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:
- Go to the Common Breastfeeding Concerns section of the kellymom.com website (a good resource for breastfeeding problems, unlike the Similac/Babble content) and pick a breastfeeding concern. Read up on it.
- Then call the Similac number and ask them your question (e.g. “Why are my nipples sore after months of pain-free nursing?” or “How can I increase my baby’s weight gain?” or some other typical or not so typical question).
- When you are done, come back and leave a comment here indicating what advice Similac gave and how it compared to the information on the kellymom website. In particular, if they ever mention trying formula or why their formula is the best, be sure to note that.
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.
{ 212 comments… read them below or add one }
I tried to leave a comment on Babble’s facebook page, and it was rapidly deleted. Has anyone else has this experience?
Angela:
I see your comments there. You need to be on the “Babble.com + Others” tab or the “Just Others” tab to see it. They default for their page is to only show their comments.
So I followed the link trail to see where the breastfeeding advice is coming from. If you click on the big banner that says “Babble Breastfeeding Guide” it’s actually a double click ad that takes you to:
http://similac.com/feeding-nutrition/baby-feeding-expert?utm_medium=DISPLAY&utm_source=Babble&utm_campaign=SIMILAC_FEEDING%20EXPERT&utm_content=1x1_Newsletter&WT.mc_id=SIMILAC_FEEDING%20EXPERT
towards the bottom of that page is a line that says: “If you have questions related to breastfeeding, a lactation consultant will be available to help you. Lactation consultants are provided by LifeCare, a leading provider of maternity and lactation support programs.”
A google on LifeCare shows:
http://www.lifecare.com/news/archives/matw_0609.html
Assuming Similac is using the same service then they are certified lactation consultants. They are getting around the ban of someone working directly for them by using a 3rd party to actually pay the consultants.
So the good news is they are certified lactation consultants. The bad news is they are certified lactation consultants who are providing advice paid for by a formula company. I sure wouldn’t trust it!
On an extra note I think it is beyond shameful of babble that I clicked on a link that said in big letters breastfeeding guide and was redirected directly to the formula companies web site!!!
Rose:
Thank you for the detective work. The link you provided for LifeCare talks about the “Mothers at Work” program, which is probably different than the support provided for Similac’s feeding hotline. However, I wanted more info, so I fired off this message to LifeCare:
@Rose The connection between Abbott Labs (Similac’s parent co) and Lifecare came up on the Lactnet message board a few months ago when Similac first started promoting this hotline. The Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) at Lifecare refused to participate as it would be against their code of ethics. Lifecare then trained several people through an online lactation educator course (not nearly enough to even qualify to take the IBCLC exam). Abbott Labs insisted that these people be called “Lactation Consultants” despite the fact they do not have this credential.
This was also written about here: http://www.emeraldcoastbreastfeeding.com/2010/06/29/formulalcs/.
HygeiaKate:
Thank you for clarifying that. I’m so glad to hear that these are not actual IBCLCs and I’m angry that Abbott/Lifecare are passing them off as lactation consultants.
The information at http://www.emeraldcoastbreastfeeding.com/2010/06/29/formulalcs/ is not quite accurate. In fact, ANYBODY can call themselves a Lactation Consultant. Your *LC* could be a nurse who took a 2 hr breastfeeding course , a mother who nursed her own baby, or just a well-meaning person who wants to help mothers breastfeed.
That is why it is so important to ask about credentials, to make sure you are getting a genuine International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). To find a local IBCLC, go to http://www.ilca.org
I know this is true, that ANYONE can call themselves a lactation consultant – and it drives me nuts! Can just anyone call themselves a doctor? No, that’s fraud, right?
Would it be worth putting activist effort into regulating this?
Dou-la-la:
At this time, the IBCLC’s professional association in the USA (USLCA) is working to have all IBCLCs licensed. This would ensure that only IBCLCs could use the term *Lactation Consultant.*
Unfortunately this is proving to be a very complicated and prolonged process. In the mean time, we need to educate mother to ask about credentials, and encourage IBCLCs to also use the initials RLC (Registered Lactation Consultant) after their name, e.g.
Norma Ritter IBCLC, RLC
Regulating midwifery has caused more problems than its prevented anywhere in Canada and the US where its been implemented; but at least in most they allow for both certified nurse midwives as well as direct-entry midwives. Regulations do not guarantee that customers will receive a better product or service, prevent fraud, or even ensure the product or service meets bare minimums.
The IBLC has lost a lost a lot of credibility for refusing to make allowances to allow a nursing woman to sit the exam.
IBLCE – who administer the IBCLC exam – DO make allowances for nursing mothers who wish to take the exam. I agree that they may not be as generous as we would like, but many of us are working to change that.
Similarly, anyone can call themselves an economist :/
I have received two phone calls from Similac since my daughter’s birth. I honestly am not sure how they attained my number but, each time I spoke to them, they asked me if I was breastfeeding, if I was if I ever thought of supplementing.
They asked me if I’d like to know the benefits of formula and the person went on to read off a whole spiel of how great & close to breastmilk their formula is. They asked if I needed help they gave lactation specialists to speak to.
By this time, I was already weary and I said no. The second call was about a month ago and they asked the same questions. I opted out to hear anymore. She agreed and reminded me that there are specialists to talk to if I wanted to.
I’ll probably get another call soon. Not once was I asked about breastfeeding and how that was going. Perhaps because I wasn’t given a chance whilst listening to ALL the babble of the benefits of formula. Forgive any typos, I’m on my phone!
Cheers,
-NPC
They *called* you?? Ick. I tried really hard not to fill anything out with my address/phone when i was buying anything maternity/baby related before my 1st was born, but I still got plenty of crap from the ped’s office (that we no longer go to). The worst I ever got was a free large can of formula powder in the mail, but that was 3 years before I was even pregnant
A soliciting phone call has to be on some far side of wrong.
This turns my stomach. Ugh.
I’ve received free cans of formula, too, and I’m not even *trying* to get pregnant, nor have I ever been. I have only been buying baby stuff for my new niece and friend’s who have had babies.
It’s absolutely deplorable that Babble is allowing this to go on.
I’m even more shocked to hear about the licensing and designation issues of “Lactation Consultants.”
At least now I know what to watch out for when I do have children.
This is so horrifying, calling someone to tell them how great formula is. It really exposes the lie when they say they’re trying to help mothers breastfeed.
Yes, exactly Amber.
Somehow if they get your info you become part of their ‘Welcome Additions’ club. They called me 3 times since I had my daughter last December. Each time they ask if I’m still breastfeeding, tell me that it’s great that I STILL am and ask me if I want more information on the convenience of formula. That’s where the conversation usually turns because each time they throw out scenarios where formula would be convenient, I keep repeating ‘not more commnvenient than me pulling out my boob’! I asked them to stop calling after their second call because they were providing inaccurate information and I had issues with their sales tactics. They called me one more time but I haven’t heard back from them since June. We’ll see if they try again.
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?
If you need another example of aggressive marketing:
I’m not even pregnant, nor do I plan to be in the near future, but the formula companies keep sending me stuff! I’m sure it’s because I bought something somewhere online that was baby related (many of my friends are in their childbirthing/rearing days, and I’ve been giving a lot of shower gifts this year), someone got my address and sold it to the formula companies…
They too called me. And, here’s the kicker. I was a breastfeeding mom and my daughter died while breastfeeding. I was SO upset. I tried to call back to get out of their system and couldn’t find any way to opt out or stop getting the calls. I never signed up for any of their stuff. It’s not right.
I’m thinking it would be good for us not to give this website too many hits, lest they think that they are successfully getting people to view it.
imadoula:
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I think they are going to figure out pretty soon where the traffic is coming from.
I sent emails to both of the addresses listed. This is such a sneaky tactic, it’s shameful. =(
This is so sickening. IMO, the hospitals where you gave birth to plays an important part too. I’ve seen newborn baby pictures of my friends/relatives and the baby cot/bed they are in are surrounded with ads by formula milk company… even the baby name card was printed with the formula milk company logo
Brainwashing from day 1?
Oh, would just like to share the link to my latest post, celebrating today, my 18th month of breastfeeding!
http://www.imafulltimemummy.com/post/2010/09/04/Happy-18-Months-to-My-Breastfeeding.aspx
Congratulations on 18 months!
Thanks! Many more to come!
Reading this leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.
It makes me want to spit up.
Thank you for this post and a chance to put pressure on these companies for such underhanded marketing moves.
it is not only the existence of these ads in this particular section of Babble’s website that is bothersome, but where they are placed, because they are not on every page (breastfeeding problems and supplementing with formula), just the ones where mothers who are vulnerable and in need of REAL breastfeeding advice will click on for help. And of course when they get there, they will find misleading information, which will of course lead them to formula. The other problem that I have is that they use the image of a tiny, sleeping baby, which is usually not what mothers are dealing with when they have feeding problems. They have a fussy baby, that needs help, this picture sends the subliminal message that formula can solve that fussy baby problem, even the ad reads: “I just fed her, why is she still crying?” And the image is of a peaceful, tiny, perfect baby…
I also wonder how Medela feels about this, having Similac ads carefully and deliberately interspersed among its own.
This kind of devious marketing strategy makes me realize how important is it for lactivists to fight for rights of breastfeeding babies and moms. Shame on you Babble and Similac for preying on mothers when they are at their most vulnerable point.
Thank you for making us aware of babble’s mis-step.
You might be surprised to hear this, but I’m equally pissed about this.
I actually really liked the intro page to the Babble Breastfeeding Guide; I thought it was the first of its kind to mention topical issues pertaining to infant feeding and the social battle it has inspired. However, considering I wasn’t in need of an online breastfeeding guide, and I was reading it late at night, I didn’t bother to click through. I’d seen people talking about Similac and Babble that day on Twitter, but I assumed it was about something else, since I didn’t see any Similac ads on the page…
But from what you’re saying here, had I clicked through, I would have been throwing up in my mouth a little. Ugg, ugg, and more ugg.
What I don’t get, is why a formula company would think we’re stupid enough to take breastfeeding advice from them. Why don’t they give help, advice and support to us formula feeders? God knows we could use it – there are definite risks to improper use/handling of formula and it would be great to have a hotline to call that wouldn’t make us feel worse for feeding formula in the first place.
Every time something like this happens, I feel it sets my cause back 50 years. I really hope you guys are able to distinguish between those who feed formula, and those who market formula. Because the latter can really suck eggs.
Glad you are trying to let them know what they are doing is wrong. Keep up the good work.
“I really hope you guys are able to distinguish between those who feed formula, and those who market formula. Because the latter can really suck eggs.”
I do make that distinction and have to repeat it over and over and over again. Every time I speak out against formula companies, there is at least one formula feeder who takes it personally. I understand how emotional feeding issues can be, so I understand why people sometimes make the leap. But I hope that once it is explained to them, that most rational people can see the distinction between the two.
“What I don’t get, is why a formula company would think we’re stupid enough to take breastfeeding advice from them.”
Well, I think the thing is that it’s only partly about sabotaging moms who are actively seeking breastfeeding information and help. I think the meta-purpose of this is ultimately all about PR and perception of them as a company. “Look! They’re the good guys! They’re just trying to HELP! Those breastfeeding zealots are just mean to criticize us. How can you say their motives are suspect? They give FREE breastfeeding advice. They’re practically a charity!”
