Underhand tactics - formula companies

[Blah11]

I agree with that chloesmummy. As a BFer you wouldnt go to SMA for BF advice really.

 

[pheobe]

Flipping heck, i disappear for a couple of hours and over 100 more posts!!!!

Off to read them!

Ill save you the time, its pretty much the same as been said in the first few hundred

LMAO

 

[Sam9kids]

Flipping heck, i disappear for a couple of hours and over 100 more posts!!!!

Off to read them!

Ill save you the time, its pretty much the same as been said in the first few hundred

LMAO

You could have replied quicker... i went off and read them all!!

 

[OmarsMum]

Flipping heck, i disappear for a couple of hours and over 100 more posts!!!!

Off to read them!

Ill save you the time, its pretty much the same as been said in the first few hundred

LMAO

You could have replied quicker... i went off and read them all!!

loooooooooooool I'm only checking the last page. It summerizes it all & there r lots of quotes so there is no need to flip back.

 

[Lu28]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I've had weird moments when I've seen an advert for formula and thought it sounded so good that maybe it would be better than what my body would make!

I still decided to breastfeed but I imagine that people who are sitting on the fence about breastfeeding or who are struggling might be encouraged to just give up and give formula because of the way they word things. Using phrases like 'if you decide to move on from breastfeeding' and targeting it at 6+ months to me is encouraging people to stop earlier than the recommended time xx

Interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who's still pregnant, thanks hon xx

 

[Sam9kids]

Flipping heck, i disappear for a couple of hours and over 100 more posts!!!!

Off to read them!

Ill save you the time, its pretty much the same as been said in the first few hundred

LMAO

You could have replied quicker... i went off and read them all!!

loooooooooooool I'm only checking the last page. It summerizes it all & there r lots of quotes so there is no need to flip back.

yeah yeah ok clever clogs!!

 

[freckleonear]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I agree it will have little to no influence on a woman deciding whether to breastfeed or formula feed. I'm more concerned about women who are struggling to breastfeed getting poor advice.

What is the likeliness of a BFing mum phoning a Formula company for advice? I FFed but I know about LLL, but, even if you didn't know about them the first thing you would do is google and pages full of BF sites/helplines come up. New Mum struggling or not, I doubt they would skip though all of those sites to find an SMA website for advice.

True to a certain extent, but because formula feeding companies have bought breastfeeding keywords they appear as sponsored links and advertisements on Google.

When you search for "breastfeeding advice" on Google the third link is Aptamil and the third advert on the left is SMA. When you search for "breastfeeding problems" the first link is Aptamil.

But hopefully you're right and most women will skip through those and ignore all the links to formula companies.

 

[BlackBerry25]

I thought we were done.

 

[OmarsMum]

Flipping heck, i disappear for a couple of hours and over 100 more posts!!!!

Off to read them!

Ill save you the time, its pretty much the same as been said in the first few hundred

LMAO

You could have replied quicker... i went off and read them all!!

loooooooooooool I'm only checking the last page. It summerizes it all & there r lots of quotes so there is no need to flip back.

yeah yeah ok clever clogs!!

looooooooooooooool

 

[smokey]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I agree it will have little to no influence on a woman deciding whether to breastfeed or formula feed. I'm more concerned about women who are struggling to breastfeed getting poor advice.

What is the likeliness of a BFing mum phoning a Formula company for advice? I FFed but I know about LLL, but, even if you didn't know about them the first thing you would do is google and pages full of BF sites/helplines come up. New Mum struggling or not, I doubt they would skip though all of those sites to find an SMA website for advice.

True to a certain extent, but because formula feeding companies have bought breastfeeding keywords they appear as sponsored links and advertisements on Google.

When you search for "breastfeeding advice" on Google the third link is Aptamil and the third advert on the left is SMA. When you search for "breastfeeding problems" the first link is Aptamil.

But hopefully you're right and most women will skip through those and ignore all the links to formula companies.

but for every 1 of those there is 100 proper advice sites so again why would someone go to a formula site for advice when there is plenty others there.

 

[Rach27]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I've had weird moments when I've seen an advert for formula and thought it sounded so good that maybe it would be better than what my body would make!

