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Lauredhel is an Australian woman and mother with a disability. She blogs about disability and accessibility, social and reproductive justice, gender, freedom from violence, the uses and misuses of language, medical science, otters, gardening, and cooking.

This author has written 1549 posts for Hoyden About Town. Read more about Lauredhel »

32 responses to “Call to activism: oppose infant formula promotion in Qld Indigenous communities”

  1. Keri

    I am always wary of any promotion in health or human services conducted with the backing of any large organisation, but especially Nestle with their track record.

    At the same time, I’d be interested to find out the actual facts of the case of the mother in that picture.

    I’ve also always been wary of any program that might make new mothers feel more exposed than they already do, and the guilt attached to not being able to breastfeed is enormous and not helped by the programs that tell a woman she might be killing her child if shes unable to breastfeed.

    I guess it’s a split issue for me.

  2. Darlene

    I think Keri makes some very good points.

    There are a range of reasons why women don’t breastfeed (my mum bottle fed all eight of her kids – I suspect it was to do with attitudes that were dominate in her day and community). Some breastfeeding advocates do do a very good line in guilt. So while breast is best, it’s not always what the mum wants or can do.

    Yes, we don’t know the actual facts behind the picture. I do think this is a good issue to raise, however.

  3. Rebekka

    “not helped by the programs that tell a woman she might be killing her child if shes unable to breastfeed.”

    Yes, but in developing countries, or Aboriginal communities with five times the infant mortality of the rest of Australia, being formula fed may well contribute to a baby’s death.

    Not that I’m suggesting women should be told they’re killing their babies if they can’t, but as Lauredhel points out, the WHO lists preferred infant feeding methods (in descending order) as (a) Breastfeeding, (b) expressed mother’s milk (c) donor milk and then (d) formula. Very few women actually can’t breastfeed IF they get the right support when they need it, and those women should have options for expressing milk or using donor milk, rather than being handed a pack of formula. Whatever way you look at it, this program is a stunningly stupid idea. I am about to write emails to the idiots who suggested it.

    On a related note, there is a video here that shows how a baby attaches itself to its mother’s nipple by itself after birth, and the science that shows that letting this process happen naturally seems to prevent latch problems (among other things).

  4. tigtog

    At the same time, I’d be interested to find out the actual facts of the case of the mother in that picture.

    At a guess, she could not afford to feed the formula-fed baby full strength formula, and/or was unable to find a source of safe drinking water or unable to boil the water she had before making up the formula. This is a very common problem for mothers living in poverty who have been persuaded to formula-feed.

  5. outfox

    The Australian article mentions providing formula “where not breastfeeding”.

    I’m still writing to Bligh though, because Lauredhel raises important points about the role of states & aid in creating markets over mother centered approaches.

    Queensland has a shabby record on handling of both child welfare and Aboriginal affairs. That’s been permitted partly by the lack of public scrutiny of state governments negligence in these areas until scandals exposed them [remember that mishandled child rape trial?].

    Writing to remind them that there is scrutiny, and not to slack on supporting community based programmes, needn’t involve any bottle feeding stigma.

    This [http://www.antar.org.au/content/view/395/189/] AnTAR page about an Townsville based Mums & Babies service notes that a 3rd of the mums are making the trip from beyond Townsville because they appreciate a service with Aboriginal staff, support for mums on things like breastfeeding etc.

  6. M-H

    Racist attitudes to infant feeding aren’t new. In New Zealand in the first part of the 20th century, white mothers were encouraged to breastfeed, and Maori mothers weren’t. The basis for this seemed to be that Maori mothers were too stupid and/or lazy to breastfeed properly, so if they bottlefed there as an objective measure of how much the baby was getting – heaven forbid that the baby could let them know if it was getting enough! It proved really difficult to increase Maori breastfeeding rates in the 1970s – many Maori women had learned from the mothers and grandmothers that human milk wasn’t good enough for their babies. I suspect that Maori breastfeeding rates are still lower than Pakeha, although I have no figures for that.

    Of course the man who in 1907 founded the primary organisation for baby care in New Zealand, the Plunket Society, was Sir Frederick Truby King, a eugenicist and social engineer of the worst kind.