“Why don’t they give help, advice and support to us formula feeders? God knows we could use it – there are definite risks to improper use/handling of formula and it would be great to have a hotline to call that wouldn’t make us feel worse for feeding formula in the first place.”
Continuing on the above thought, I have to wonder if the reason they don’t promote pages and pages of formula troubleshooting advice, support and a hotline is because of the *perception* factor as well. They clearly want to emphasize how difficult and painful and peril-fraught breastfeeding is (while polishing their haloes). If they offered the same resources to formula feeding moms, it might give the impression that it’s not effortless, risk-free and problem-free.
And i agree that a lot more information should be given for moms who need formula! Lite Bettina, I think you should contact them as well – your voice is very important in this conversation. Thank you for weighing in!
I agree with @Fearless formula feeder and @Dou-la-la
This tactic of formula companies trying to give out breastfeeding information is all about perception. They do it to try and appear to be supportive breastfeeding, believing that this will win them customers when the majority of women encounter challenges to breastfeeding (not just supply/latch/ect but going back to work, non supportive community, ect. ect.) they will turn to their brand when they switch to formula. Bah. What we need is more support so we can weather those challenges and keep breastfeeding (if that is what we want, as individuals, to do).
But as someone who did have to switch to formula I too wish that the formula companies provide actual information about formula feeding and communicated why their brand was better then the other brands, instead of focusing on breastfeeding. Researching which brand is the ‘least bad’ when it comes to formula is near impossible. We ended up going with a store brand organic, hoping it was the best reasonably priced option.
Anyway, I digress. The point is: formula companies giving out breastfeeding information is insanity. But the only way to put them out of the business of doing this is to ensure every women has free access to good, kind, qualified lactation consultants. Period. They pray on this as a marketing tactic because good support is not available to all.
I don’t know about US formula companies, but most of the ones in the UK offer a free help line for their customers, they give advice about mixing it, how much to give in a day, etc. Now I haven’t called and asked them anything because I’m not in the UK so it’d be long distance and I don’t formula feed; so they may not be terribly accurate -I presume they don’t mention that powdered formula isn’t sterile, etc.
However I will say whenever I have written a UK formula company with technical questions about what their “new and improved” formulation is they respond promptly and give me relatively accurate information (sadly sometimes they can’t tell you what oil/sugar they use because they get different ones depending on what’s cheap/available at the time, nice eh?)
I’m in Canada and its usually pointless trying to deal with Canadian companies, I’ve given up trying. Its really sad.
Makes you wonder how a website that is supposed to be geared towards parenting is so popular. They clearly don’t care about their readers. It’s all about money to them. It really is very sad.
Thank you so much for posting this. I just saw something about it on facebook and I was IMMEDIATELY skeptical. I figured yea the best they would do is help a mom find the nearest store selling their formula. The tactics they use are shameful!!!
Yeah, I think you have nothing to worry about, there. It’s pretty clear from your posts where you stand, and I don’t think you are disparaging towards bottle feeders.
I just meant that I want you guys to know that just because I fight for formula feeding rights, doesn’t mean that I don’t think this kind of behavior is disgusting. And I know a lot of my readers would say the same thing. We want all women to be able to feed their children in a healthy, happy manner, and things like this just make that harder, for a myriad of reasons. I hope Babble does something to address this.
Seriously! Their marketing tactics directly drive up the price of formula for those of us who need it, which in turn leads to unsafe formula feeding practices when parents can’t afford to give their babies a full dose of formula and end up watering it down instead.
So glad you support this post! I hope you will write Babble’s CEO, your voice as a formula-feeding mom and as a leader of other moms is extremely important.
Yes I totally agree that this is not encouraging for breast feeding mothers. Just a way to “convert” them. Not cool at all.
I’m one of those formula feeding moms who gets pissed every time I see the ranting on and on about the evils of formula… Do the authors not realize that alot of women are indeed smart enough to weigh and understand the issues and even more who really don’t have a *choice*? Contrary to popular belief, it is possible that you can have no other choice and if your child is going to survive, formula is the only solution, we don’t have the choice to like it or hate it. So then we feel a) stupid and b) guilty when the rants start about formula.
But I digress and recognize this is not the case in this particular situation and wanted to lend my support to the notion that a formula company offering lactation consulting services that are blatantly thinly veiled marketing tactics is just plain wrong. If they are truly providing breastfeeding support with trained professionals then it may be a somewhat confusing misalignment but maybe not so far-fetched given the prevailing and unarguable wisdom that breast is best these days. However, it doesn’t sound like this is the case this time and that’s shameful.
For the record, it was the lactation consultant that tipped us right over the formula ledge when she made me feel horrible and guilty that I could provide for my child, so even the certified ones don’t always get it right.
Good luck in your effort to help Babble see the mistake.
You and me both, which is why we founded Best for Babes, to put pressure on the “Booby Traps”, not moms! So glad you see that this is about unethical formula marketing, not about formula itself. I am sorry you had a terrible lactation specialist–some of them are imposters who are not truly certified or trained on how to work with moms, so they are a “booby trap”! See this article http://www.bestforbabes.org/2010/03/hidden-booby-trap-is-your-lactation-specialist-an-imposter/
I will say that as a formula feeder (and outspoken one at that), the intro to this article starting off with Mars bars really rubbed me wrong. I guess you introduced three unhealthy habits and then added formula to the bottom, so in that regard, I do think there is a subtext.
While I think that Similac is probably off base here, I think it’s probably the same thing that Realtors do to those selling their house by owner. Put their name out there so that if what the sellers are doing doesn’t work, they look to a name they already know. It’s marketing. Not that it’s right and certainly with this topic, it would behoove the formula manufacturers to really be extra sensitive and careful, but I’m not sure it’s as malicious and underhanded as it’s always made out to seem. Though I’m sure that I’ll be labeled as naive for that opinion.
(And FWIW, I never thought I would formula feed, but life circumstances and a major illness created the perfect storm of problems. Please, other commenters, don’t try to cast me as someone who’s been duped by the formula companies.)
Brooke:
I’m sorry it rubbed you the wrong way. I was trying to think of examples where people might be trying hard to do one thing, despite being tempted to do another.
I do think that formula companies are malicious and underhanded and have unfortunately seen a lot of evidence of it over the years. I would never cast someone who formula feeds as having been duped by the formula companies because each story is different, but there is evidence that on the whole formula company practices are part of the reason that moms end up trying formula and eventually quiting breastfeeding.
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 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!).
As a mom who supplemented with formula for ~ 8-12 months, but breastfed for 34, I think a more apt comparison between breastfeeding and formula would be processed foods… something like the difference between whole grains and enriched white flour. It’s not quite candy, but the good stuff has been removed and artificially replaced.
Wow. How could Babble not have seen this coming? I think their ad sales/marketing people are not working in conjunction with their editorial staff. I can’t wait to hear their response.
I left a comment on babbles facebook page. I received the coupons and 2 canisters of formula shortly after my little one was born. Although I had problems with latching I worked hard with pumping. I kind of feel though that I am some what of an oddity. I was strongly discouraged by the lactation consultant that I went to see and my pediatrician’s office to exclusively pump. A few days after birth I told a male pediatrician that had come in to tell me about my daughter that I may just exclusively pump he told me I’d quit after 4 months. Well, I haven’t quit and I have been exclusively pumping for nearly 12 months without ever supplementing. I feel that there is no support given to us just pumping moms. That being said I would never trust a formula company to give me any support whatsoever to encourage me to keep on going. I have getting ads, samples and coupons in the mail for the next step in formula from similac but I will keep on pumping on- as far as my Hygeia EnJoye will take me.
I stopped reading Babble several
months ago because I was disgusted
with their treatment of any issues breastfeeding related and how focused in stupid celebrity gossip it had become. I will be sure to pass along this info to my breastfeeding community.
It’s so sad the lengths that companies will go just to make a dollar, or two. When will it all end?
I guess if it WAS just a dollar or two they wouldnt bother, but because it’s millions, its worth putting a few noses out of joint from time to time.
Well, I took your challenge and I called them. I am floored by this whole issue, so I fully expected to be infuriated when I got off the phone, but oddly enough that was not the case.
The initial call was with a disturbingly chipper hotline operator, who had lots of questions for me. She took my info, and told me a LC would call me back, and she did…within about 5 minutes. I chose to present the consultant I spoke to with a problem that I had actually had. My supply dipped suddenly when my son was 6 months, and I was frantic because I thought I was losing my milk altogether. As it turns out, my LLL leaders helped me figure out that my son just didn’t need much milk at that stage and was going through crazy developmental spurts learning to sit, stand and crawl in about 2 weeks. I took him to bed to nurse all night, and my supply came back.
When I posed this question today, I fully expected to be told to supplement with formula. But I was given the following advice: Drink more, eat more protein, eat oatmeal, eat quinoa, take fenugreek and blessed thistle, ask Dr about Reglan, and keep removing milk so more will be made.
It was pretty elementary info, I thought, and it didn’t address a lot of things that it could have, but there was no mention of formula at all. (Maybe they are just being careful right now?) I was shocked. But even so, I can’t say I feel any better about the whole Similac/Babble deal. I still find it just as disturbing.
I think the whole idea is to build a relationship with the person so that (and going by statistics of BF rates) when the time comes to choose a formula this brand will be the one picked…as they have been so helpful in providing BF advice their formula must really be the closest to breastmilk.
Reglan gave me a rip roaring case of postpartum depression. But I did go on to nurse that baby for 28 months (including 9 while I was pregnant and 9 tandem with her little sister, who went on to nurse for a total of 22 months), so it does work.
I still regret not staging a sit-in in my doctor’s office until he wrote me a script for domperidone. I even found a pharmacy that would compound it. No dice.
I like how the hotline made no mention of all the EASIEST ways to increase supply, like nursing more often and limiting distractions, but dove straight into buying this or taking that and referrals to doctors (many of whom are armed with formula samples to give you during your appointment).
If I were stressed out and unsure about my milk supply and someone basically told me to change my diet, drink a bunch of nasty teas, and get an expensive prescription from my doctor, I may just wonder if it wouldn’t be cheaper and easier to supplement with formula.
I am assuming they took your personal information? I’d bet all the money in my bank account that you receive coupons and samples in the email within the week. Right about the time you’d be paying for that prescription and choking down the blessed thistle.
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.
While I hate their strategy and wouldn’t trust them long term, I can’t say I would fault that basic advice. Saying “eat oatmeal and quinoa” isn’t exactly saying “cut all dairy, soy, nuts, etc” from your diet. It isn’t saying alter anything at all. Stay hydrated was the single most often repeated advice I heard from all LCs and pediatricians and other bf-ing moms. And teas are gross to many, but the advice was to take the herbs – didn’t say tea. You can take them in pill form and it’s really easy. And remove milk so more milk is made? That’s the basics of breast milk production and something – scarily – that a lot of moms don’t know. I know we want to hang-em-high, but let’s not make up reasons to dislike them – there are plenty already. That advice isn’t one of them.
I was confused this week when Similac sent me two large samples of formula out of the blue. I thought they had given up months ago as my baby is 14 months old. I flipped through their feeding guide and tossed it in the trash. I don’t know why they are so persistent with the samples. It is obvious I will never use their product.
