to turn a profit, would you be willing to sell-out your breastfeeding readers, by feeding them a wolf in sheep's clothing? Would you be willing to partner with Similac, an infant formula company, on your
Breastfeeding Guide?
I wouldn't. But apparently Babble and Similac see nothing wrong with this scenario.
Most of us (including Dou-la-la and I) realize that infant formula companies are not really there to support breastfeeding moms, they are there to sabotage them. The Similac sponsorship of the Babble guide goes beyond simple advertising and takes things to a whole new level. The Common Breastfeeding Problems section of the Breastfeeding Guide is clearly marked as being "brought to you by Similac". It includes a large banner at the top encouraging you to call a Feeding Expert for your baby's breastfeeding problems. They indicate that "lactation consultants" are available, but I doubt they are International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC), since their Code of Ethics would prevent them from working for an infant formula company. The huge ad to the right of the content even encourages you to enter your mobile number so that someone from Similac can text you their phone number, but who knows what else they will do with your phone number.
Want to take action?
If you want to take action against this ridiculous pairing, I have a few suggestions.
Mystery Calls to Similac
The information in Babble's breastfeeding guide is lightweight at best and doesn't even begin to provide true guidance for dealing with breastfeeding problems. So if you are left wanting more, you may be tempted to pick up the phone and call that number for Similac, especially when they are promising lactation consultants and the text of the guide tells you over and over to contact a lactation consultant.
But what is the quality of the advice you would be getting?
I know a few people who have called already today and I have been told that the advice they were given was not necessarily wrong, but it also wasn't complete. They would give people one small tip that might help with a problem, rather than truly assessing the problem or giving full information on possible solutions to the problem.
Do you want to test the quality of the advice that Similac is giving?
If you do, here is what I would suggest:
Tell Babble this is not appropriate
For Similac and the other infant formula companies, this is nothing new. They will do anything they can to get breastfeeding moms to call them and talk to them. They would love nothing more than to have moms think that they will get good breastfeeding advice from them, while attempting to subtly sabotage their attempts at breastfeeding (see, for example, the quality of breastfeeding advice offered by Nestle). So telling them what you think of their marketing campaign may not get you very far.
However, as I've said before, it may be more effective to express our concerns to the intermediaries that help formula companies spread their message. So tell Babble that you do not think it is appropriate for them to have a Breastfeeding Concerns section that is sponsored by Similac because it is deceptive and because it violates the WHO Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes.
You can do this by:
- Sending an e-mail to Babble: Send an e-mail to the Babble CEO Rufus Griscom at rufus@babble.com and copy Alisa Volkman at advertising@babble.com (she is listed on their website as being the contact for advertising).
- Expressing your concern on Babble.com's Facebook page: Tell Babble what you think of its infant formula sponsored breastfeeding guide by leaving a comment on the wall of the Babble Facebook page. You will have to become a "fan" of Babble to be able to leave a comment and need to go to the "Babble.com + Others" tab to see what people are saying about Babble.
I truly hope that this was a mistake by someone who obviously doesn't understand the role that infant formula companies play in trying to sabotage breastfeeding women and that once it is pointed out to them, that they will take down that section and consider linking to some real breastfeeding support websites like La Leche League or Kellymom or others.
Help spread the word
Please help inform people that breastfeeding support from a formula company is not okay and encourage them to put pressure on Babble too by sharing this post with your friends on facebook, twitter, StumbleUpon and elsewhere. Just click on the Share button at the bottom of this post for options on where to share it. Thank you.
Friday, September 3, 2010 
Reader Comments (232)
How repulsive. In Australia it's illegal to advertise formula or give out samples for babies, although "toddler" formula is allowed to be advertised. (Based on a two-fold assumption: 1, of course you wouldn't be breastfeeding after 12 months and 2, toddlers are such picky eaters, of COURSE they need their milk supplemented with our great vitamins and minerals etc. HA.)
Too bad Similac's paying them so much money it's not worth their while to actually do what's best for babies and their mothers.
Rufus,
You say, "One other place we disagree is in the ability of women to make good decisions based on clearly demarcated advice from different sources," which you probably intend to help you look like a man who really respects women. And maybe you are, I don't know.
What I do know is that this clearly defines you as someone who has never been through postpartum, never been through problems with breastfeeding, and never had to wade through the mountains of information and "support" while trying like mad to simply breastfeed her child one day at a time. Because in the throws of no sleep, painful feedings, and purple crying, a new mama will likely take whatever advice from whatever source without having the energy or strength to consider the intentions behind said advice.
I agree that we disagree on this issue. While you see that as the solution though, I see it as Babble totally disregarding what is ethical and best for mamas and babies. I'm extremely disappointed in your decision.
Lisa S.
One of the big reasons that so few moms meet their own breastfeeding goals is the predatory marketing practices of infant formula companies. If they weren't looking to sabotage, I could see them buying ads on pages on topics like "Weaning", but when they buy ads on pages about breastfeeding challenges, breastfeeding help, breastfeeding concerns, breastfeeding guides, I do consider that predatory marketing.
Correction: It's $329 in offers. Forgive me for letting Similac off the hook for nearly $70 additional dollars.
