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A few days ago, spurred on by a conversation on a forum, I visited some US baby-formula sites. I was amazed at the contrast between US and UK sites. In the UK, formula manufacturers are very limited in what they're allowed to say about their products (I believe Milupa is being forced to take off "closest to breastmilk" from its cartons). You have to click through several warning screens about "breast is best" before being allowed to get any information. In some ways this is admirable; in others, frustrating, because if your midwife or HV isn't helpful, you have no way of knowing what the difference is between different brands. (They all have about the same levels of nutrition--it's mandated by law--but the composition of each is slightly different and some babies take better to one than another.) Cow & Gate won't even put information about its prescription formulas on their UK site. (They do make them--I googled--and oddly, the Ireland site has information.)
The US sites, on the other hand, are all very slick and marketing oriented with the minimum amount of attention paid to the baby milk marketing code. They try to avoid forbidden claims, but the language is very different from the dry, clinical tone of the UK sites.
Compare http://www.enfamil.com (US) with http://www.milupa.co.uk (UK). See the difference?
You may have noticed I mentioned prescriptions. Well, in the UK, formulas other than regular and soya aren't usually available to purchase. You need a prescription. This helps with the cost, but also means you can't just try them on hypoallergenic formula (Nutramigen, etc). The Baby Formula Action groups want soya to be this way too--30-50% of babies with a cows' milk allergy are allergic to soya as well, and many mothers still think "oh, he's colicky, he must be lactose-intolerant/allergic" and switch to soya, which may not be as good. In the US, you can buy hypoallergenic formula (where the proteins are predigested--smells like vomit, apparently) off the shelf. Sales are even linked right from the info page (and you can get free samples). Even more disturbing--the Nutramigen entry on the products page (after hypoallergenic formula blah blah blah) is "Nutramigen quiets colic symptoms fast — often within 48 hours." That's like dangling a carrot to the parents of a colicky baby. And it may not be harmless--there are real disadvantages to feeding a hypoallergenic formula (corn syrup instead of lactose for example).
While we're on bad marketing: All of you who still boycott Nestle because of its evil marketing practices? I've always held that it's pointless, because they're all doing it, and I'm right. I got the last monitoring report (only 2004, sadly: http://www.ibfan.org/site2005/abm/paginas/articles/arch_art/298-9.pdf). Of the major manufacturers, only Heinz was fully compliant with ANY section of the baby food marketing code. (Not helped by the US' refusal to implement any of it, which would provide a legal impetus.) Nestle is the worst of the bunch--"substantial violation" in all but one category--but none of the big ones are bad. NUMICO (Cow & Gate, Nutricia) is a close 2nd--they also own Milupa but that's graded separately.
From the other side, am I wrong in feeling there should be a line somewhere between being positive about the benefits of breastfeeding, and being so hard on formula that women who do use it feel like shit? Is it too much to ask that the writers remember that women can't go back and make choices over again, and that some had no choice to begin with?
This is very true:
"Finally, who does feel guilty about breastfeeding? Not the women who make an informed choice to bottle feed. It is the woman who wanted to breastfeed, who tried, but was unable to breastfeed. In order to prevent women feeling guilty about not breastfeeding what is required is not avoiding promotion of breastfeeding, but promotion of breastfeeding coupled with good, knowledgeable and skillful support. This is not happening in most North American or European societies."
But, it doesn't answer the question (the article was about breastfeeding and guilt)--the women who do feel guilty are the ones that don't have any reason to and yet the way many breastfeeding advocacy sites are written does just that. I can understand that a lot of this is geared towards women who still have the choice, but would it kill them to remember, sometimes, that not all bottle feeding mothers wanted to deprive their children of the benefits of breast milk? (I at least have the somewhat-guilt-relieving knowledge that I didn't just give up, I tried everything, and my problems just weren't solvable.)
Yes, I still have a thing about this...
The US sites, on the other hand, are all very slick and marketing oriented with the minimum amount of attention paid to the baby milk marketing code. They try to avoid forbidden claims, but the language is very different from the dry, clinical tone of the UK sites.
Compare http://www.enfamil.com (US) with http://www.milupa.co.uk (UK). See the difference?
You may have noticed I mentioned prescriptions. Well, in the UK, formulas other than regular and soya aren't usually available to purchase. You need a prescription. This helps with the cost, but also means you can't just try them on hypoallergenic formula (Nutramigen, etc). The Baby Formula Action groups want soya to be this way too--30-50% of babies with a cows' milk allergy are allergic to soya as well, and many mothers still think "oh, he's colicky, he must be lactose-intolerant/allergic" and switch to soya, which may not be as good. In the US, you can buy hypoallergenic formula (where the proteins are predigested--smells like vomit, apparently) off the shelf. Sales are even linked right from the info page (and you can get free samples). Even more disturbing--the Nutramigen entry on the products page (after hypoallergenic formula blah blah blah) is "Nutramigen quiets colic symptoms fast — often within 48 hours." That's like dangling a carrot to the parents of a colicky baby. And it may not be harmless--there are real disadvantages to feeding a hypoallergenic formula (corn syrup instead of lactose for example).
While we're on bad marketing: All of you who still boycott Nestle because of its evil marketing practices? I've always held that it's pointless, because they're all doing it, and I'm right. I got the last monitoring report (only 2004, sadly: http://www.ibfan.org/site2005/abm/paginas/articles/arch_art/298-9.pdf). Of the major manufacturers, only Heinz was fully compliant with ANY section of the baby food marketing code. (Not helped by the US' refusal to implement any of it, which would provide a legal impetus.) Nestle is the worst of the bunch--"substantial violation" in all but one category--but none of the big ones are bad. NUMICO (Cow & Gate, Nutricia) is a close 2nd--they also own Milupa but that's graded separately.
From the other side, am I wrong in feeling there should be a line somewhere between being positive about the benefits of breastfeeding, and being so hard on formula that women who do use it feel like shit? Is it too much to ask that the writers remember that women can't go back and make choices over again, and that some had no choice to begin with?
This is very true:
"Finally, who does feel guilty about breastfeeding? Not the women who make an informed choice to bottle feed. It is the woman who wanted to breastfeed, who tried, but was unable to breastfeed. In order to prevent women feeling guilty about not breastfeeding what is required is not avoiding promotion of breastfeeding, but promotion of breastfeeding coupled with good, knowledgeable and skillful support. This is not happening in most North American or European societies."
But, it doesn't answer the question (the article was about breastfeeding and guilt)--the women who do feel guilty are the ones that don't have any reason to and yet the way many breastfeeding advocacy sites are written does just that. I can understand that a lot of this is geared towards women who still have the choice, but would it kill them to remember, sometimes, that not all bottle feeding mothers wanted to deprive their children of the benefits of breast milk? (I at least have the somewhat-guilt-relieving knowledge that I didn't just give up, I tried everything, and my problems just weren't solvable.)
Yes, I still have a thing about this...
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