If you think Similac is bad Enfamil’s tactics and lack of sensitivity are worse. My friend lost her baby late in the second trimester and they kept sending her formula samples. When she called and asked them to stop telling them her baby died and it is painful to keep getting stuff like that in the mail the customer service rep asked her if she was really sure she wanted to be taken off the list since she could use the samples for her next baby. I was floored by that one.
I want to preface my comment by saying that I’m a new mom, breastfeeding for almost 4 months now after facing some challenges with a preterm baby. I worked really hard to make it work because I was determined to breastfeed and I was lucky I had lots of good support.
After learning about the WHO guidelines I was appalled when I received unsolicited formula samples frm two companies. That said, while I understand the sentiment behind throwing it away, I hope that you and others will think twice about doing that in the future. Instead, consider donating those samples to a shelter for mothers or your local food bank. In a perfect world, all mothers would breastfeed but in reality we know that’s not the case. And formula is expensive. For those moms in difficult circumstances that are going to feed their babies formula anyway, a donation of formula saves them money that they can put to other use.
Many food banks won’t give out infant formula -because they can’t guarantee that they will have any from week to week, let alone the same brand. Also food banks here will generally only give you enough food for 1-3 days out of any 7 day period, you aren’t meant to live off them (though some people clearly do).
Its true that desperate moms will do unsafe things like use expired formula, take opened formula from people online, switch brands with every can, use powdered milk/homemade formula, etc but giving formula to food banks doesn’t prevent that, it can actually encourage it.
There are charities which provide formula, they take money not donations, and sometimes they have a deal with a company so they can buy it at a reduced cost. But if formula companies really cared they do like drug companies and have programs to give it away free to people who can’t afford it.
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.
Interesting. I have volunteered at my local food bank and they do distribute formula (of course only when a package has not been opened and is not expired).
In any case, I would still rather the food bank make that call and offer the option rather than just throwing it in the garbage at home.
My local Women’s Shelter takes unopened formula samples when the food banks will not. I agree that throwing it away is not the best choice.
I think they’re so persistent in giving you samples even though it’s been awhile since you had your baby because they are hoping you will give the samples away to friends who are around the same stage in life you’re in.
I too received formula samples when my daughter was well past the age of drinking it. My theory is that they think it’s time for you to have another baby. My daughter was almost 3 and it seems that most of my friends had had their second kids by then so maybe they thought I had too!
If ever I needed another confirmation that breast is best brings me to my close friend who FF her children from birth the youngest is 2 weeks old and already suffering from a bout of the flu. My son was not sick until he was over 12 months old. I understand the formula companies just want to sell their products any which way…but why isn’t the govt’s in each country stepping in to properly counter-act all the mis-information out there
And my formula fed son wasn’t sick until after 12 months either.
And my breast fed kid had two decent head colds in the first 3 months. (I think the bullet-proof-via-breastmilk thing is a bit overdone.)
See, but comments like this are what is unhelpful to PhD’s and Best for Babes’ cause… can you see the difference? You’re going on anecdotal information and swinging the conversation back to the “formula is poison” rhetoric rather than attacking the problem of supporting breastfeeding moms, which is a truly altruistic and positive way of approaching this…
As Brooke said, my formula-fed child (well, he was breastfed for a month) has been sick exactly twice – both after he was 15 mths old – and FAR less than his breastfed peers. But that is irrelevant, and unfair of me to use as an argument FOR formula, you know?
For what it’s worth, my strictly BF son was sick (UTI) at 3 weeks, RSV at 4 months (turned into pneumonia), and again at 18 months…..
My also strictly BF daughter was not sick until 15 months (she is the only one who avoided the H1N1 in my house and she was not vaxed for it either) and at 21 months she rarely gets more than a sneeze while the rest of us are in misery…..
Just sayin…. it can go either way even with an exclusively BF baby!
I totally agree. These “my baby turned out fine” or “I’m not going to let a free sample sway me” stories detract from the point. Your personal experience is just an anecdote. It doesn’t matter if you and 20 of your best friends experienced the opposite of what the evidence lays out – the scientific and statistically significant data show that people who were breastfed are without a doubt healthier than those who are not, not just as children but throughout their lifetimes, just as the research shows that formula samples hurt breastfeeding relationships.
And I’ll just say that my bf baby had tubes put into his ears when he was 16 months old because of the endless amount of ear infections he had starting around 9 months. So, bf might have helped his immunity system but it could do nothing for his poor-draining tubes.
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.
Thanks for this article! I’m going to let them know just what I think about it.
The overview talks a lot about the “unreliability” of breastfeeding statistics — is that accurate, or just an attempt to get “unreliable” and breastfeeding in the same sentence? Then again, the connotation of the words used is pretty clear; the talk about breastfeeding with words like “contentious,” “complicated;” there are “ambiguities” and advice is :”conflicting.”
If a tired mom is just skimming this, she’s likely only gonna hold on to a few words — should the words be as nurturing as possible?
I’m sending them an email.
(I was also surprised to see that they included the decreased risk of SIDS in breastfed babies; isn’t that kind of like saying, “Our product is more likely to bring harm to your child?”)
Oh, and I just noticed that they refer to extended breastfeeding as a “trend.” I don’t know about y’all, but trend to me implies a passing fad, something that’s popular now but will fade once people realize how silly they’re being. =/
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.
Ashley:
There is very reliable data on the benefits of breastfeeding and there is also unreliable data. Those who want to pretend away the benefits of breastfeeding and risks of formula focus solely on the unreliable data. I wrote about some of the substantiated claims on the benefits of breastfeeding here: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/05/14/the-scientific-benefits-of-breastfeeding/
Thanks; when I went to the breastfeeding class when I was pregnant, I couldn’t recall ever being told, “Well, we can’t know for sure…” I don’t think the word “unreliable” belongs anywhere near the topic of breastfeeding; it’s possibly the most comforting and consistent thing that we’ve done in the past 18 months.
Also, I just read the paragraph about how mothers who breastfeed longer than 6 months make less money in their future careers than those who do it less or not at all. My blood boils. The whole overview is, “These are all the difficult and ‘controversial’ things about breastfeeding — still wanna keep at it?” It’s a little sick.
For many, breastfeeding IS complicated. There is a great discussion on the Fearless Formula Feeder’s blog about increasing conversation before birth about potential complications of breastfeeding.
This is true, Brooke; I’ve known women for whom breastfeeding was more complex than it was worth for them to continue — and that’s fine. The complication for me was pumping; I’ve always had a really active let-down, but could not pump enough to keep him exclusively breastfed past six months. Eventually we decided that I would stop pumping, and he could have a couple bottles of formula a week. He was still able to eat plenty when I was home, and is nursing strong at 18 months now.
The validity of the language is less my concern than their use of it — it seems clear that they’re trying to build a certain image in your head.
Brooke:
I agree that the conversation is important, but I also think that language is very important. Women should be prepared for the fact that breastfeeding may not be easy all the time, but they should also be given the confidence that most problems can be overcome. Not all, but most. The problem with the way that formula companies write about breastfeeding challenges is that they try to convince women that it will be icky, difficult, painful, and that their bodies are not capable of producing what their babies need.
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?!
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.
I work at a WIC, and we, like *most* WICs, have a breastfeeding peer counselor program. I meet with expectant moms daily to talk to them about why breastfeeding is best. I also tell women that there is usually a learning curve with breastfeeding, like in everything related to parenting. Then, we follow up with lots and lots of support and encouragement for our nursing moms. I mail breastfeeding milestone certificates, I make phone calls, I refer to LCs, I help with latch, et cetera. There’s for sure resources for everyone out there – and GOOD resources, not crap like this.
I also want to mention that when I get a mom who can’t bf for whatever reason (And, yes, I do get them,) I use our meeting to discuss how to best use formula, instead of ending the meeting or trying to guilt trip her.
Appalling.
I posted a link to you on FB and wrote about your post here:
http://prettybabies.blogspot.com/2010/09/babble-and-breastfeeding.html
Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention!
You know who I really want to hear from on this? Katie Allison Granju, one of their own bloggers and a wonderful writer. She’s a longtime breastfeeding advocate, with a unique perspective – having had to use formula for her 5th child due to some heartbreaking circumstances (born just a few months ago). She wrote the classic “Formula for Disaster” for Salon over 10 years ago: http://www.salon.com/life/feature/1999/07/19/formula
Dou-la-la:
I DMed a couple of Babble’s bloggers alerting them to the situation and giving them a link to my blog post. Katie was one of them. I would understand if she didn’t feel that she could speak out publicly about it, but I do hope that she will be able to work from the inside to have the sponsorship removed.
Formula companies offering “lactation counseling” isn’t anything new – their sponsored “breastfeeding guides” have been going out to new moms in many hospitals for years. It’s frustrating, yes (and on the flip side isn’t kind of like if La Leche League started branding themselves as the organization to call for support with formula feeding?)
But what truly disappoints me in this situation is the unethical behavior by Babble. I know that formula advertising is common on parenting websites, and brings in big bucks. I don’t expect to see them not advertising Similac – ultimately they are a business and for them the dollar is the bottom line (whether I like that or not). But offering questionable resources to parents who look to them for accurate information is a different thing. Similac’s breastfeeding info may not be all bad (I don’t know, I haven’t read it yet), but there ARE better resources. Sadly, just not ones that can afford to line the pockets of the people at Babble.
Did they change this already? When I go through the 15 pages on their site about breastfeeding the only one with the similac ad is the one regarding supplementing. On the breastfeeding problems page I’m getting a Totino’s ad and all the others Medela. I agree that it’s not really appropriate on any website that is talking about breastfeeding but it’s certainly more appropriate on the supplementing section than anywhere else. I also think it’s very underhanded to refer to these people as LC’s. I took a breastfeeding counselor course and I have nowhere near the experience or knowledge of and LC (although I am learning new things everyday) so I don’t refer to myself as one.
They just sponsor the page on breastfeeding problems, which seems all the more slimy to me.
Hello Annie and friends –
This is Rufus, ceo of Babble writing. Thank you for all of your feedback above and via email. We work our tails off at Babble to create a great site for moms every day, and if you think we are doing something wrong, we like to hear about it.
A few points of clarification: Our breastfeeding guide was created an entirely by the Babble team. It is unequivocal in it’s endorsement of breastfeeding. I just re-read it after reading this post and the comments above, and was really pleased with what a good job our team did with it. Here’s a quote from the opening paragraphs:
“Breastfeeding is a time-tested and efficient biological process, one that can not only provide a baby with all the nutrition she needs but also transfer the mother’s immunities and confer — according to various studies, all of which have been criticized for lacking double-blind status or for confusing correlation and causation — protection against illness, ear infections and SIDS. Breast milk is calibrated to the specific needs of the baby so that, for instance, women who give birth prematurely produce milk with a different nutrient mix perfectly matching a preemie’s needs. On a very hot day, breast milk is thinner, offering extra hydration. And, of course, breast milk is offered on a demand-causes-supply feedback loop: The more a woman nurses, the more milk she has available for her child. Infant formulas have improved exponentially since their commercial development began over a century ago, but manufacturers are still studying this substance — a “living thing,” in the words of some scientists — that is both their model and business rival.”