This offer is on most of their Breastfeeding information pages as well - I checked.
Warmest,
Lauren
Annie,
Remember the Motrin babywearing video and how an informal (but intense) Twitter campaign got them to remove the ad within, I think, 24 hours? I wonder if the same thing would work here--massing those (and I'm sure there are plenty) who think this is way outside the bounds of ethical conduct, and perhaps dividing up the breastfeeding guide and having people explain the (many) problems and manipulative language--to show clearly the true effect of this "guide." Might be able to raise enough attention to get Babble to actually do the right thing (to avoid bad publicity, if not for the right reasons (since they clearly are unwilling to do the right thing out of an ethical obligation)). There are so many manipulative language bits even just in the little bit Rufus quoted; I'm sure we could find hundreds if we worked together and went through the whole thing. Then we could start on WedMD. :) I'd be happy to do several sections myself (although I'm not that experienced with Twitter, but I could pass on my analysis to someone else)...
Just a thought. It's infuriating that Rufus really doesn't seem to care at all--not even to slightly alter the campaign. I wonder how much Similac paid Babble for this privilege...
Carla
Similarly, anyone can call themselves an economist :/
One other thought--even if it didn't succeed in getting them to redo the guide completely, a Twitter/blog campaign showing the manipulative language sentence for sentence (for example, "quote" then "why it's manipulative or bf-unfriendly or just wrong" then "how it could be re-written to be breastfeeding friendly" or something like that...) might be great for pointing out how incredibly subtle the negative messages are in these kinds of materials. So many people just aren't aware of how sneaky these messages are... I just read the entire Overview Rufus had quoted from, and there is so much negative manipulation against breastfeeding (but very, very subtle) in there it's sickening.
Rebecca: I'm shocked! I'm a writer and I never knew that you could check that in Word!! How do you do that?
And to Rufus and the Babble gang: I'm personally a fan (I have been through both old and new Babble), I'm just a bit confused after reading your response. You had to know there would be a backlash, no? And if you say Medela is an advertiser, wouldn't that have been a wiser choice? I understand that Similac probably came to you with this idea and the money was probably good, but maybe you could have offered a formula feeding guide? I know there must be information that formula-feeding women could use. This might also be a more appropriate place for the negative tone this guide seemed to take at times.
I'm also wondering if the writer was given a heads up on the advertiser because a lot of the language simply doesn't belong in a breastfeeding guide. I enjoy reading their other guides, particularly the Newborn Survival Guides that were surprisingly upbeat for such a difficult time. I was on under the impression, as from reading past guides, that these pieces were aimed to support and encourage readers. I did not find this to be true for the breastfeeding guide, which is truly disappointing because that's what breastfeeding women need more than anything: encouragement.
[...] RSS feed for updates from my blog.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginYesterday I wrote about Babble.com conflict of interest in allowing sections of its Breastfeeding Guide to be sponsored by S.... I know that formula companies engage in predatory marketing practices on a regular basis, but I [...]
Turns out it isn't just Babble. Check out WebMD's cozy partnership with Gerber (Nestle):
http://www.phdinparenting.com/2010/09/04/more-strange-bedfellows-webmd-breastfeeding-guide-sponsored-by-gerber-nestle/
Sounds a lot like "sorry ladies we made *a lot* of money off of this partnership, so we're not changing anything."
His arguments and links to breastfeeding posts on the site reminds me of the way Mother and Baby magazine tried to say that they were still pro-breastfeeding after one of their *editors* said that breastfeeding was "creepy."
I really wish all companies--including fluff sites like Babble--would just be honest and say "we're not out to help anyone but ourselves and all we care about is making as much money as possible." At least that is honest.
They did not take my address, but they did take my phone number to call me back. All their LCs were busy at ten minutes to 7am on a Saturday morning. Weird.
I was disappointed in the info, too. There were no questions about my son's development, and I think the info I was given was very, very elementary. When I did actually have the problem, I called my LLL leader in tears and we talked for an hour to figure out the problem.
I also agree with you about the mention of a doctor and a prescription. I didn't take so much as a Tylenol when I gave birth, so I sure would not go get a prescription to increase my supply. (BTW, I loved my doctor, but his nurse did ask which formula samples I wanted, and when I told her I planned to BF, her exact words were, "Well, yeah, but you'll need to supplement." I was a first-time mom-to-be, and she said it so matter-of-factly that I really thought at first the supplementation was a given. So troubling to think back on.
Rufus,
"I think it’s possible, however ironic that it may seem, that the formula company that is most genuine in it’s endorsement of breastfeeding will be the most successful." That may be true, but if a formula company was genuine in supporting breastfeeding it would realize, and be sensitive to, the conflict of interest inherent in positioning itself as a provider of breastfeeding advice. Not to mention stopping the practice of giving out free samples constantly.
Secondly, I think it is incredibly naive to believe that companies make good decisions simply because it is the 'right thing to do'. They may do things that hurt the bottom line in the short term, but they realize that reputation as an ethical business in the long term will pay off. It is still about profit. But besides, this is not what Similac is doing with their breastfeeding advice. A formula company providing breastfeeding advice is not some form of 'corporate social responsibility.' And it is irresponsible on your part to portray it as such.