  7. Zoe

    Go Lauredhel!! Woot!

    Breastfeeding is not a split issue for me. And as for “guilt” I wonder if we expect that female dominated occupations like nursing will to look after our emotional needs in a way we don’t expect male dominated ones to. Medical advice to increase your exercise and eat lower fat foods isn’t dismissed as oppressive or guilt inducing for people who are having trouble losing weight.

  8. ampersand duck

    Yeah, when I heard about the baby packs on the news I thought they were an interesting idea, but as soon as they mentioned the word ‘formula’ my alarm bells started ringing hard.

  9. rainne

    Medical advice to increase your exercise and eat lower fat foods isn’t dismissed as oppressive or guilt inducing for people who are having trouble losing weight.

    Not by anyone except the FA movement, no, but it should be. I think you’re saying, Zoe, that the advice to breastfeed should be seen as neutral, objective and scientific in the same way that dieting advice is, and not dismissed as emotional because it comes from female practitioners?

    Certainly, insofar as comparing the two sorts of advice goes, the health benefits of breastfeeding are far more supported by medical science than the benefits of dieting. But I think your analogy is flawed – both dieting advice and breastfeeding advice are subject to huge societal pressures, impact directly on someone’s bodily autonomy and come with often-conflicting messages with regard to their health benefits.

    Lest it be confused, I am a huge supporter of breastfeeding. But I take issue with the idea that it should be as non-emotive and unquestioningly accepted as the advice to diet, specifically.

  10. Ariane

    This issue gets me angry in 45 different ways. I had reason to read the WHO breastfeeding guidelines the other day (not over this issue) and came away thinking “They can shove their advice up their jumper” – or perhaps some slightly less PG version. It is condescending, proscriptive and insulting. It is probably also accurate. Although I think it is *really* important to discuss WHY formula contributes to infant mortality. It isn’t something inherent in the formula. It is the expense and the hygiene problems.

    But then I hate formula being marketed irresponsibly, and I am utterly disgusted by this whole issue, and the formula recommendation is just a part of it.

    And then again, I object to being told that giving anything other than breastmilk before 6 months is BAD. I think there is way too little evidence for that proclamation where good quality food is available.

    OTOOH, where do they get off telling indigenous people they can’t be trusted with cash, while the rest of the population can?

    So yeah, lots of anger sprouting in many directions. Although it all stems from treating people like idiots. Treat people with more respect and most of my complaints go away…

    Arianes last blog post..Baby packs

  11. Ariane

    Lauredhel, I understand what you are saying, and at the global level, I know what you are saying about pro-breastfeeding. I was unaware of the studies you mentioned, and that is interesting. I stand corrected on that. However, from what I could see of those studies, they didn’t control for people who have trouble breastfeeding.

    I completely agree that if breastfeeding works (and by that I mean after the initial difficulties), there is absolutely no doubt it is superior. When there are problems, though, it is a lot less clear. I would be very interested in a study that showed the long term outcomes of borderline failure to thrive babies that continue breast feeding and those who switch to formula. Not to mention how personally angry I get about bonding. I remember one or two moments that felt like bonding, mostly it felt like martyrdom.

    And whatever you do, don’t tell someone in the hospital you don’t want to breastfeed. At least in Sydney. There are pockets where pro-breastfeeding has gone too far, but clearly this is not a global situation.

    But, I take your point that propaganda has excluded the option of human breast milk banks and other similar options, and that is despicable. I would definitely have gone that way rather than formula if it was an option.

    Arrggg, it is so frustrating that we have a situation in which every body loses. As a person who couldn’t breastfeed for 12 months, I don’t feel supported. Clearly people who do breastfeed don’t feel supported. Wow, we’ve done well.

    Arianes last blog post..Baby packs

  12. Ariane

    Oh, and Lauredhel, I didn’t mention, I did not at all think that you are mother blaming. Not even slightly. The WHO recommendations definitely read that way, as does much of the medical data. That’s where my anger and frustration are directed, not at you. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear.