It is true that Babble has as wide range of advertisers — if you visit the site you will see that we are running ads for companies like Medela (a breast pump company), 3M/Post-it Notes, Pampers, Huggies, Clorox, Totinos, Target, and yes, Similac. Without these advertisers, we couldn’t do what we do every day. I understand why some people find the Similac advertisements concerning at first glance; I was also pleased to read that the one person who called the help line got helpful, accurate advice about how to continue breastfeeding longer. It’s fair to assume that a portion of moms, for their own personal reasons, use formula at some point, and it strikes me as reasonable for companies to be able to share their products. It’s easy to assume the worst, but it’s often not the case.
I encourage everyone who is concerned about this to spend some time on Babble reading about breastfeeding — just type in “breastfeeding” in our search box at the top of the page. You will see that we have worked hard to cover the breadth of breastfeeding issues in a way that is rational, non-judgmental, and supportive of women in their efforts to breastfeed for as long as possible. Katie Allison Granju wrote a wonderful post on Babble — Confessions of a proud Breastfeeding Zealot (tongue and cheek) — http://bit.ly/b8i2MZ — in which she concluded: the challenge is to create a supportive breastfeeding culture while being respectful of people’s individual choices. I think that’s well said; it’s what we aspire to do at Babble.
Here are some other interesting Babble takes: Madeline Holler on breastfeeding her daughter until she was almost 4 (http://bit.ly/dhOjQk); Tricia Grissom on why she had to switch to formula after a few months (don’t pounce on her until you read about her ordeal – http://bit.ly/9VApUq); and Kate Tuttle on the growing popularity of exclusive pumping (http://bit.ly/ayvXu9), and Madeline again on The Case Against the Case Against Breastfeeding (http://bit.ly/bmXO5R).
This is a hot button issue and we at Babble understand why people are passionate about it. We appreciate your input, and hope you will take the time to not just jump to a conclusion, but take in Babble’s broader offerings on the subject. Thanks again for your input. Have a great Labor Day weekend.
– Rufus
Hi Rufus:
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
It seems that perhaps I haven’t made myself clear. I am respectful of people’s individual choices and I do not judge a formula feeding mom for needing to or choosing to use formula to feed her baby. However, the infant formula industry has a long history of predatory marketing practices that are aimed at convincing breastfeeding moms that exclusive breastfeeding is difficult or impossible and that they should give their “scientifically proven” and “super convenient” formula a try.
If you had a Formula Feeding Guide on Babble.com and had that sponsored by Similac, I wouldn’t be thrilled about it (as I think formula promotion should be banned, as per the WHO Code), but I wouldn’t be writing a post about it and calling for my readers (both formula feeders and breastfeeders) to take action. However, when you have a Breastfeeding Guide specifically with a section on Common Breastfeeding Problems and it is flanked (top and right) with a 1-800 number for an infant formula company, that is a major conflict of interest. Moms should not, under any circumstances, be encouraged to call an infant formula company for advice on breastfeeding. It is especially deceptive that they are claiming to have “lactation consultants” since any lactation consultant with the professional designation of their industry (IBCLC) would not be able to work for a formula company.
Babble and other media properties around the Web have plenty of advertisers that I’m not thrilled with. But this is one of the worst examples I have ever seen. I hope that you will reconsider the use of Similac ads within your Breastfeeding Guide and I would love to be able to announce to my readers and community that you have made this important change.
Rufus,
Thank you for participating in this dialogue. Please be aware that many of us used formula, and that many of us have actually followed and read almost every article that Babble has published on breastfeeding and formula-feeding, and have a very good feel for Babble’s position. Before you assume we “pounce on” on mothers, you may notice that some of your articles “pounce on” — or rather, negatively characterize–La Leche League, scientists, and breastfeeding advocates. Best for Babes advocates for ALL moms, and we hope you will too. I have left my specific concerns about your breastfeeding guide, which puts breastfeeding in a mostly negative light, in my post on Babble’s facebook page and in response to your comment on the Best for Babes facebook page.
“Breastfeeding is a time-tested and efficient biological process, one that can not only provide a baby with all the nutrition she needs but also transfer the mother’s immunities and confer — according to various studies, all of which have been criticized for lacking double-blind status or for confusing correlation and causation — protection against illness, ear infections and SIDS”
I’m not sure I’d highlight that as one of your best examples of how your website is encouraging mothers to breastfeed. That little aside (“all of which have been criticized…”) questions every study on breastfeeding’s advantages, and makes it sound like none of the pro-breastfeeding research can be trusted to be valid.
Rufus,
Thanks for responding, but name-dropping some of your great pro-breastfeeding writers and using them to characterize Babble’s “breastfeeding friendly” stance is a bit like saying that you’re not racist because you have black friends. It doesn’t cut it. Actions speak louder than words in these cases. Defending the choice to allow a formula company to sponsor ads on your “Breastfeeding Guide” and to offer a (serious conflict of interest) help hotline to your breastfeeding readers speaks towards your “friendly” stance. The first two links on your “Breastfeeding Guide” are to two decidedly “breastfeeding UN-friendly” articles, which speaks to your stance. The beginning phrases of most of the paragraphs in your “Guide” highlight your stance:
“Women who hope to breastfeed are often frustrated when seeking help…”
“Like many contentious topics…”
“Despite the unreliability of breastfeeding statistics…”
“Demographics play a big role in who breastfeeds and who doesn’t…”
“Although the majority of women stop breastfeeding earlier than the AAP recommendations…”
Of the 5 phrases, only ONE is neutral. #4. I think your stance is clear, and your pairing with Similac is disappointing but unsurprising.
In case you didn’t take the time to read the comments here, I suggest you do. There are formula-feeding mothers who commented about being upset over this pairing as well.
Instead of dismissing the concerns of your readers and defending your stance, I suggest you take this as constructive criticism, and remove sponsorship ads from formula companies from your “Breastfeeding Guide.” Then, perhaps, you can take a serious look at the language used in your guide and with the help of people like Bettina, make the guide itself more breastfeeding friendly in its language. Then you can truly serve your readership.
Rufus,
I am sorely disappointed in your response, especially the quoted section from the Breastfeeding Guide. What grade level does this read at? I would imagine it is late high school, if not college-level. Long, convoluted sentences, the appearance of support, yet offering doubt at the science of breastmilk and dangers of formula. Yep, real classy there. Sounds just like the formula companies’ breastfeeding promotional materials. Yes, much of what is said IS true. It is a living, changing substance, studies have been criticized, and it is studied by formula companies (who Can’t Replicate it and are potentially causing further health issues – see the DHA issues – while increasing their bottom line and passing the costs on to WIC and every taxpayer).
I’ll will believe your interest in your reader’s well-being (and their babies!) when you refer them to La Leche League, Best for Babes, and Kellymom.com for better, more complete sources for information and support. While the one individual who called got “accurate” information, I believe it was incomplete and I was surprised to see Reglan mentioned in an initial phone consultation, as well as no mention of contacting a local IBCLC, not just a doctor, or of nursing more often, attempting to minimize distractions. A link for Similac-sponsored breastfeeding support in your breastfeeding guide is misplaced. It would be less offensive and misleading if it were only a Similac advertisement, though that is bad enough. Why does Similac want breastfeeding-page placement? It improves their bottom line. They are not being altruistic, how much are they paying for that placement? More for their hot-line ads? It had better pay off, directly or indirectly. Formula companies have high-paid marketing execs for a reason!
I cut and paste the quoted section into Word and checked the readability. Here’s what I found:
Passive sentences: 80%
Flesch reading ease: 29.2 (100 point scale, the higher the score the easier to understand)
Flesch-Kincaid grade leve: 17.2 (way more than high school – master’s level, maybe?).
Anyway, just wanted to point out that the language used is not accessible to the average reader – another issue and booby trap presented by the breastfeeding information on Babble’s site.
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.
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!
Dear Rufus,
Maybe it was just a fluke that that specific formula ad was on that specific page when it was viewed by the person who took the screenshot, but that’s beside the point. A websites has editorial control of its ads, unless it goes through some third party service such as google ads, and can and should preview ads before placing them on its site. It can ask for alterations or refuse ads.
Assuming that Babble is American and can presumably legally run formula ads you can certainly allow formula ads on your site. That being said it seems prudent to refuse to run and ad that advertises a so-called breast-feeding support line sponsored by a formula company. For one thing Babble ought to be aware that many will find that offensive; Babble should also be aware that the information provided on such a help line is probably not great because most if not all lactation consultants would not work for a formula company.
Its also a reasonable assumption that Babble allows advertisers to target their ads on its site, so its perfectly reasonable to assume that that specific ad was created specifically to run on articles about breastfeeding. Its also perfectly reasonable to assume that Babble could prohibit formula ads on breastfeeding articles, if it so chose. It seems clear that the formula company knew what kind of articles it would be viewed with or at least what kind of audience the articles would be read by. Clearly they wouldn’t use a breastfeeding help line to lure formula customers from competing brands – it wouldn’t be effective.
So even if Similac didn’t have any input on your breastfeeding guide’s text, you certainly allowed for it to support their “help line”.
Rufus,
If you had a guild to the benefits of Coca Cola, would you have Pepsi ads on the page? If you had a guild to Walmart, would you have Target ads on the age? Obviously not, because the corporation would demand that you stop for conflict of interest. Pepsi understands that Coca Cola is not really trying to help, but to draw customers away.
What gain does Similac get from “sponsoring” the breastfeeding guild? The gain of driving mothers away from breastfeeding and right into formula. Unfortunately, Similac is a very rich company and breastfeeding has no billion dollar profit to sponsor ads. So it is up to you, the owner of the site, to realize there is a conflict of interest and refuse. Put Post It Note ads up, or Tortinos, or one of the other sponsors. Let Similac sponsor some other area of the site if you truly cannot live without their money.
Actions speak louder than words, and nothing you have shown us makes you seem breastfeeding friendly.
You have quotes. I have quotes too. From the guide you claim is “unequivocal in its endorsement of breastfeeding,” I found the following quotes in just one section:
“As any mother can tell you, the pressure on moms to breastfeed their babies today is enormous.” (This is, incidentally, the first sentence in a section purporting to tell mothers why they SHOULD breastfeed.)
“Sounds great, right? Sure, but there are also plenty of reasons why someone would choose to or have to bottle-feed their infant.”
“Some women find that their bodies simply cannot produce enough milk to meet their baby’s needs. If a baby isn’t putting on weight because he or she is not receiving enough breast milk when nursing, even women who desperately wish to exclusively breastfeed their babies may find that they HAVE NO CHOICE [emphasis mine] but to supplement with formula or switch to the bottle (even if it contains pumped breast milk) in order to monitor their baby’s intake.”
“Pumping at work simply isn’t always an appealing option.”
“Some women find it difficult to breastfeed around people other than their family. Bottle-feeding may give them more freedom and flexibility. What’s more, with bottle-feeding, your partner or family member can share the load, taking on a night feed or pitching in during the day. While many women love the complete interdependency between mother and baby that comes with breastfeeding, others prefer to — or need to — integrate help from others.”
“Breastfeeding can be wonderful, but for some mothers it’s truly painful. Some women find it easier to bottle-feed.”