I couldn't help myself. I had to call. I gave a scenario I had when my baby was just 6 weeks old. I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled and was told by the nurse at the dentist office to pump and dump for THREE DAYS following conscious sedation. The "LC" on the phone said that she couldn't tell me without knowing the exact medication (good!) but that she usually errs on telling moms to listen to the dr on these things (WRONG), tho 3 days does sound excessive. (ya think?) She did mention looking up in Hales (good) but said the half life of a common pre-op med is 43 hours, so perhaps just pumping and dumping for 2 days would be ok. She also suggested I ask my OB. For the record, with conscious sedation, as soon as mom is awake and alert following the surgery, she is fine to breastfeed.
Well now I'm hungry for pizza. Totinos anyone?
Would love to see another reply from Rufus. The uproar has certainly caused them to rethink the Similac ads to some degree.
When Similac starts selling breastmilk, only then will I assume they have breastfeeding mothers' and their babies, best interest in mind.
I think it's time to call a spade, a spade.
It makes me want to spit up.
Hmm. Well, actually, I'd argue that the above quotes are pretty darn accurate and far more honest than most popular Internet parenting sites' breastfeeding info..... but I don't think it makes sense to have these issues talked about in a guide for breastfeeding moms. It's just a weird, convoluted message, and worsened by its sponsorship. It's not even about whether its true or not; it's about the intended audience. It angers me to no end that my readers often say that mine was the first place they found online regarding formula feeding which didn't start out talking about all the reasons they should feel like crap for feeding formula in the first place... to me, this kind of tone just isn't helpful. This is the reverse situation, and it just doesn't make any sense to me.
Rufus, please know that I am a HUGE fan of Babble. You guys are the only popular website I've found where both side of the breast vs bottle debate can be intelligently discussed. I have retweeted and talked about some of the aforementioned pieces, and found them to be truly groundbreaking - and I want to applaud you for that. I hope that you understand that I fully support the content of what is in the guide we are discussing... it's the delivery system that I think is truly flawed, and really doing more harm than good. I'm sure you are aware of how heated this debate can get, and unfortunately, there are fine lines that must be tread. The info here would have been well received by people like my readers, but we aren't the ones reading "breastfeeding guides". You get what I'm saying? There are a TON of great sites about breastfeeding (the very one we're chatting on, for example); Babble can stick to offering an alternative to the one-sided nature of most baby-related sites - its something you guys have always done well, and I'm afraid that this move will put your reputation at jeopardy. People like me NEED you to be putting tat alternative out there, so I'm highly invested in what's going on here.
As someone who originally intended on breastfeeding, a lot of this information would have struck me as weird. I think its so important to acknowledge the things you did - that breastfeeding studies are unreliable (doesn't mean the benefits aren't real, b/c I honestly believe that breastfeeding is the best way to feed most children - but the studies themselves are troubling in a lot of cases); that for some women, it just doesn't work. But calling that a "breastfeeding guide" is a misnomer... better you should call it an "Overview on the Issues of Infant Feeding" or something like that. A Breastfeeding Guide implies that it is for breastfeeding women, who - until they make the decision that breastfeeding isn't working - need all the positivity, support and truly unbiased guidance they can get. Now, trust me, I don't think LLL or Kellymom is at all unbiased, but at least they are committed to helping moms breastfeed, and I don't think Similac or any other formula company can say the same thing. Nor should they be. I've said it before and I'll say it again - these companies should stop paying lip service to breastfeeding, which no one buys, and start supporting their true customer base. Use their vast resources to stick up for the formula feeders every once in awhile. Because nobody else is. And they aren't helping anyone by sending unsolicited samples to moms committed to breastfeeding, or providing breastfeeding "guides", or putting breast is best platitudes on their websites or products. It insults formula feeders and breastfeeders alike.
As for Babble - you guys need to make your money, and I certainly don't begrudge you that (I'm a journalist, I get it). But ads are one thing, and advertorial content is another. I think this guide does cross a line, since it says "brought to you by Similac" all over the place. I just expect more from you guys, and I hope you'll take this to heart, from someone who could not be more on your side about what you stand for and what you do.
I just looked at Babble's website, and it looks like they took down the ad! Ha!
Fearless Formula Feeder:
Thank you for this stellar comment. There may be a few very fine points where we do not agree, but on the whole this comment and the points you make in it are extremely important. It amazes me when people confuse "choice" with "anything goes". You are right, a line needs to be drawn somewhere and Babble is way past that line here.
"I think women are capable of making good decisions"
Of course, but they're also capable of making bad decisions like you say... I wonder, does rufus' wife keep chocolate in the house when she's on a diet? No, and why is that? Because yes, women are human, our will and determination can sometimes conflict if we're struggling. If she does keep it in the house, I'm willing to bet her diet doesn't go so well.
"which is why the vast majority choose to breastfeed"
and how long does that last? On average, not nearly long enough. 6 Months and most women are out.