I still decided to breastfeed but I imagine that people who are sitting on the fence about breastfeeding or who are struggling might be encouraged to just give up and give formula because of the way they word things. Using phrases like 'if you decide to move on from breastfeeding' and targeting it at 6+ months to me is encouraging people to stop earlier than the recommended time xx

Interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who's still pregnant, thanks hon xx

Exactly!

For some reason I always thought BF'ing lasts about 6 months but then someone asked me when I was going to give it up and start formula and I was like "wait a minute...why do I have to do that?!" Another issue with the early stages is that things happen so fast and a single decision, based on perhaps innacurate or biased advise, could be one you end up regretting for the rest of your life.

 

[Lu28]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I've had weird moments when I've seen an advert for formula and thought it sounded so good that maybe it would be better than what my body would make!

I still decided to breastfeed but I imagine that people who are sitting on the fence about breastfeeding or who are struggling might be encouraged to just give up and give formula because of the way they word things. Using phrases like 'if you decide to move on from breastfeeding' and targeting it at 6+ months to me is encouraging people to stop earlier than the recommended time xx

Interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who's still pregnant, thanks hon xx

Exactly!

For some reason I always thought BF'ing lasts about 6 months but then someone asked me when I was going to give it up and start formula and I was like "wait a minute...why do I have to do that?!" Another issue with the early stages is that things happen so fast and a single decision, based on perhaps innacurate or biased advise, could be one you end up regretting for the rest of your life.

I'm actually starting to find this thread quite infuriating now. The reason why the OP posted this was due to the effect such advertising might have on pregnant ladies. We have debated how we think we may or may not have been affected but of course it's easy for us all to say now as we've already made our decisions. People have asked for input from ladies who are pregnant now - and when someone does take the time to post, her comments are hardly acknowledged because some are too busy trying to get one up in a point scoring contest

 

[Rach27]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I've had weird moments when I've seen an advert for formula and thought it sounded so good that maybe it would be better than what my body would make!

I still decided to breastfeed but I imagine that people who are sitting on the fence about breastfeeding or who are struggling might be encouraged to just give up and give formula because of the way they word things. Using phrases like 'if you decide to move on from breastfeeding' and targeting it at 6+ months to me is encouraging people to stop earlier than the recommended time xx

Interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who's still pregnant, thanks hon xx

Exactly!

For some reason I always thought BF'ing lasts about 6 months but then someone asked me when I was going to give it up and start formula and I was like "wait a minute...why do I have to do that?!" Another issue with the early stages is that things happen so fast and a single decision, based on perhaps innacurate or biased advise, could be one you end up regretting for the rest of your life.

I'm actually starting to find this thread quite infuriating now. The reason why the OP posted this was due to the effect such advertising might have on pregnant ladies. We have debated how we think we may or may not have been affected but of course it's easy for us all to say now as we've already made our decisions. People have asked for input from ladies who are pregnant now - and when someone does take the time to post, her comments are hardly acknowledged because some are too busy trying to get one up in a point scoring contest

Eh??? I was agreeing with her

 

[Lu28]

I wish some ladies from the trimesters would give some input into weither the advert realy is brainwashing or not, after all its them its aimed at.
We have already made our choices and live with them so realy the advert wouldnt have the same affect on us and we are free to moan about it either way

I honestly dont think a woman who is planning on bf is persuaded by adverts like that and any woman who is would have to have had the idea of ff in mind to begine with.
Very few women will ever think sod it that advert makes me want to ff, the desision to ff comes from many reasons and those reasons would still be there advert or no advert.

I've had weird moments when I've seen an advert for formula and thought it sounded so good that maybe it would be better than what my body would make!

I still decided to breastfeed but I imagine that people who are sitting on the fence about breastfeeding or who are struggling might be encouraged to just give up and give formula because of the way they word things. Using phrases like 'if you decide to move on from breastfeeding' and targeting it at 6+ months to me is encouraging people to stop earlier than the recommended time xx

Interesting to hear from the perspective of someone who's still pregnant, thanks hon xx

Exactly!

For some reason I always thought BF'ing lasts about 6 months but then someone asked me when I was going to give it up and start formula and I was like "wait a minute...why do I have to do that?!" Another issue with the early stages is that things happen so fast and a single decision, based on perhaps innacurate or biased advise, could be one you end up regretting for the rest of your life.