Seriously now. Can you honestly continue to say with a straight face that the guide is not intended to serve the interests of its corporate sponsors by discouraging breastfeeding? I should note that I pulled all the above quotes from the same page: “Why Breastfeed? (Breast vs. Bottle)”. On this page, the negative claims about breastfeeding, which incidentally range in their veracity from incomplete to patently false, take up TWICE AS MUCH space as the list of breastfeeding’s health benefits. If your site’s writing team really wrote this guide without Similac’s influence, and were intending for it to be supportive of breastfeeding, then you have a whole other set of problems to deal with, because it’s pretty clear that this guide is not only equivocal in its support but at times downright discouraging of breastfeeding.
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.
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.
Great comment. Thanks, FEarless!
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.
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.
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.
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.
This? is sick.
I just threw out an infant feeding survey that came in the mail this week claiming to try to get newer and better statistics about breastfeeding … that then asked question after question about what formula we used and when. After getting suspicious, I googled it and got this:
http://tryingtofollow.com/2007/07/05/the-research-institute-of-mother-and-child-care-is-a-scam/
There’s an older post at hipmama.com as well. I’m sure you’ve covered it in the past, but I’m always amazed at how sneaky the formula companies can be. Thought of you –
Susan
That makes me so angry for you, Susan.
Susan @WhyMommy:
Thank you for sharing that. Every day I learn about another tactic that formula companies are using to try to dupe moms.
Note that the CEO and the Advertising Director at Babble are husband and wife. At least according to Facebook.
Ironically, I’m NAK, but Rufus at Babble put on thr facebook page that he had responded to Annie in her comments. I rushed over to read and found this has not been done. I am 10x disappointed.
Lorien:
I moderate comments from first time commenters. I was out with my daughter when Rufus responded and had to wait until I got home to approve it.
Ah it has just been done. I am still unsatisfied. A. This goes beyond advertising into an unethical realm and B. The post is NOT unequivocally supportive of breastfeeding. The language and advice are both suspect.
I wrote babble an e-mail this morning and got a response. I thought I would share. Just so you know what they are responding to I will post what I wrote to them and then the response I got.
Me to Babble: “I am writing in concern of your new partnership with Similac. im sure you are receiving e-mails left and right from an enraged lactivist community for I hope you still take the time to listen to my concerns. It is inappropriate for a formula company to have a breastfeeding hotline. The breastfeeding companies do not have the breastfeeding mothers best interest at heart. They may claim to but they are a company, and like any company, their number one priority is selling their product. If they dont sell it, if breastfeeding moms have successful long-term breastfeeding experience, then they loss their jobs. Similac may have the resources to offer you a good deal that would appeal to you and make it very tempting to allow them on your site but it is not a good thing for your readers. If you care about your readers (and your reputation) you will fix this problem and remove similac in every aspect from your site. There are many wonderful, qualified lactation consultants out there that have no alternative motives that I’m sure would love to help you start a breastfeeding friendly hotline.
thank you for your time”
babbles response: Bess –
Thanks for your email. I understand where you are coming from. I think I am a little more optimistic about the potential for companies to do good — it may be the most successful formula company, ironically, will be the one that is most genuinely supportive of breastfeeding.
I have taken some time this morning to review the concern that Annie expressed in her blog post, and that you have expanded on below. My thoughts on the matter follow. If you don’t agree completely with what I have expressed, I hope it is at least clear that we at Babble take what we do very seriously, we work hard to address the subject of breastfeeding in a way that is responsible and helpful, and to clearly separate ad campaigns from our content so that moms can make their own assessment.
If you do have any further thoughts about how we can make the site better, please let me know. Thanks again for your input, and have a great labor day weekend.
– Rufus
I just got a similar email from him. I’m trying to decide on a reply, or whether it will even be worth it, seeing as he has already told me that we have to “agree to disagree.”
Maya –
Thanks for your email. I see it a little differently — it may be that the formula company that is most successful in the long run will be the one that is most genuinely supportive of breastfeeding. No one argues that breastfeeding isn’t better … I think many people assume the worst when it’s not true. You may think me naïve, but we can agree to disagree on this.
My post to Annie’s blog follows. If you don’t agree completely with what I have expressed, I hope it is at least clear that we at Babble take what we do very seriously, we work hard to address the subject of breastfeeding in a way that is responsible and helpful, and to clearly separate ad campaigns from our content so that moms can make their own assessment.
If you do have any further thoughts about how we can make the site better, please let me know. Thanks again for your input, and have a great labor day weekend.
– Rufus
Sheri –
You are quite right, Alisa and I are married, and we have two boys that we breastfed (well, she breastfed) — not for 18 months, we’re not perfect, but for a good long while — and we have a third boy on the way who will also be breastfed. Here’s the mission statement that we wrote three years ago that describes why we first started Babble: http://www.babble.com/content/aboutus/missionstatement. Just because my wife is in the sales department does not mean that we don’t approach our content with integrity and a lot of care.
Annie –
I would like to take a moment to address a larger difference in perspective that we have. I think you, and some of the commenters here, believe that it’s impossible for a formula company to offer genuine advice on their website and elsewhere (not on Babble, our content is independent) that is genuinely seeking to help moms breastfeed more effectively. I disagree. 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. I am not a Similac spokesperson, but I don’t think you give them enough credit. I would be interested to know what you think of the breastfeeding page on their site (http://bit.ly/9UceeP), which does not once mention formula, and links to the WHO and the AAP for more information. Companies do make good decisions — Google pulled out of China which was not good for business but was the right thing to do. In the long run, ethical behavior is good business, and I believe that view is ascendant in the business community more broadly. You may consider this naïve; in my view, on the other hand, there is a guilty-until-proven-innocent assumption in this forum which is not necessarily right.
One other place we disagree is in the ability of women to make good decisions based on clearly demarcated advice from different sources. If the Similac help line were not clearly identified as such, I would consider that to be an ethical violation. It is clearly demarcated, however, and I think moms are smart enough to make their own assessments of what they read and hear with all the facts at hand.
Thanks again for your feedback, and keep up the good work with this blog — I have really enjoyed getting to know it better.
Best, Rufus
Rufus:
Unfortunately, I am too well read on this topic to be as optimistic as you. If you do want to learn more, I would highly recommend that you read the book The Politics of Breastfeeding. Alternatively, since you employ and speak highly of Katie Allison Granju, perhaps you would like to ask her for her opinion on the tactics of infant formula companies. Like me, Katie is able to respect people’s individual feeding choices while at the same time recognizing and calling out the predatory marketing practices of infant formula companies.
I don’t have time to go through Similac’s breastfeeding page line by line today, but perhaps that will be the subject of another post. I did, however, link to a guest post on Nestle’s breastfeeding advice in this post.
With regards to women’s abilities to make good decisions – I agree and disagree. I think women are capable of making good decisions, which is why the vast majority choose to breastfeed. I also think that women are human, which means that when they are in a vulnerable position (e.g. having breastfeeding trouble while sleep deprived), that their judgment is sometimes clouded. This isn’t just my opinion, I have blogged before about studies that demonstrate, for example, that women who take home formula samples from the hospital are much more likely to be supplementing a couple of weeks later than those who didn’t take home any samples.
“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.
Thank you so much for writing that, Elle. We need to speak up for each other, most of all for the women who are not writing here, not reading along, not even interested in the topic.
Rufus –
Similac may not mention formula at all during the text of the breastfeeding page but the bottom of the breastfeeding page includes an ad which encourages moms to sign up for StrongMoms and get $239 in offers. How is that ethical? How is the ad which encourages moms to purchase Similac online ethical as well? If it’s a breastfeeding page there should be NO advertising whatsoever located on said page, even if hosted at the company’s website.
I wouldn’t have a problem with the page if it weren’t for the advertising and free offers, regardless of clear demarcation. It’s there and available to moms who are reading about breastfeeding and thinking – oh – look – I can get free formula to have on hand when nursing doesn’t go so well. Brilliantly deceptive.
Warmest,
Lauren
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
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.
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.
Although it appears as though Babble.com has removed some of the Similac ads, the official word from Rufus Griscom via e-mail is:
“We are not making any changes to the campaign, but I have read all the
comments by the community carefully and we will certainly keep all this in
mind as we proceed in the future.”
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.
I hate to be pessimistic, but we’re talking about corporations here, so it’s hard to believe that anything they say is truthful. No, a corporation cannot NOT have ulterior motives, IMO. It’s the nature of the business.
Rufus, by taking down the Similac ads, you definitely make the article seem more “official”. Sadly, it doesn’t change the content or the negative tones towards breastfeeding.
You know I have been disappointed im Babble lately and this just takes the cake. Buh bye Babble.
You are irrational and reactionary. :Þ
Babble should change their name to Baffle.
Because they don’t make any sense.
That’s a bit of clever word-play.
As much as this is definitely inappropriate, I seriously doubt the formula companies are looking to actively sabotage breastfeeding mothers. They don’t need to; considering only something like 11% of moms make it to six months of breastfeeding, but the majority of women breastfeed at least a little, that’s a huge segment of their market. So what they are doing is associating their company name with the “helping” so that when the majority of women inevitably fail or give up on breastfeeding anyway, they’ll already be familiar with the Similac brand.
I am NOT saying I like it…. far, far from it. But I also don’t see this as an active act of sabotage.
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.
Bummer. What a disappointing response.
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.
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
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!
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.
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/
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.
I just looked at Babble’s website, and it looks like they took down the ad! Ha!
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.
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?
Of course they’re not willing to publicly acknowledge their error. They’re just hoping we get tired and go away.
Isn’t it funny how they now have a more appropriate Medela breastpump ad on the breastfeeding guide? If they had thought that out sooner, they could have saved a lot of trouble for themselves!
One of my Facebook friends pointed out that Similac was a sponsor of the entire site, not specifically the breastfeeding guide, and I had to remind him that Babble was perfectly able to NOT have formula ads on their breastfeeding guide, as evidenced by the new Medela ads now in their place.
LoriNKY:
They always had the Medela ad on the main page of the breastfeeding guide, but had the Similac ads and “feeding line” info on the common breastfeeding concerns section. As if to say: “Have problems? Call us…we’ll fix you up.”
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
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 http://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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stephanie-
I’m with you. We couldn’t stay in our house on my husband’s salary, that’s why he stayed home. I wasn’t supplementing when I returned to work, but we started not long after. I’m fortunate that I was determined to breastfeed as much as I could. We coslept and night-nursed. My child got whatever I could pump first, and only if he needed food after that did he get formula.
I really stressed out trying to exclusively feed my son breastmilk for quite some time after I returned to work. But the nursing ALL. NIGHT. LONG., pumping EVERY. FREE. MOMENT at work, and then coming home to a baby that had been hungry for two hours, and a husband who was stressed out from crying babe, was entirely too much. The ~2 oz of formula per day in the afternoon saved my husband’s sanity as much as my own.
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.
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.
Stephanie-
I agree that there is often a lot of judgement from breastfeeding “activists” onto formula-feeding mothers, and I’m saddened to see that. It doesn’t help *anyone*. But that’s not what this post is about (yes, some of the comments have been out of line… but the post itself doesn’t seem to be). This post isn’t about breast vs formula and what’s “the better choice” (that differs for every mother & baby). It’s about not allowing a corporation to mislead women who have one goal, into doing something they didn’t want to do. Isn’t that part of “women rallying for support for each other”?
