Question by Milk Maid: Have you ever noticed that some baby info websites that are sponsored by formula companies give information?
to purposly make breast feeding mothers worry.
I forget exactly what site it was but I read one time that breastfeeding mothers shouldn’t watch tv while breast feeding because they could miss certain cues from baby!
Anyway, which sites are sponsored by formula companies?
Have you ever read anything similar? Please share?
Best answer:
Answer by Daisyhill
I don;t think that sounds like soething a formula company would say to make BF Mothers worry..it just sounds a bit over zealous.
What do you think? Answer below!
I think that sounds like good advice, actually. It doesn’t sound like formula company “propaganda”.
mothering.com forum is an excellent place to get info about babies without the formula propaganda. they promote natural parenting and breastfeeding too.
Yup, there’s much research on ‘subtle’ messages from formula companies in advice that is theoretically targetted at ‘helping’ nursing moms, but actually serves to disuade/worry them.
I remember a number of years ago seeing an ad in a magazine for some brand of bottle, promoted as being ‘closest to the breast.’ There were pictures of two women, one nursing, one giving a bottle. The bottlefeeding mom was smiling, looking down at her baby, and he was looking at her. All very warm and lovey. The breastfeeding mom was gazing off into space, looking bored or distracted, and baby’s hand was over his face so you couldn’t see it.
They know parents will either breastfeed or use formula. So they slander breastfeeding to make formula (their product) necessary.
If the mother feeds the child with breast milk, on average the child will have an IQ 3 to 5 points higher than the babies who were fed baby formula. (Anderson, 1999) Furthermore, the longer the baby is breastfed, the greater the gain in IQ (up to nine months of age, in which the effect appears to stop). Scientist can attribute this gain to two chemicals that are present in the breast milk that is not found in formula, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and AA (arachudonic acid). Both being long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; they are said to be responsible to improved vision and cognitive functioning in infants.
The debate still continues concerning the wisdom of adding DHA to infant formula. Common in Asia and Europe and approved by the World Health Organization, the practice has been banned by the FDA in U.S. Adding synthetic DHA carries possible concerns dealing with the safety and effectiveness. There is belief that the decision to not add DHA is political, because it is too expensive.
It is very important to note that there are several researchers that produced rival explanations. The University of Kentucky claims that the increase in IQ can be explained by the bonding the baby and the mother, unlike the inferior relationship with the mother when the infant is bottle fed.
In December 1997 the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its minimum recommended period of breastfeeding from 6 months to 12 months.
Bibliography
Anderson, J. (1999). Problem Solving and Learning. American Psychologist.
Howard, P. (2006). The Owner’s Manual For The Brain: Everyday Applications for Mind-Brian Research. Austin: Brad Press.
I watch tv all the time when breastfeeding. Mostly because she closes her eyes and doesn’t look at me. I look into her eyes when she wants my attention. I don’t think I have ever missed any cues because what could they be? She sucking, and getting full. That’s it. No other cues are there except whenever she wants to playing the pulling off the nipple for fun game. Then I get involved.
Dr. Sear’s website is sponsored by a MAJOR formula company…interesting isn’t it??