I'm actually starting to find this thread quite infuriating now. The reason why the OP posted this was due to the effect such advertising might have on pregnant ladies. We have debated how we think we may or may not have been affected but of course it's easy for us all to say now as we've already made our decisions. People have asked for input from ladies who are pregnant now - and when someone does take the time to post, her comments are hardly acknowledged because some are too busy trying to get one up in a point scoring contest

Eh??? I was agreeing with her

Sorry, wasn't talking about you hon! Talking about everyone else who seems to have skimmed over her post to get the next jab in!

 

[curlykate]

Okay, I think I'll add my 2 cents, now that I have blurry eyes from reading all of that!

I have no problem with how women choose to feed their babies. I myself was a FF baby. Out of 4 nieces/nephews, only one was bf, and only until 6 months. I fully supported my sister's decisions to FF, despite my strong feelings about BFing.

I knew before I even TTC that I would BF my child(ren), and if it was difficult, I would do absolutely EVERYTHING in my power to BF before moving on to formula. I researched everything I could about BFing prior to even giving birth, so I would know what to expect.
Despite my strong convictions, when Devin was born, and had severe jaundice, the nurses recommended I top up his feeds with formula. I was scared, emotional, worried for my son's wellbeing, etc, etc, etc, as many of us are during the first few days of parenting. I took the nurse's advice, and topped up 2 feeds. I wasn't swayed by an advertisement, I wasn't told that I " had to" choose formula, I knew the "breast is best" that was shoved down my throat at prenatal classes.

But when it comes down to it...when a woman feels insecure, and unsure that she's doing the right thing, her choices will be swayed. Maybe it's from an ad, maybe it's from those around her. But when people are pushing formula in your face 24/7, you start to question your convictions. And when it's become the "norm" to FF (whether it's a perceived norm, or actually is the norm), women start to question their choices. I nurse in public fairy often. In the beginning, I wouldn't even nurse with anyone but OH in the room. It just wasn't the norm to nurse in front of people. Luckily I built up my self esteem pretty quickly, and now I don't care who sees me caring for my child. Because in the end, that's exactly what I'm doing...caring for my child the best way I know how. If someone else cares for their child by FF, it's no skin off my back. They're also caring for their child the best way they know how, whether it's because of a medical reason, or just their personal choice.

I guess, in all that rambling, what I'm trying to say is this...when women are insecure, they tend to look to others for assistance. If they're surrounded by formula ads, and people who are pressuring them to use formula, they're more likely to sway to formula. Unfortunately, there just isn't the funds available to advertise BFing the way big formula companies can, so FFing ends up being perceived as the norm. I know many women who just want to "fit in", and "go with the flow" so to speak. By banning formula ads, hopefully the norm will swing back to BFing.

 

[pheobe]

Okay, I think I'll add my 2 cents, now that I have blurry eyes from reading all of that!

I have no problem with how women choose to feed their babies. I myself was a FF baby. Out of 4 nieces/nephews, only one was bf, and only until 6 months. I fully supported my sister's decisions to FF, despite my strong feelings about BFing.

I knew before I even TTC that I would BF my child(ren), and if it was difficult, I would do absolutely EVERYTHING in my power to BF before moving on to formula. I researched everything I could about BFing prior to even giving birth, so I would know what to expect.
Despite my strong convictions, when Devin was born, and had severe jaundice, the nurses recommended I top up his feeds with formula. I was scared, emotional, worried for my son's wellbeing, etc, etc, etc, as many of us are during the first few days of parenting. I took the nurse's advice, and topped up 2 feeds. I wasn't swayed by an advertisement, I wasn't told that I " had to" choose formula, I knew the "breast is best" that was shoved down my throat at prenatal classes.