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
It’s actually well-documented that stress can negatively impact supply. I was pumping and dumping, since YOU ASKED, but because we were supplementing, we realized that the reason our son hadn’t gained weight in six weeks wasn’t because he had reflux, which was suspected, but rather, because he was starving. In the end, formula likely saved my child’s life just like a vacuum assisted delivery (that I also was very much against to start). But really, who are you to ask me to defend my decision to formula feed my son?!
Here is just one study that examines breastmilk storage and subsequent makeup: http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/10/21/5707.aspx
Really, I am sad that this discussion has veered so far off course from its original topic. Why does this always come down to the merits of formula feeding as a choice?
It’s actually a myth that stress can negatively impact supply & not documented in a single study.
I did not asked what you did or to defend your choice on your child, i simply write to you not to misguide other mothers that read this stuff about breastfeeding and put their child’s health into risk as you are not a certified person to give any such advice and state false & unaccurate things.
That one study is not published in the international literature (give the name of it, the writer, date e.t.c., the whole study link is not accessible).
I’m sad that the original topic is not clear enough to you. I’m sad that there will be women that they won’t “know thyself”.
Artemi / Brooke:
Breastfeeding has saved lives in disaster situations, with breastfeeding moms not only feeding their own children but also keeping the children of others alive. At the same time, stress can also impact a mom’s milk supply. It is not a black or white issue.
The topic of this post is not to delve into the specific details of what has been scientifically documented or not. This is also not the place to judge or question another mom’s reasons for choosing formula.
According to my lactation counselor training class, stress does NOT affect a mother’s supply. However it can affect letdown as well as impact the frequency that she may breastfeed due to being upset or otherwise occupied which affects supply. It is the side effects of stress that can impact supply, not the stress itself. The example they cited was women in World War Ii France and Bosnia still being able to breastfeed but I don’t have the studies handy to share.
Danielle:
Thank you for clarifying that.
I do know that many women are able to breastfeed in very dire disaster situations. Personally, I never had any problems with letdown, even when stressed. However, I do know moms who were stressed at work and unable to letdown to their pump, which in turn meant they weren’t emptying their breasts as they should have been, which did end up impacting their supply. So yes, it is a secondary impact on supply and not a primary one, but I don’t think it is something that should be simply dismissed.
It’s easy to blame stress. My son was starving and I didn’t have the ability to make my primary focus breastfeeding my child, regardless of the cause that created a low supply issue.
Brooke – I don’t think Artemi’s intent was to ask you to defend your choice. As Stephanie said above, there is an awful lot of judgment…but it goes both ways. I think I speak for alot of nursing mothers when I say that many of us support your right as a parent to weigh all of your options and make the decision that best suits you, your baby, and your family unit as a whole. For some families, that decision is breastfeeding. For others, it is not. That can occur for a variety of reasons, but I think what people are trying to argue with relation to Similac here is that maybe it doesn’t need to happen as often as it does. When armed with information or a different set of cultural norms, sometimes people make different decisions than they would otherwise. That doesn’t mean that their choices the first go-around were wrong, it just means that we all adapt our behavior to what we feel is best for our families AT THAT TIME. For example, when my daughter was first born, I supplemented with formula. If she had been born under different circumstances, though, I probably would not have done so. The only reason I stopped supplementing was because we ran out of formula and the gas tank was empty so I couldn’t get more. It shocked the hell out of me that I was able to exclusively breastfeed my child that day and I felt so empowered that I never looked back. But if I’d had gas in the tank? If I hadn’t felt empowered? Maybe I would have continued. Likewise, if I’d never had access to formula in the very beginning, I probably would have exclusively breastfed from the start. Whether we like it or not, the formula industry can only increase profits by selling more formula. The only ways to do that are to aggressively advertise and to marginalize the common competition, which happens to be breast-milk. Whether we like it or not, the very fact that Similac is a profit-based formula company means that they have a conflict of interest with regards to providing lactation support. It’s a bit like having SlimFast sponsor a webpage about size acceptance, or having BP sponsor a webpage about biofuels. The problem isn’t the company or what they produce, it’s that they have a conflict of interest that cannot be denied. And while some people might not mind that sort of thing, other people do.
Anyway, I think it’s important that we give people like Artemi the benefit of the doubt that they aren’t trying to be offensive or force us into a corner. Being tactful and refraining from judgement is a two-way street, isn’t it? She disagreed with your statement about stress and wanted you to either back it up with evidence or realize that it was misinformed. With regards to formula feeding – Brooke? You clearly made a choice that you feel was best for your family given your circumstances. I, for one, applaud you for that. Nobody here has walked a mile in your shoes and none of us can reasonably judge you for that decision. So be confident about it.
My personal experience (I am not a lactation consultant) is that stress does not affect my supply…but it does affect my let-down. I will always let down eventually, but I let down more readily when I am calm. General life stress like bills will not affect my let down, only immediate life stress like an earthquake.
Turns out it isn’t just parenting websites like Babble sharing the Similac number, doctors are doing it too. I’m horrified.
http://tumblingboobs.tumblr.com/post/1065910428/its-not-just-parenting-websites-promoting-similacs
Next person who uses this as a forum for arguing the merits of breastfeeding or formula instead of the question of whether or not a formula company should be accepted as a sponsor of a breastfeeding guide owes me a Pepsi Max.
Also, formula is totally awesome and gives kids x-ray vision.
Don’t you know that Pepsi is poison?
Pepsi MAX, I said.
Poison MAX!
@ Backpacking Dad: xaxaxa!!! sorry for the arguing earlier, i think i owe you a pepsi max but it will delay a little bit if i send you one from Greece!!!
Someone from the comments above would have thought that i’m a lactation “activist” or whatever; I wrote that i’m just a mother; what is more, i formula feed my baby but that is personal and has to do with bad advices during crucial time in the past for BF. But that doesn’t stops me from getting informed for example that companies like the one mentioned in here do what they do to misguide and raise their profits or that anyone can write his opinion right or false & i could agree or disagree with him.
Haha! Awesome comment!
My oldest never had a drop of formula, while my youngest was exclusively formula fed after 10 months old (I hated that!). I fall on both sides of that particular argument (somewhat), but it doesn’t matter because the POINT of the issue is that Babble should not have allowed the formula ad on the breastfeeding guide. It could be all over their site, but that location is highly inappropriate.
Man, my son is going to be the coolest kid in first grade!
As women I think the most important thing we can do is support each other. I feel that there is a caste system when it comes to feeding our babies. On the top there are the breast only feeders or EBF- they just whip out their boobs and pure golden nutrients flow to their children. In the middle there are the exclusive pumpers or EP that the EBF look down on. EP’s work twice as hard to maintain supply, clean bottles and pump parts just so their little ones can get some of that gold. And then there are the Formula Feeders or FF’s- oh these are the women that just don’t care. The FF’s might as well be feed their little ones McDonald’s milkshakes because the “studies” show they are going huge and sickly anyways.
I think we need to stop stigmatizing each other. Of course mothers try to do the best for their children. I think there is needs to be more encouragement and education provided for new mothers on the choices they can make. When I was going in for prenatal visits there were all the free diaper bags with formula information at my OBGYN. If I wanted to learn anything about breastfeeding I had to go out on my own and sign up and pay for a class at the local hospital. The way to get get more women to breastfeed successfully would be to have a built in support system before the child is born. Because the formula companies sure do make themselves known before the child is born with all that free swag.
Also, lets stop ripping each other.
Hear hear for more support, less negativity, and more education.
FFF – in Britain the formula companies are SUPPOSED to point out the dangers of formula feeding (in accordance with the WHO code). * Section 4.2 “where needed, the proper use of infant formula, whether manufactured industrially or home-prepared. When such materials contain information about the use of infant formula, they should include the social and financial implications of its use; the health hazards of inappropriate foods or feeding methods; and, in particular, the health hazards of unnecessary or improper use of infant formula and other breast-milk substitutes.” http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/code_english.pdf*
I haven’t seen them discuss the risks of FFing on their websites but I would be interested if anyone else has? We have similar issues with formula companies offering ‘carelines’ to breastfeeding mums too. The internet legislation is currently under review and anyone wishing to bring pressure to bear (perhaps in relation to ads for these sites coming up when you google common breastfeeding concerns!) in the UK should write to codepolicy@cap.org.uk http://asa.org.uk/Media-Centre/2010/ASA-digital-remit-extension.aspx
http://www.babymilkaction.org is one of the groups which fights to keep these companies in check and support formula feeding mothers to do it as safely as possible.
@ Kathleen – Yes, I agree!. Women DO often stuggle with breastfeeding and that’s why we need better support and a change in the prevailing attitudes! We also need stronger rules to deal with the unscrupulous behaviour of these companies so that they cannot ‘prey’ on the vulnerable.
If you’re interested in submitting your story to my blog I would be glad to share it. I have stories from other mothers on there who found themselves unable to breastfeed through no fault of their own. I believe when their stories are very important when it comes to dispelling myths and helping more mothers to breastfeed. Explain what TRUE low supply is versus what a NORMAL feeding pattern is, and the number of mothers who perceive a supply problem dwindles closer to it’s true level of 1 or 2%
The grief and guilt felt by many mothers who really did their best does nothing to help lactivism. It often turns to anger and serves no-one, least of all the babies. We all need to take responsibility for each other.
For mothers who are concerned about their milk production, there are some excellent resources on the web. Here are two of my favourites:
Is your milk supply really low?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/lowsupply.html
This website provides information and support to mothers who are experiencing low milk production. It is also an online resource for healthcare providers who help mothers breastfeed.
http://www.lowmilksupply.org
Maybe someone can clear this up for me.
I keep reading tweets and blog posts about various formula company activities and WHO code violations.
I was under the impression that the United States has NOT adopted the WHO code. So while sending unasked for samples and coupons in the mail, providing new mothers with the hospital “goody bag” and certain advertising practices may be unsavory, they aren’t actually against the code. Not in the US anyway. So taking pictures of formula sales and sending emails about code violations in the US isn’t likely to change anything. Right?
As far as Similiac, Nestle, etc, it seems pretty straight forward to me. Why would any mother go to a FORMULA company looking for BREASTFEEDING advice and think there weren’t strings attached? That would be like me calling Willy Wonka for diet advice.
Kayris:
The WHO Code was developed and adopted by the World Health Organization. It encourages countries to initiate legislation to make the WHO Code into law (and many have done this). It also encourages companies, regardless of the law, to comply with its provisions. Voluntary codes of practice exist in a lot of industries and are often supported by governments (perhaps not as law, but as strong suggestion, with threat that they could be made law) or by industry associations.
In the case of the WHO Code, it has not been made into law in the United States, does not appear to be supported by the U.S. Government in any concrete way, and is not supported by the infant formula industry. However, some companies (like Evenflo) are choosing to comply with the WHO Code as part of their ethical business practices and also as a way of setting themselves aside from their competitors.
In Canada, it is a bit different. Canada is a signatory to the WHO Code. It has not made the Code law, but it has drawn up guidelines for infant formula companies, which it expects them to follow. However, recent studies by the government have shown that the industry ignores those guidelines and does whatever they want. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Canadian government came out with something stronger as a result (e.g. regulations enforceable by law). Companies would be smart to abide by the guidelines wherever possible to avoid getting into a situation where they can face fines and other sanctions, not to mention legal costs, when they step out of bounds.