I think Rufus is sitting in a very different situation to that of many women and is regarding this situation from a wealthy, educated bubble. WE know what is better, WE know not to believe the hype about formula and WE know it's essential for babies to be breastfed for their long term health... but that's certainly not applicable to everyone. In fact, considering the majority of women go on to formula feed or do so right from the birth of their child - I'd say not enough women, by far, truly make an informed decision. How many women think "I'm returning to work, I need to wean them onto formula" because pumping is difficult, at best and impossible, at worst? How many of them know that they're risking their children's health in doing so? I know enough to say I would be frightened to formula feed, not because something will definitely happen, but because the risk alone is enough to set my nerves on edge. Especially where the most precious thing in my world is concerned.
How does this tie in? Well, what makes me so different? What makes this and many other educated bloggers so different? Knowledge - what do we stand to gain from a breastfeeding majority? Zilch... what do formula companies stand to gain by subtly getting their name into struggling mother's heads? Millions. I don't know about your wife, Rufus, but I've fought long and hard to successfully nurse my daughter and half hearted, basic advice didn't make a jot of difference. I'm positive, after conducting a study of my own into breastfeeding support in the UK, that I'm not alone in this either. Advice and support that extends beyond the basics is essential. So what is this if not a token gesture in an otherwise shameless marketing ploy?
Are you naive? I hope so. Because 1.5 million babies die every single year as a result of not being breastfed. And I'd sure hate to think you knowingly sold your soul.
I'll leave you with the worst tagline, from a formula ad, I've ever seen... for organic formula: "we learned from the breast" - follow on milk, should you decide to move on.
LoriNKY:
I noticed that too and had hoped to get confirmation from Rufus that it had been removed. Instead, his e-mail said they weren't planning any changes to the campaign. Either the left arm doesn't talk to the right arm at Babble or something else is really odd.
Brooke, how would you have prefered that formula be compared in the author's example, in terms of being along the spectrum of healthful nourishment? Do you feel that phdinparenting was factually incorrect or just insensitive in comparing formula to other substances that have health risks? What language would you have wanted to see instead?
I was just looking through the site, clicking through different parts of the guide to see what ads came up. The ONLY page where I saw Similac ads or the "breastfeeding hotline" banner was the page on supplementing with formula. Maybe they're not willing to publicly acknowledge their boo-boo?
Ugh, as a lactivist and mom who knows first-hard about all the wonderful (health) benefits of breastfeeding for child AND mom, this is just so aggravating. Why are big cooperations and formula companies able and allowed to keep sabotaging moms' desire to breastfeed? Most moms DO want to breastfeed but are misinformed and so tired and sometimes in pain (from giving birth and before learning to breastfeed correctly) or lack support from family and friends that I guess this kind of misleading advertising makes formula appealing even if the mom had the best intentions to only breastfeed.
So many kids in the U.S are obese, we are totally losing that battle and it will cost us ALL billions to take care of the health ramifications that come from poor nutrition, WHY is it so hard to get more support for moms interested in breastfeeding and moms that are breastfeeding? WHY is it considered odd that I am still breastfeeding my almost 4-year-old son when that's the average age of kids weaning in the world? Why is this not common knowledge? He is the healthiest one in his preschool class, all of his little friends have had pink eye, several colds and worse in the last year and he hasn't. Am I just lucky? I think not.
I wish people, men and women, would finally get it through their heads that supporting breastfeeding will save us all so much money we don't have to pump into health care! It wouldn't even cost that much -- and we would raise healthier kids and gain healthier moms (for more info: http://dagmarbleasdale.com/2009/04/study-finds-benefits-for-breastfeeding-moms/)
Can we please all lobby Oprah to have a show on breastfeeding before the show goes off the air so it finally becomes mainstream and to inform all of the world about how amazingly valuable it is and that it usually takes a few days or even weeks to learn to breastfeed? I don't want to hear "My milk didn't come in" or "I stopped breastfeeding because, you know, the milk doesn't have any benefits any more after one year" ever again! I am so passionate about advocating breastfeeding, but I'm also really tired about running into the same negative comments and misinformation over and over again. Boobs ARE for breastfeeding, people, see? > http://dagmarbleasdale.com/2010/08/national-breastfeeding-month-whip-em-out-video/
(Thank you, Annie, for blogging about this video, it rocks!)
Yet, I also have to say that regardless of what kind of misinformation is out there, there is plenty of great information and free resources available regarding breastfeeding and I'm a big believer in taking responsibility for your own health and decisions. If you want to breastfeed, then try to learn as much as possible about it so you can make informed decisions and can't be duped with misleading information from formula makers. Nature is best -- formula is second best -- it's that simple. You want to succeed with breastfeeding? Then know to refuse or toss out the formula samples that companies aren't even really allowed to give you!
If you have to use formula because of legitimate health reasons, then you don't have a choice and I think in those cases formula companies should be made to give it to you at a huge discount. The price of formula has gone up like 200 percent or something like that in the last few years -- that's outrageous! If you want to use formula even after learning about what's in formula compared to your breast milk, or you feel you have to because your are going back to work, etc., go right ahead -- but please own your decision.