But when it comes down to it...when a woman feels insecure, and unsure that she's doing the right thing, her choices will be swayed. Maybe it's from an ad, maybe it's from those around her. But when people are pushing formula in your face 24/7, you start to question your convictions. And when it's become the "norm" to FF (whether it's a perceived norm, or actually is the norm), women start to question their choices. I nurse in public fairy often. In the beginning, I wouldn't even nurse with anyone but OH in the room. It just wasn't the norm to nurse in front of people. Luckily I built up my self esteem pretty quickly, and now I don't care who sees me caring for my child. Because in the end, that's exactly what I'm doing...caring for my child the best way I know how. If someone else cares for their child by FF, it's no skin off my back. They're also caring for their child the best way they know how, whether it's because of a medical reason, or just their personal choice.

I guess, in all that rambling, what I'm trying to say is this...when women are insecure, they tend to look to others for assistance. If they're surrounded by formula ads, and people who are pressuring them to use formula, they're more likely to sway to formula. Unfortunately, there just isn't the funds available to advertise BFing the way big formula companies can, so FFing ends up being perceived as the norm. I know many women who just want to "fit in", and "go with the flow" so to speak. By banning formula ads, hopefully the norm will swing back to BFing.

Thats the most sensible/clear/concise explanation to the whole point of this thread I've read - thank you
x

 

[Rach27]

Sorry, wasn't talking about you hon! Talking about everyone else who seems to have skimmed over her post to get the next jab in!

 

[Faerie]

Hehe my advert is for aptamil baby club that says 'new mum or mum-to-be?' same thing.

With regards to aptamil, in my antenatal classes they said 'we are not allowed to give you advice on which formula to use but in the SCBU they use aptamil'

They're not allowed to give people advice on formula if they ask??? That's just freaking ridiculous, a step way too far.

Sorry, probably been discussed, I'm catching up

 

[curlykate]

Okay, I think I'll add my 2 cents, now that I have blurry eyes from reading all of that!

I have no problem with how women choose to feed their babies. I myself was a FF baby. Out of 4 nieces/nephews, only one was bf, and only until 6 months. I fully supported my sister's decisions to FF, despite my strong feelings about BFing.

I knew before I even TTC that I would BF my child(ren), and if it was difficult, I would do absolutely EVERYTHING in my power to BF before moving on to formula. I researched everything I could about BFing prior to even giving birth, so I would know what to expect.
Despite my strong convictions, when Devin was born, and had severe jaundice, the nurses recommended I top up his feeds with formula. I was scared, emotional, worried for my son's wellbeing, etc, etc, etc, as many of us are during the first few days of parenting. I took the nurse's advice, and topped up 2 feeds. I wasn't swayed by an advertisement, I wasn't told that I " had to" choose formula, I knew the "breast is best" that was shoved down my throat at prenatal classes.

But when it comes down to it...when a woman feels insecure, and unsure that she's doing the right thing, her choices will be swayed. Maybe it's from an ad, maybe it's from those around her. But when people are pushing formula in your face 24/7, you start to question your convictions. And when it's become the "norm" to FF (whether it's a perceived norm, or actually is the norm), women start to question their choices. I nurse in public fairy often. In the beginning, I wouldn't even nurse with anyone but OH in the room. It just wasn't the norm to nurse in front of people. Luckily I built up my self esteem pretty quickly, and now I don't care who sees me caring for my child. Because in the end, that's exactly what I'm doing...caring for my child the best way I know how. If someone else cares for their child by FF, it's no skin off my back. They're also caring for their child the best way they know how, whether it's because of a medical reason, or just their personal choice.

I guess, in all that rambling, what I'm trying to say is this...when women are insecure, they tend to look to others for assistance. If they're surrounded by formula ads, and people who are pressuring them to use formula, they're more likely to sway to formula. Unfortunately, there just isn't the funds available to advertise BFing the way big formula companies can, so FFing ends up being perceived as the norm. I know many women who just want to "fit in", and "go with the flow" so to speak. By banning formula ads, hopefully the norm will swing back to BFing.

Thats the most sensible/clear/concise explanation to the whole point of this thread I've read - thank you
x

Thank goodness that made sense to someone else! My brain is fuzzy from too much reading, and I'm dealing with a lack of sleep because of a sick baby. (Just a cold and nothing serious, but still devastating for my little man!) I was worried I wouldn't get my point across!

 

[Rach27]

The NCT don't 'talk' about it although you do get a leaflet. I must admit, I did find that strange but they said they're not allowed to advocate FF (part of their directive or something).