To answer your question, yes the business practices you describe ARE against the Code. They are not, however, against US Law. Taking pictures of formula sales and sending e-mails about code violations in the United States can help international organizations that monitor the Code to build a case for why it needs to become a law in the United States, so it is useful from that perspective.
It’s certainly hard to reconcile what’s in the WHO Code versus what we see on the ground in hospitals, grocery stores and magazines… In fact, I often find myself having to prove to people that the Code actually says the things it does because they seem to be so far from the reality of what is happening in Canada (with its “voluntary” compliance).
Honestly, I understand the position on certain areas of Code compliance – formula companies have shareholders too and it’s difficult to defend choosing to hand over market share by complying with something that has no consequences for non-compliance.
Regulation is required to even the playing field and force formula makers to focus their profit-making effort on making the product more affordable for consumers who need it and safer/more effective for babies whose lives are saved by it instead of paying their PR and ad agencies to one up each other.
That aside, there are also practices that extend beyond compliance and fall into the category of being clearly unethical, whether there’s an law/regulation/international convention in place or not. This is one of them.
In the United States there is an enormous divide between what the government says and what it enforces. The Center for Disease Control (pat of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) prioritizes breastfeeding through its Healthy People 2010 Objectives for the Nation (http://www.healthypeople.gov/) which includes a goal of 50% mothers breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum yet the lack of regulation in the marketing of breastmilk substitutes makes it impossible to defend breastfeeding. This is clearly a case of the right hand not knowing whom the left hand is wooing. In other parts of the world that enforce the WHO Code, including programs like UNICEF baby-friendly hospitals, the breastfeeding rate is extremely high, even in developing nations.
I have a military website. I do not accept ads from short term (aka “Pay Day”) loan businesses.
But even if I did, I would not have them sponsor a guide to finances for military families or allow them to display an advertisement with a family finance “help line” on that guide.
Does credit serve a legitimate need? Absolutely. But have members of the short-term credit industry used predatory practices, particularly directed at the military? Yes.
It is not to call anyone “stupid” or to “protect” adults from making their own decisions–I just have a choice who to accept as advertisers and I believe that this would be a clear violation of my ethics as a publisher.
To those who think marketing does not influence these decisions, why else does a corporation, with vast resources for testing its messaging, employ these tactics? It could be PR to increase its market share of the small number of women who either cannot or choose not to breastfeed from the beginning. Or it could be to increase the size of the market…
I’m a big advocate of “choice” and “individual responsibility” but to pretend that marketing and advertising has no influence on behavior–especially on a topic many moms obviously feel vulnerable–that seems disingenuous.
I’m not especially interested in placing legal limits on formula marketing in my own country, the US, but I do think it is reasonable, as readers and consumers, to ask publishers and others to consider their advertising partners.
@Rufus — Your comments are pretty dismissive of the concerns presented here. It is a neat rhetorical trick to shift the conversation to one of personal liberty–but as a libertarian-leaning person, I’m not buying.
You aren’t addressing the substance here–which means you are either skimming the post and its comments and writing them off or purposely trying to shift the conversation.
The ethical and proper place to point breastfeeding moms for further support is an independent source of actual, certified, LC’s, not a formula company line staffed by people who have taken an 8 or even a 40 hour course.
Or maybe you could just refer them to the big breastfeeding company–oh, wait, that’s right, there is no big money to be made from breastfeeding itself.
But advertising is separate from editorial, right? Wouldn’t pretty much any company marketing to new moms want to sponsor a breastfeeding guide?
As to the guide itself, I think the other commenters have already pointed out the booby traps in the article itself–it is hardly unequivocal in its support…
There is absolutely a place for offering support to the women who cannot or who choose to not breastfeed…but it is not in a breastfeeding guide.
Wow how awful!
As someone who did a mix of breast and formula, I always have to brace myself before clicking on these sort of links. Because most of the time, there is some form of “formula is ebil, and YOU ARE KILLING YOUR BABY WITH IT!!1!!elventy!” And then I wind up biting my tongue over it, because I truly do think breastfeeding is portrayed wrongly, and undermined a lot of the time. And I would love to see that corrected.
I was sooooooo absolutely thrilled to see that this wasn’t another one of those links:)
And I agree that it’s disturbing that they are using “lactation consultants” that aren’t certified. I also suspect that they might not be setting out to give bad advice, but build their image so that when breastfeeding problems do overwhelm a person they are more likely to choose their brand. Honestly, rather than hire dubiously qualified advice-givers, I think they would be better off setting up some sort of charity, where they could help woman and infants fill a need. It wouldn’t even need to be a feeding need to polish their image, you know? Or lowering the price of that $15+ can of powder formula. That would be good, too….
It’s interesting for me to read all these comments as I am a neonatal nurse. We do use formula in our hospital out of necessity for mom’s who cannot produce milk or simply choose not to breastfeed. I think I know why Similac is stepping up their marketing. In the state of Texas for example all the State programs like WIC will contract out with a specific formula company and unless a doctor writes an order for something different WIC will only supply that brand of formula. In Texas it was Similac for years and about two years ago Enfamil won the new contract. I’m sure Similac took a big hit from this. The bottom line is that Similac is just like any other major pharmaceutical company. Don’t you find it sort of disturbing how they advertise the heck out of all these drugs on television. (HhMMM? You really don’t see many formula commercials on t.v. do you?) They have so many more ways to advertise to new mothers, as you have pointed out. I do think formula is a necessary evil, so to speak, but if you are stupid enough to decide to formula feed ONLY because a formula company told you to, then you have bigger problems!
Oh, additional note. I’m not a “Certified Lactation Consultant” but I have ten years experience working with breastfeeding mothers and babies (term and preemie). I probably know more about it than some of these “Certified” L.C.’s do. My point is, if you think you have to have that certification to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside about who is teaching you about breastfeeding, I’m sorry. MANY nurses are qualified to teach and “consult” about that topic.
Just realized I had that backward. Enfamil used to be the supplier and NOW it’s Similac. I guess they just need to continue to find a way to rake in the dough. Like any other drug company would do.
LisaReneeRN:
I don’t doubt that there are some fabulous, extremely experienced and competent nurses when it comes to educating and helping moms with breastfeeding.
The advantage that an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant has, is that that person is guaranteed to have hundreds of hours of lactation specific clinical experience, education in human lactation and breastfeeding, and have passed comprehensive exams. They also need to be re-certified every 5 years, ensuring that their education is always up-to-date. They also have to adhere to the IBCLE Code of Ethics, which includes not working for formula companies
There are probably many nurses that have great breastfeeding knowledge and lots of experience. But there is no guarantee of that when a nurse walks into your room to help you and your baby with breastfeeding. I had some great nurses and I also had some horrible ones. As an example, when my son still wasn’t latching on 24 hours after birth, the nurses should have been suggesting that he be checked for tongue tie (especially since the nurse that eventually did recommend that could see the tongue tie), rather than recommending that he “have just a little bit of formula so that he’ll know what it feels like to have a full tummy.”
With regards to formula advertising versus drug advertising, I know our regulations are different here in Canada, but I see more formula ads on TV than I do drug ads. I don’t think that moms who fall for the myths that formula companies are perpetuating are “stupid.” I think that many of them are simply uneducated about breastfeeding, frustrated when things aren’t going well, and don’t understand the motivation that formula companies have to try to manipulate moms.
A year later, I have to say that the IBCLC is a great idea, but not always a great practice. I made sure that the three lactation consultants I relied on in my early days nursing were certified, and two of them gave me formula. Like. Free samples. Here you go, you’re having trouble, formula isn’t going to kill the kid and breastmilk won’t make her fly, so if you need to, here it is. In contrast, the night nurse (who at the time I hated and called a tit terrorist on my blog, if memory serves) was not a certified lactation consultant, but she played hardball when it came to nursing. I told the hospital during labor that I wanted to breastfeed, but was in so much pain from the initial feedings that I begged for formula that night, a mere six hours after giving birth. The night nurse refused to give it to me, kept repeating that breast is best, telling me that she could help me out or find someone who would, that her job was to help me accomplish my goals, etc. At the time, I really hated that night nurse and loved one of the formula-doling lactation consultants, but in retrospect and with more knowledge, I’ve changed my tune. Now I feel like those two IBCLCs probably contributed to my early difficulties by helping me supplement instead of empowering me to nurse exclusively – and I’ve written a letter to the hospital commending the night nurse.
It’s a really great idea, and I’m actually currently in the process of finishing my certification (as a birth photographer, I find that I’m constantly helping new mothers start breastfeeding – and if I’m going to be there helping out, I may as well be fully educated, right? I mean, it isn’t really fair to those women if I’m not), so I obviously value it. But I still believe that the experience and education of nurses like LisaReneeRN may (and in the case of two of the three IBCLCs that I saw postpartum, sometimes do) trump the certification. Just as we cannot be sure that a nurse walking into our hospital room is going to help us establish functional and successful breastfeeding relationships, we cannot be sure that a certified lactation consultant will either. Yes, there’s a better chance that someone who is up-to-date on lactation news and who has agreed to a code of ethics, etc, will help, but there’s still no guarantee. And like anything, the certification is only as good as its weakest link. Maybe my experience was a rarity, or maybe it
I think our best bet is just to hope breastfeeding becomes so commonplace that we all have access to factual information and beneficial lactation assistance from mainstream culture and society. Recouping our lost body of knowledge about nursing will probably never happen in my lifetime, but I think it would be awesome if women could turn to their friends and family and know they’d receive all the support and education they could ever want.
A year later, I have to say that the IBCLC is a great idea, but not always a great practice. I made sure that the three lactation consultants I relied on in my early days nursing were certified, and two of them gave me formula. Like. Free samples. Here you go, you’re having trouble, formula isn’t going to kill the kid and breastmilk won’t make her fly, so if you need to, here it is. In contrast, the night nurse (who at the time I hated and called a tit terrorist on my blog, if memory serves) was not a certified lactation consultant, but she played hardball when it came to nursing. I told the hospital during labor that I wanted to breastfeed, but was in so much pain from the initial feedings that I begged for formula that night, a mere six hours after giving birth. The night nurse refused to give it to me, kept repeating that breast is best, telling me that she could help me out or find someone who would, that her job was to help me accomplish my goals, etc. At the time, I really hated that night nurse and loved one of the formula-doling lactation consultants, but in retrospect and with more knowledge, I’ve changed my tune. Now I feel like those two IBCLCs probably contributed to my early difficulties by helping me supplement instead of empowering me to nurse exclusively – and I’ve written a letter to the hospital commending the night nurse.
It’s a really great idea, and I’m actually currently in the process of finishing my certification (as a birth photographer, I find that I’m constantly helping new mothers start breastfeeding – and if I’m going to be there helping out, I may as well be fully educated, right? I mean, it isn’t really fair to those women if I’m not), so I obviously value it. But I still believe that the experience and education of nurses like LisaReneeRN may (and in the case of two of the three IBCLCs that I saw postpartum, sometimes do) trump the certification. Just as we cannot be sure that a nurse walking into our hospital room is going to help us establish functional and successful breastfeeding relationships, we cannot be sure that a certified lactation consultant will either. Yes, there’s a better chance that someone who is up-to-date on lactation news and who has agreed to a code of ethics, etc, will help, but there’s still no guarantee. And like anything, the certification is only as good as its weakest link. Maybe my experience was a rarity, or maybe it
I think our best bet is just to hope breastfeeding becomes so commonplace that we all have access to factual information and beneficial lactation assistance from mainstream culture and society. Recouping our lost body of knowledge about nursing will probably never happen in my lifetime, but I think it would be awesome if women could turn to their friends and family and know they’d receive all the support and education they could ever want.