I just recently wrote a lengthy article with many resources and links about breastfeeding versus formula that is a great starting point for moms who want to learn the facts about breastfeeding:
Gisele Bundchen, We Don’t Need a Breastfeeding Law — Mothers Need Resources and Encouragement > http://dagmarbleasdale.com/2010/08/gisele-bundchen-we-dont-need-a-breastfeeding-law-moms-need-resources-and-encouragement/
Moms, the key -- and I always point this out on my blog, as I'm sure you do, Annie -- is educating yourself about breastfeeding BEFORE the baby arrives. Have the phone number of your local La Leche Leader ready on your fridge when you need information and support at 3 a.m (or call 24-hour toll-free breastfeeding helpline service: 1-877-4 LALECHE (1-877-452-5324), read established blogs that write about breastfeeding (like PhD in Parenting), or talk to a lactation specialist beforehand.
Babble: if you are not willing to take the right steps that support instead of undermine moms who want to breastfeed, now that you are more informed, then you've shown your true colors and that's all I need to know to stop visiting.
Dear Annie, thanks for being on top of these things and calling out the bad guys! :)
Dagmar
Dagmar's momsense
@DagmarBleasdale
I certainly don't equate it to a Mars bar or an affair. I don't know, if I wanted to know about College A would I call College B? That seems a lot more neutral, but then again, it doesn't seem like there are many neutral parties when formula ad breastfeeding are involved (on either side!).
I definitely don't think that formula companies should be the ones providing the information... although when no one else seems to be talking about the challenges, I guess they are filling a void?!
I can't believe that. I can't believe that you would tell them to go F@#$ themselves in a very loud and annoying voice. OK, OK, that's what I would have done, so maybe I'm projecting. WTF? SERIOUSLY?
Yeah, look, I have had three breastfed babies and while all have been pretty healthy, the healthiest by far was the one who did get a small amount of formula supplementation from 4 months and weaned from the breast at 15 months (she was crashingly well almost all the time, and at 7, still is). On the other hand, the sickest was the secondborn, who was exclusively breastfed, nary a drop of formula, and self-weaned much later, at almost 2 years old. So while I am (clearly) all for the benefits of breastfeeding, I really think you can't use anecdotal examples about children's health outcomes in this conversation without riling people up unjustifiably, as every case study will throw up its own unique result.
[...] PhD in Parenting: Why would you want breastfeeding advice from a Formula Company!!! Very thought provoking read!!! [...]
It is certainly disappointing to see that Babble.com has succumbed to the tantalizing efforts of Abbott to engage others in its drive to cause more mothers to purchase Similac formula products. When a mother calls the phone number provided by Abbott she reaches Life Care, a company who has also been duped into marketing infant formula for Abbott. The person a mother reaches is not an IBCLC, but an employee who has taken an on-line course in breastfeeding. IBCLCs do not work for formula companies because it presents a conflict of interest. Therefore, mothers are being mislead into thinking that the help with breastfeeding that they will receive is being provided by someone credentialed to do so. I am concerned that a mother will receive inappropriate information for a situation that is truly serious and suffer an adverse outcome. Risky business. Babble.com places mothers and babies at risk for referring mothers to a resource that may not be qualified to deliver the advertised services in a safe manner.
Abbott and other formula companies have escalated their marketing campaigns due to dropping birth rates and more mothers breastfeeding. You can see more of this type of marketing at WedMD, whose infant feeding section is completely sponsored by Gerber (Nestle). The co-opting of infant feeding information on the web by formula companies is worrisome. Formula companies provide breastfeeding information as a mechanism to whitewash their image and sell more of their product, not as a community service.
If a mother needs help with breastfeeding she can contact the US Lactation Consultant Association's website at www.uslca.org to find an IBCLC credentialed lactation consultant near her.
If we wish to help the intermediaries refrain from providing inappropriate and potentially damaging information ask Babble to stop peddling formula for Abbott, ask WebMD to stop peddling formula for Nestle. You can also consider reporting Life Care to the Connecticut state attorney general's office and Abbott to the Illinois state attorney general's office. Complaints can also be sent to the Better Business Bureau in Connecticut and Illinois.
Carla, enough commenters have already dissected the guide in this comment thread, and I don't think it will do any good to pour further effort into it until Rufus/Babble shows a genuine interest in understanding the WHO Code and how predatory formula marketing has destroyed the entire breastfeeding support infrastructure, and set up millions of moms and babies to suffer and fail, which is why all of us are so hopping mad. Babble has already silently removed the ads, the problem is that the negative, misleading breastfeeding guide remains intact. What we really need to do is to keep up the pressure, and raise cash to fund a toll-free breastfeeding hotline that is well-staffed 24/7 so that EVERY mom who calls gets a person on the line, not an answering machine as is now the case with the government line and the LLL line. In fact, we should all work together to get Michelle Obama to fund and MARKET that hotline as part of the Let's Move Campaign!
I don't think Rufus read the quote he gave. After touting the studies showing the benefits of breastfeeding, his quote follows it with: " according to various studies, all of which have been criticized for lacking double-blind status or for confusing correlation and causation".
As someone with a science degree who has written technical papers, I can absolutely, 100% guarantee that phrase is not an innocent caveat. It was included deliberately to undermine everything positive that was said. And it is not even true.