  13. keri

    I suppose i’m coming from the point of view of someone who will be unable to breastfeed (as a result of burn scarring)

    What’s the answer to this? I don’t know. I just think it’s a sensitive issue with no easy solution.

    keris last blog post..Russian movie viewers can now flock to Moscow Flix website for renting russian DVD’s

  14. tigtog

    keri, I’m sad to hear that you were so badly burnt. That must have been awful.

    The science shows that your future offspring would do better with donor milk than with formula though, which is the major problem with the way the formula companies have attempted to pathologise breastfeeding – it makes donor milk hard to come by. As Lauredhel noted in #6, in countries where breastfeeding is fully accepted and supported, the rate of successfully nursing is 95-98% in mothers who are adequately nourished themselves. In such an environment donor milk would be readily available.

    The formula companies have made an environment where even the well-educated amongst us rarely consider donor milk – I never did until Lauredhel first wrote about it. That’s reprehensible, and we would be doing indigenous mothers no favours by pushing their infants onto formula when we could do much better by supporting their mothers with better nutrition instead.

  15. Darlene

    Never heard of the concept of donor milk.

    The formula companies have obviously been pathologising breast feeding for a long time. Does anybody know whether there has been an increase in breast feeding in recent years?

    I still think it’s a complicated issue and I still wouldn’t tell any woman that she shouldn’t bottle fed (my liberal feminist tendencies are showing).

  16. Rebekka

    Quite the opposite – there’s been a decrease in breastfeeding over the last few years.

    It’s not about telling women they “should”, it’s about supporting women so that they can and do.

  17. kate

    Darlene, the problem is that there’s a fair amount of telling women they ‘should’ and relatively little in the way of ‘how’. We don’t have the social structures that make breastfeeding destined to succeed most of the time, on the contrary, it’s tacked on to a society where breastfeeding is destined to fail. Then we nag mothers because that’s cheaper than changing the health system or workplaces. It’s like telling kids they should learn to read, giving them some books, but not reading to them, or sending them to school, or explaining how words and letters work, and telling them that watching a movie of the story is pretty much the same.

  18. Aphie

    As a new mother who struggled to establish a breastfeeding relationship I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, kate!
    I think it all comes back to that “male as default” model we’ve got going on in our society – so it’s ‘normal’ to have a working career uninterrupted by childbearing or parental caregiving, where it’s not excusable to have infants in the workplace, where it’s not amenable to go away and express breastmilk every two hours or so.
    It made me so incredibly sad when every other woman in my mother’s group told of giving their 6 to 8 week olds at least one bottle of formula per week after leaving the hospital, “because I just needed a break”.
    It frustrates me I don’t feel any real effort was ever made by the midwives or medical professionals through my pregnancy to convey to me just how much time, effort and sacrifice of myself breastfeeding can take, so I didn’t have realistic expectations. It seems to have been a mass experience from the new mothers and pregnant women I’ve asked. And alternatively, I’m mad as hell several of the nurses in the NICU were pressuring me to use formula instead, and gave me incorrect advice regarding breastfeeding!
    I suspect the pressure will come from outside, but the changes will have to be made in the medical profession first and foremost.

  19. Ariane

    Aphie, you make a really good point about expectations, although I don’t understand why the odd bottle of formula makes you sad. I didn’t think formula was so evil that a bottle here and there will cause problems.

    But I suspect that there is a bit of a Catch 22 here. I can’t tell you how many times I have read “Breast feeding shouldn’t hurt.” The ABA shout it everywhere. That just isn’t universally true, but if you start out telling people how hard it can be, even without that sort of problem, you could lose a lot of people before they start.

    My personal advertising campaign for breastfeeding is “It sucks for the first few weeks, then it gets better. Or even if it doesn’t, bottle feeding sucks more, at least until you have solid food happening.” At least then you don’t have to hear about bonding when feeding makes you want to throw the child through the window. Never underestimate the bonding potential of a feed without screaming boobs…

    But bad advice, insane NICU nurses, and an all pervading attitude that if a child can be seen or heard while working, you are absolutely unprofessional are definitely massive road blocks to feeding for most people.

    I’m in for a campaign that makes it clear that feeding is bloody hard work, that anyone and everyone should always lend a hand when appropriate and that the sound of a child is not anathema to working. That shouldn’t be hard should it?