A year later, I have to say that the IBCLC is a great idea, but not always a great practice. I made sure that the three lactation consultants I relied on in my early days nursing were certified, and two of them gave me formula. Like. Free samples. Here you go, you’re having trouble, formula isn’t going to kill the kid and breastmilk won’t make her fly, so if you need to, here it is. In contrast, the night nurse (who at the time I hated and called a tit terrorist on my blog, if memory serves) was not a certified lactation consultant, but she played hardball when it came to nursing. I told the hospital during labor that I wanted to breastfeed, but was in so much pain from the initial feedings that I begged for formula that night, a mere six hours after giving birth. The night nurse refused to give it to me, kept repeating that breast is best, telling me that she could help me out or find someone who would, that her job was to help me accomplish my goals, etc. At the time, I really hated that night nurse and loved one of the formula-doling lactation consultants, but in retrospect and with more knowledge, I’ve changed my tune. Now I feel like those two IBCLCs probably contributed to my early difficulties by helping me supplement instead of empowering me to nurse exclusively – and I’ve written a letter to the hospital commending the night nurse.
It’s a really great idea, and I’m actually currently in the process of finishing my certification (as a birth photographer, I find that I’m constantly helping new mothers start breastfeeding – and if I’m going to be there helping out, I may as well be fully educated, right? I mean, it isn’t really fair to those women if I’m not), so I obviously value it. But I still believe that the experience and education of nurses like LisaReneeRN may (and in the case of two of the three IBCLCs that I saw postpartum, sometimes do) trump the certification. Just as we cannot be sure that a nurse walking into our hospital room is going to help us establish functional and successful breastfeeding relationships, we cannot be sure that a certified lactation consultant will either. Yes, there’s a better chance that someone who is up-to-date on lactation news and who has agreed to a code of ethics, etc, will help, but there’s still no guarantee. And like anything, the certification is only as good as its weakest link.
I think our best bet is just to hope breastfeeding becomes so commonplace that we all have access to factual information and beneficial lactation assistance from mainstream culture and society. Recouping our lost body of knowledge about nursing will probably never happen in my lifetime, but I think it would be awesome if women could turn to their friends and family and know they’d receive all the support and education they could ever want.
This article is just stupid. Formula companies are not out to anyone or ‘sabatoge them’ as you say. They are there to help those who choose not to breast feed or can’t. I have NEVER seen anything on any formula site that says don’t breast feed. In fact, they encourage it. And who cares if they sponsored the info. It’s good info. I am so sick of you people bashing those who choose not to or can’t breast feed. Who are you to judge? Find real a real cause like child abuse! I know all of you are going to jump on this post and bash me, but I don’t really care. Someone needs to tell you to stop judging and putting blame on companies. The one thing I do agree with is that breastfeeding should be accepted in public. If a moron is offended, he/she should look away.
weulf:
Of course they don’t have anything on their website that says “don’t breastfeed”. They would be crucified for that.
Instead they use subtle and not-so-subtle tactics to try to convince moms who are struggling with breastfeeding that formula is the answer. On the subtle side, they give out bad breastfeeding advice that is likely to contribute to a mom’s inability to breastfeed. On the not-so-subtle side, they purchase Google ads that promise breastfeeding help, but that lead you to a formula site, like this one that is just a disguise for a link to the Similac Club:
http://www.phdinparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/google-breastfeeding-help-similac.jpg
More examples of that here: Sabotage
EDITED TO ADD: Important to read the Sabotage article as apparently the content at the URL listed in the ad I posted a link to has changed.
How is giving advice contributing to moms inability to breastfeed? You are assuming that moms only look at formula company websites when researching breast feeding. When in actuality, research shows, moms go to their own moms and doctor for advice first. More than just formula companies this type of advise as well. You read way to much into this.
And how is Google ad link any different than any other link? At least when you click on it, the company is upfront and states it’s a formula company.
I know this site is dedicated to those who believe breastfeeding is the ONLY way to go or your a bad mom. But you need to look at this issue from all sides. Not just one. Are formula companies out to make money? Sure! Tell me one company that’s not. But claiming that they are trying to tell mom that breastfeeding is hard or not healthy is just
way over the top. Should formula companies not mention breastfeeding at all? If they didn’t, there would be complaints about that! Like I said, child abuse and neglect are much more important issues in this country. And feeding a child formula does not fall into these categories! Formula companies are here to stay. Instead of complaining, why not be proactive and tell them what would be appropriate breastfeeding info for them provide to moms. I know it’s hard to believe, but not all moms can or want to breastfeed.
How is giving advice contributing to moms inability to breastfeed? You are assuming that moms only look at formula company websites when researching breast feeding.
When formula companies place advertising on things like the Babble breastfeeding guide or place Google ads for keywords like “breastfeeding help” and “breastfeeding support” and then provide advice that is bad advice, then they are contributing to moms inability to breastfeed. It is not the only barrier, that is for sure. I’ve listed many of the other ones in my post on the societal barriers to breastfeeding (and those barriers do include bad out of date advice from medical professionals and their own moms — nevermind that many of their moms didn’t breastfeed, which means they won’t have any advice to give or their advice is likely to be useless).
Should formula companies not mention breastfeeding at all? … Instead of complaining, why not be proactive and tell them what would be appropriate breastfeeding info for them provide to moms.
They should mention that 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years is what is recommended by leading health authorities. They should mention that if mothers need help with breastfeeding, they should contact an International Board Certified Lactation consultant and/or one of many other reputable breastfeeding support organizations or websites, such as the ones I listed in a breastfeeding resources guide for Rookie Moms.
I have told them that before, but they don’t want to listen and don’t care. The more times they mention breastfeeding on their website, the more likely it is to come up in search results for breastfeeding, which will lead moms to their shoddy advice and their products.
I know this site is dedicated to those who believe breastfeeding is the ONLY way to go or your a bad mom. …. I know it’s hard to believe, but not all moms can or want to breastfeed.
No, that isn’t what it is dedicated to. This site is dedicated, broadly, to advocacy and research on parenting issues. I believe in informed choice on how to feed infants. I believe that women who choose to breastfeed and women who choose to formula feed should be supported in their choice. But I also believe in battling the things that keep moms from being able to meet their own parenting goals and the deceitful tactics of a lot of companies (including, but not limited to formula companies) is part of that.
I came back to this post to comment after learning hearing something tonight that seemed to me outrageous, and immediately reminded me of this discussion.
I am currently enrolled in the Lactation Education Counselor Training program at University of California San Diego. The curriculum was written and is taught by Gini Baker, RN, MPH, IBCLC. Many know her, or have at least heard of her, if they work/study within the field of lactation, as she is a dynamic teacher, and has taught thousands of students all over the world. In her lecture this evening she was talking about formula companies/guilt/marketing and mentioned an interesting and very telling tidbit. She told the class she was offered $250,000/year salary by a formula company (she did not give the name) to work as a Lactation Consultant for them. My jaw fell to the floor when those words came out of her mouth.
For those who think that formula companies are not interested in sabotaging breastfeeding for monetary gain, I can find no clearer example to show you. As I mentioned she trains thousands all over the world, and if you think about the effect that she as a teacher, a really good teacher, could have on the bottom line of a formula company, then you might see why they would offer to pay her such a sum.
Lara:
That sounds very similar to what a friend of mine, who works in PR, was offered to work for a tobacco company. Companies that use deceitful marketing practices need to pay people a lot more because they are signing a deal with the devil when they accept those jobs. I understand that formula, unlike cigarettes, has a time and place, but the marketing practices that they use are just as horrible.
I must say, I’m a little frustrated with this blog. I am currently bf my 2nd child. I became pregnant when my first was only 4 months old. I do not have the ‘typical’ job nor schedule. I started having production problems. I do not live near family. I did not have any one to call for help with bf. I happened to call Similac. They were very helpful. They encouraged me to continue bf as long as possible and gave me ideas to help try to increase my production. I even called asking some questions with my newest baby. They are giving over the phone advice meaning they can only give so much. Seriously, most lc want to come to your house so they can watch what you are doing to make sure they can give the best advice. I was just not able to afford it with the first child. and yes, I get that in the long run it would have been cheaper but my bank account in the negative does not understand the long-run. I was pleased a formula company was willing to promote bf to the best of their ability. At least they are trying and encouraging bf. I hate you seem to be so negative. I believe in breastfeeding! I think it is best and I will do my best to continue as long as possible with my 2 month old. With that being said, I will not beat myself up if I can’t. I’m not a bad mother and I’m not less of a person. I promote bf every chance I get and actually have made friends who didn’t bf wich they had. Maybe we should try to promote bf in a more positive light. Maybe contact Similac and tell them we appreciate their effort for promoting bf and educate them on betters ways to help their clientel. Have you tried calling a 800-ask-a-nurse hotline? You still only get so much good advice then liability kicks in. Same with your dr. Bf has enough negativity associated with it. Why don’t we as bfers try to help promote and educate instead of always playing the victim.
Randi:
I’m glad you got good advice from Similac.
The point is, however, that moms cannot necessarily trust that advice to be neutral and professional. I know that not everyone can afford a lactation consultant, but there are LLL meetings and online message boards (like kellymom) that provide excellent breastfeeding advice without any conflict of interest.
I agree with your last line about promoting and educating, which is why I spent years as a moderator on the kellymom message boards. There are other moms there now that are very knowledgeable and that are doing wonderful work.
This reminds me of the tobacco or alcohol industry also footing the bill for anti-tobacco and anti-underage drinking messages. (For example: http://www.centurycouncil.org/stop-underage-drinking) It is a conflict of interest, for sure. The same with political “informative” brochures. You always need to know who the sponsor is, who is paying for this message and why. Most of the messages we get through the media are not pure, there is always a funder and an agenda. We don’t get helpful important information out of the goodness of anyone’s heart… follow the money. The widespread use of blogs and social media really helps all of us to hear voices and truths that do not have big bucks sponsors to back them up. Keep up the good work here.
I find this offensive and wrong too. How could anyone at Babble see this is okay? Thank-you for pointing this out and getting the word out there.
I’ve used the similac hoTline SEVERAL times and I think they are wonderful and helpful. More helpful actually the the Le leche Leauge people I’ve contacted.
Con or not they helped me with some difficult bfing questions when le leche didn’t return my calls or emails I personally don’t think it’s a scam
Even though it is wierd to have a formula company providing breastfeeding support and that it probably has intentions to make a profit, i have found their LCs wonderful. I called them during several some rough, middle of the night breastfeeding crisis and they helped tremendously. Each of those calls, i wanted to give up and turn to formula. I was coached by the LCs to continue BF and not use formula, that it was not needed in my case. Because of their help, i have not given my baby a drop of formula yet. The LCs were warmer and more supportive than the hospital LCs. Plus, the LCs from the similac hotline gave similar advice to what i have researched and learned from hospital LCs. I understand the skepticism but i am thankful to have had this resource during some challenging nights….
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