While Rufus says this article was written by his staff, I *strongly* suspect that it was written with crib notes directly from the sponsor. There is no way an independent writer would have included that phrase in that way when discussing breastfeeding studies.
Of course they're not willing to publicly acknowledge their error. They're just hoping we get tired and go away.
Sophie and anyone else who might be interested - I just learned how to do it myself for work (we were sending out a mass mailing to our (pediatric health care) client's parents and trying to get the reading level down closer to the estimated average level). It depends on your version of Word, but it's usually an option on the spell checker. In Word 2007 you click on the "Office" button, then on the "Word Options" button at the bottom of the menu. Select "proofing" from the left side and check the box that say "show readability statistics". Once checked, every time you run a spell check, you'll get a box with the readability stats.
I apologize for the tangent here!
Great comment. Thanks, FEarless!
I am someone who raised nine children without once employing an ounce of formula!
One was given some formula by a hospital, but he never had any once he came home. I made pancakes with the formula powder the hospital sent home with him and my other hospital born children. Some of my children did drink bottles of milk and brewers yeast after they were a year old, when I was always pregnant with the next one, and as I advanced in the pregnancy my nipples would become very sore. One of them drank a lot of such bottles before returning to nursing after the baby was born. I now believe that this was not the best dietary practice, as tending to lay down too many fat cells during a critical growth period, but I was following what I thought was the best advice at the time. There was no "toddler formula" in those days and I probably could not have afforded it if there were, nor do I know if such is really better for toddlers.
I find it difficult to understand what could be complicated or difficult about breast feeding itself. Has any anthropologist ever done research about whether there are mothers in tribal cultures who cannot feed their babies? I know nature is not perfect, but my guess would be that this is quite rare. You put your baby to the breast when he is born, you nurse him when he cries, always trying that first, you nurse him as long as he wants to. You nurse him for comfort; you are his pacifier. You take him with you wherever you go and nurse him wherever you are. You eat good food and you drink lots of liquids. And the baby grows. I think this is the situation for most women where breast feeding is just what is expected and everybody does. If there really are some women who don't make enough milk, the idea thing would be for there to be breast milk banks, or for a close friend to help her out by supplying a bottle or two of breast milk a day, or even if they lived close by nursing her baby a couple of times a day. My grandmother did this for a woman in her apartment building who had to work many hours a day, nursing her baby while she was gone all day, along with her own; the mother continued nursing the baby at night.
I do see that there might be difficulties with this unfortunate business of women having to leave their little babies and go to work, and I know that the world is such that if you live in a part of the country where housing is expensive, you can get in a position where both parents have to work to keep a roof over their heads. I do admire women who persist in nursing through this, when I think it does become actually more complicated and difficult than using formula. I've never had to use a breast pump, although I have hand expressed a few half bottles for rare occasions, but I think having to take time at work to do this would have daunted me. I know a nurse who managed to do this, which I think is amazing since most of us had trouble finding time to pee during our shifts! I'd like to see more of a 'maternity allowance' in this country as some western European countries have, to make it more possible for mothers to stay with their babies, as I think this by itself would encourage extended nursing.
I like the idea I have heard floated that formula be made a prescription item, which would create the consciousness that it is something for a medical problem, such as a woman who has had breast reduction surgery, or a woman who became very ill while her baby was small and had to be hospitalized and separated from her baby. An advantage of this would be that if it was a prescription item, insurance and medicaid would pay for it for those who truly needed it, which meant that babies who were being formula fed could get a consistent supply. Since this would be an expense to the whole country and to the taxpayers, insurance companies and medicaid would restrict the tendency of doctors to write such prescriptions too easily. Insurance companies might well fund visits to certified lactation consultants, when this might well spare them a year and a half of purchasing formula.
As for "personal choice," I certainly believe in it as a legal matter, where no one else's rights are seriously impinged upon.
That doesn't mean that all choices are equally good. Smoking, for instance, is a personal choice, and shouldn't be illegal so long as it isn't imposed on others so that they are forced to breathe smoke also. Choosing to have a C section with no medical indication is a "personal choice" which shouldn't be against the law, but which I believe medical ethics should not indulge except for those who have a pathological fear of labor; wanting to keep a nulliparous birth canal while becoming a mother is not a choice I believe medical ethics should indulge. Along those lines, choosing to formula feed a baby for no medical reason at all is a personal choice which shouldn't be illegal in a free society, but that doesn't mean it is an equally good choice! I respect the right to choose to do so, but I don't respect the choice itself. I think if a woman feels that putting her breast in a baby's mouth is creepy, that is pathological, and I pity it just as I pity the woman with a pathological fear of labor and birth, but I concede that in those circumstances C sections and a bottle are a proper medical prescription for a pathology. Those forced into formula feeding by situations beyond their control, such as unjust actions by child protective authorities, separations due to immigration issues, separations due to medical and family crises, have my sympathy. Just as the safe C section is a wonderful thing when really medically needed, the ability to feed babies artificially and have them live and even thrive, something which has only existed for about a century and a half, is a good thing when truly needed. I just think that is how we should regard it.