    Arianes last blog post..What the?

  20. Jem

    Ariane

    Aphie, you make a really good point about expectations, although I don’t understand why the odd bottle of formula makes you sad. I didn’t think formula was so evil that a bottle here and there will cause problems.

    For your information please read this pdf
    http://www.health-e-learning.com/articles/JustOneBottle.pdf
    There are plenty more reasons why just one bottle is “so bad” in the references you’ll find at the end of the pdf.

  21. Ariane

    Jem, thanks for the reference. That doesn’t much change my position about the odd bottle (one or two a week) for a baby 6 weeks or more. Which is what I did with my last one.

    In a family with a genetic history of allergies, there is a different story – not because early exposure causes allergies, the jury is still well out on that – but because an allergic reaction in a 4 month old baby is not something you want to see. Of course, breast milk is often the cause of the allergic reaction, so it isn’t a panacea.

    I would much rather have used human milk for when I needed to use a bottle, but since that isn’t an option at the moment, alarmist stuff suggesting that one bottle is BAD doesn’t help. I am pretty sure guilt ridden parents pose a much greater risk to their kids in the long run than one bottle a week.

    I’d rather see a campaign for availability of human milk than vilifying formula.

  22. Katrina

    Sorry I just have to support ABA. I run Breastfeeding Education Classes as a counsellor with ABA and I always tell the mums-to-be that breastfeeding will make your nipples tender and even sore. I try to be positive but for most women tenderness and even pain will last 3 – 6 weeks. What we say is that once baby is attached and suckling the pain shouldn’t be as bad (or that it should be mostly pain free) as when they are first attaching. Write to Anna Bligh’s office and support breastfeeding in Aboriginal communities. Surely Aboriginal women are sick of being told what to do. They would be better supported with nutrition and healthcare for mothers and children and let babies get on with the business of being babies. Please note these are my personal views and not ABAs.

  23. Ariane

    Katrina, I know what you are saying is true for most women, but for those of for whom it *hurts*, not just in the nipple area but the whole breast, for the whole time, for months on end, the ABA’s advice is frustrating, and makes us feel like we’re doing it wrong. If I hadn’t found a few people who told me that I wasn’t doing it wrong, I was just one of those people, I probably would have given up way sooner. Constantly trying to correct something that isn’t wrong is soul destroying.

    I support breastfeeding, I just think that it more resembles pregnancy in that it can be anything from a wonderful, gratifying experience to pure hell – rather than a straightforward process with a few difficulties at the start. I think it is marketed wrong, not that it is a bad thing. And I support the majority of the work the ABA does too, although their approach and advice doesn’t work for me. I know it does great things for lots of people.

    Arianes last blog post..What the?

  24. Aphie

    Aphie, you make a really good point about expectations, although I don’t understand why the odd bottle of formula makes you sad.
    The children were all between 6 and 8 weeks and had been receiving at least one bottle of formula per week from the moment they got out of hospital in some cases, Ariane.
    And my sadness wasn’t so much for the bottles of formula – when I was in the ER doped up to my eyeballs for several hours and we ran out of EBM my partner got some formula for him and we were glad of the option – it was for the fact that these women expressed breastfeeding as something they “couldn’t cope” with doing.

    I don’t think demonising formula is a good option, either – though I’m disquieted by the fact it’s not regulated by an impartial body – I really do feel that more support and understanding is the way forward, to promote healthier expectations and levels of knowledge about breastfeeding. Ditch Elmo telling kids “bottles are how babies eat”, add more practical information into childbirth classes regarding breastfeeding (including the admission it can hurt and/or be uncomfortable, even past the first week, and why it’s still good to continue and where to get support), develop businesses that do breastfeeding-mother meals home-delivered! It’s mind-boggling that we have affordable meal services direct to your door for those wanting to lose weight, but not similar schemes for overwrought new parents and carers.

  25. Hoyden About Town

    [...] In July, I published a call for people to let the Queensland government know that routinely distributing free formula samples to mothers was a bad, bad idea: “Call to activism: oppose infant formula promotion in Qld Indigenous communities”. [...]

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