Susan Peterson
Susan,
I think it is wonderful that you have been able to nurse 9 children and that you are such a strong supporter of breastfeeding. I can tell you are very passionate about the issues and I think that is good. We need lots of breastfeeding advocate out there.
But I would also suggest that you (and anyone else that believes that breastfeeding is easy and uncomplicated for all) may want to seek out and understand the stories of those who do find breastfeeding complicated and difficult. Our struggles are real. Trust me when I say that there are women who really do struggle to make enough milk, we aren't just a myth. I think understanding this and hearing our stories is key to getting our governments on side with providing the support, research and policies which would make breastfeeding for more women possible.
Agreed with Annie 100%, including there being some micro-points where we disagree, but overall, brava.
Similac, I know you're paying attention. LISTEN to your actual customer base. FFF is a great representative.
To be fair, I am an independent writer and mention the flaws in these studies all the time. You don't need to be a paid-off pawn of the formula industry to take issue with the problematic nature of child-related studies... or the interpretation thereof. I think it could have easily been written by a freelancer, but the sponsorship remains a problem.
I agree completely with Kathleen. Pat yourself on the back and assume that since it was so easy for you, it must be for everyone else. To be honest, I didn't understand why people formula fed before I had my son. And then my house burned down, creating incredible stress in my son's first month of life and lowering my milk supply, and then my face went paralyzed and I had to take steroids, which wasn't really an appropriate med to breastfeed with (in my opinion). It's easy to judge when you don't listen to the stories of others.
Prior to the advent of formula, children died. That's just reality. There are also stories of wet nurses long into human history.
I know that a lot of BF activists love the idea of a milk bank, but as a consumer, I much prefer formula. The effect of storage on breastmilk has been studied, and any of the benefits that might be conferred seem to diminish once milk has been stored.
There are also women who LOVE work and are eager to return just days after having a child. Extended maternity leave isn't going to work for them.
I'm not trying to be argumentative and say that there aren't real solutions we can work toward. But I think the MOST important solution is removing judgment from this whole debate.
Susan,
While I absolutely agree that you need to hear some stories of women who truly, truly struggled with supply (I was one of those, - TWICE! - , despite prescription meds, herbs, techniques, everything) and as a result had to supplement or replace in order to keep their children alive and fed, I think you raise some very good points in your response. If I could have breastfed my kids for at least a year each, I would have loved to. There is no really good reason to use formula if you can somehow breastfeed, in my opinion (even for logistical reasons), and I think the number of women who end up formula feeding because they have read some brochure from a formula company are few and far between. Rather, I believe many end up on formula because of the complications (mentally or physically) of breastfeeding that DO exist and happen more than you may believe. Also, due to our much more complicated roles as breadwinners. This is where we still have a tremendous gap in our social and cultural infrastructure. As women, we are taught to be strong, independent, educated, well employed. But when it comes time to have kids, what if you have been so successful at all that? You're supposed to stop everything you have striven for and play the appropriate mother role. We couldn't do that. If I didn't work, we would have no housing or food on our table. So my husband takes care of the kids. Ever tried breastfeeding when you have to travel for work? I did. I carted a pump with me to client sites and pumped my heart out. It's not pretty or easy. And yes, it screws with your supply - badly. I'd already started supplementing when I went back to work the first time as we had issues with supply on top of that, but it wasn't sustainable to try and breastfeed while having to be away every day. I only wish I had known then that I could breastfeed at night and supplement during the day, would have been a great compromise but guess who deterred me from that? My lactation consultant, the most judgmental and useless person I have ever met. Instead of trying to find a solution that worked, it was all breastfeeding, all the time or nothing at all.
If you really want to do something to help women breastfeed for as long as they can/choose, do two things: 1) get the RIGHT lactation consultants out there who can understand a woman's real situation and is not judgmental nor an activist, but can help a woman achieve the best solution possible, 2) rally for support for new moms who *need* to work (not even WANT, but NEED because yes, we do exist out there - the sole breadwinners). Focusing on what a brochure or pamphlet says in a formula jar is addressing the incorrect root of the problem. For many different reasons, women have to use formula. I actually think Susan has some pretty interesting suggestions within her post.
If you have never had this problem, you have NO idea what it's like. You have no idea the judgment and scorn you receive. Moms are horrible to each other when it comes to things they don't understand. Great, so you had no trouble breastfeeding. Lucky you. Didn't need a c-section? Awesome, no recovery time for you. I had my first naturally and had an emergency c-section with the second to save his life. Was I pressured? No. It was not a choice. Would I choose it again if I had the choice? No way, recovery sucks. But start asking the questions to understand where the problems lie and maybe then you can help in a constructive way.
Also, saying that formula feeding moms take these kinds of posts too personally is like punching me in the face and then saying you didn't mean it. It's not enough to preface the argument with a "I don't mean to offend...". You are not realising that every well-intentioned word is communicating that there is something wrong with using formula and it's something we should fight against. I know, you don't mean that, but you're saying it. Every time. And every time it makes all the women who have had to deal with issues and resort to formula feel like crap. Don't like the fact that a formula company is using sales people masquerading as lactation consultants to sell product? I agree, horrible and not appropriate. But I would be curious to see what percentage of women read their literature and drank the kool-aid when they had no other reason to try formula. I suspect the "breastfeeding support line" is more PR and social responsibility than anything and perhaps it's misused or misaligned. I bet the most action they've gotten so far is from the people who have read this post.
I'd like to see women rallying for support for each other no matter what they have to choose, not trying to force each other into cookie cutter replications of their own situations because they just can't understand how it could be otherwise.
Having spent years working with food banks in my local area, I can attest to the same thing here. We would accept formula donations and then chuck it because: a) we couldn't guarantee it's ongoing supply, and b) we couldn't guarantee that the contents had not been tampered with, which wasn't a risk we were willing to take with something that is for some children the sole form of nutrition.
I cannot tell you how much this pisses me off.
I mean, okay, maybe it is a trend. Obviously, culture adapts and the average weaning age in any culture may swing back and forth, so I guess technically if our average weaning age is extended for awhile and then swings back then it was a trend. I get that. BUT IT STILL PISSES ME OFF.
Everybody is always talking about supporting moms and I guess the issue for me is, you know, don't just stop at moms like you. I support women who formula feed even if I don't support formula industry tactics and I support women who breastfeed for twelve months even if I hope to breastfeed longer and I support women who breastfeed for ten years even if I plan to wean earlier. I mean, really, why does our culture believe that there is only one right way to do things? Babies and parents and families are too dynamic to be contained within one set of parenting choices.
I'm not impressed that in US you have this kind of incidents. Here in Greece, things are a little bit different...
The misguiding concerning BF comes straight from maternity hospitals and pediatricians. Although this phenomenon is the rule, there is exception, where mothers are willing to read & learn & find, not tips, but good advice about BF problems they have, and they discover things like IBCLC's & Kellymom's sites...
As soon as they solve their BF problems through the help from the last OR EVEN WHEN IT IS TOO LATE TO DO SO, they realize who was there for them & what went wrong with BF, plus that they intend to have a more PERSONAL behaviour concerning feeding in case they will have another baby and not pay attention to any well-wisher who is a BF supporter but just in words...
p.s. @ Brooke: In contrast of your experience, another mother in "non-formula days" could have experience a natural disaster & BF her child even if she had a very low quality diet.
A mother could nowadays take non-compatible medication with BF but pump & throw her milk to maintain her milk supply until she could stop med's & BF her child exclusively again.
As a consumer you can just consume & PAY for milk from cows, not for human milk. You claim to be informed about breastmilk storage benefits from sources that are doubtfull as you don't specifically name these studies...Is there even one single paper in the international literature (give the link that you retrieved it to whoever is interested) & if there is, who is the sponsor of that research??
Many women love their work & you should not take for granted that they won't be mothers for the rest of their lifes for their children!!!
I'm Greek & my English is not grate but do you confuse BF with maternity & more acurrately "extended maternity"???
But girl, please do not consider all these in an argumentative way!!! You may have your opinion & do whatever you want to with your babies but DO NOT GIVE FALSE STATES ABOUT BREASTFEEDING THAT ANY MOTHER COULD TAKE AS AN ADVICE, let the certified people to do that job!!!
P.S. I'm not a lactation consultant or anything like that, i just happen to be a mother who had to face a situation with her child's feeding. Sorry about any typographical mistakes :))
It may sound funny or weird to you that here in Greece noone calls in companies to take advice about the products of that company!!! An act of a company like Babble would be meaningless here!!! xaxaxa
Susan, yes. Anthropologists have studied that. Extensively. Check out Sarah Hrdy, Meredith Small, Katherine Dettwyler, and the likes. Not only will you find a great source of information, you can also find some substantial information and studies in their works referenced pages.
THAT SAID, I am a breastfeeding mother who has encountered struggles. For being a biological function, nursing just doesn't always come easily. I managed to overcome my issues, but others don't. That doesn't mean they did anything wrong, it just means that we all have different bodies and different babies and different circumstances.
I donate to a milk bank and was wondering - what if those donations were made into an evaporated milk? Seriously, this has nothing to do with anything, but my husband and I were talking about it the other day. We know people who say the same thing, that as consumers they prefer formula, and its a cow-milk-based product, right? What if formula were human-milk-based? Would that (theoretically) be something that consumers were interested in? I'm not sure how feasible it is, and I guess alot of people would ask why buy an evaporated human milk product when you could just buy donor milk instead, but it seems like it would work, doesn't it? I mean, I'm sure that some women would gladly work for a milk bank if all they had to do was come in two or three times a day and pump, you know? I mean, in theory human milk could probably be just as effectively stored as cow milk with regards to infant foods, right?
Anyway, weird idea, I know, just a thought.
Brooke:
You said that no one else seems to be talking about the challenges? I think most websites do. Sites like Kellymom, Jack Newman, La Leche League and so on have detailed sections on breastfeeding problems, as do any and all breastfeeding books that I've purchased or reviewed.
Fearless Formula Feeder + Granville Bonyata:
There certainly are studies with flaws in them. However, the overall body of evidence on the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks of infant formula is very strong. So to day "all of which have been criticized...." is misleading, and perhaps intentionally so.