A variety of baby and breastfeeding related links that have fallen into my lap in the last few days

[geminigirl]

Courtesy of aquariumgirl (note-registration required, but bugmenot.com usually has working logins for the Washington Post) HHS Toned Down Breast-Feeding Ads Formula Industry Urged Softer Campaign. Also available here from MSNBC.

And much more pleasantly....

Design your own onsie.

The next two, courtesy of rockstarbob:

Most popular baby names by decade from the 1880s to 2000s.-I found my name in the appropriate decade.

Also, The baby name wizard blog with some interesting articles. Do note that the words "vagina" and "penis" appear in entirely mundane context on the current first page of the blog.

I think it's time to go talk to my breakfast cereal, and see what my Rice Krispies inspire me to do today. Maybe they'll prompt me to answer the three e-mails in my inbox that I want to deal with.

Comments

[katishna.livejournal.com]

Actually I'd be happy to tell my reasons for not. I suffered severe PPD after my first child, to the point that i eventually got to play outpatient crazy person at the local psych hospital. I had to quit breastfeeding so that I could go on (very toxic to babies) medication. This time around I am going directly to medication and formula, because I know that if I don't I will end up going inpatient at the psych hospital within a week. I NEED to have a good experience with this child, and the chance to raise her as a happy baby with a sane mom.

Anyway, on to your question. I think in general we should never make a woman feel guilty for her choices regarding her baby, as long as she's making safe choices. (There's a big difference to me between formula feeding and refusing to use a carseat "because it's my choice", for example.) I would instead focus on the convenience and cost benefits of breastfeeding, those pros that bring added value to the table without bringing guilt into it. I can understand that I would be saving time not having to make bottles and carry formula around and make sure i have a safe water supply and blah blah, and that formula feeding outright costs more than breastfeeding. That doesn't make me sad (other than my checkbook). I think there are ways to bring the point across that breast is better than bottle without beating it into women and telling them their child will be a fat asthmatic retard without breastmilk.

[entirelysonja.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I don't think I can agree with you -- it sounds like what you're saying is that breastfeeding and formula feeding should be portrayed as being equivalent choices, except in terms of practical issues.

No woman should feel guilty because she tried her best to breastfeed and it didn't work out, nor should she feel guilty because she made an informed decision that there were other issues in her life or that of her family that outweighed the potential adverse health consequences of formula feeding.

But portraying breastmilk and formula as being nutritionally equivalent is sort of like portraying a car with airbags and a car without them as equally safe. Most people who own cars without airbags realize that they would be safer in the event of a crash if they did have airbags, but if they've thought about it at all, have chosen not to upgrade to a newer car with airbags because they've decided that it's not worth the financial cost. That's a totally reasonable decision, and I would hope they didn't feel guilty about it (I have front airbags but not side airbags, and I don't feel at all guilty about it) -- just as I would hope that someone who made a well-reasoned decision not to breastfeed wouldn't feel guilty about it.

I'm honestly not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the advertising graphics in the original campaign myself (I suppose that was part of the point), though I liked the statistics. I think changes in the WIC program and changes in the way doctors talk to patients about breast vs. formula feeding would be useful ways to approach the issue. I found it sort of appalling that during my pregnancies and after the birth of my children, I was asked to fill out forms on which I checked whether I would be breastfeeding or formula feeding, after which point my doctors congratulated me on the choice to breastfeed -- but I doubt that they talked very much with the patients who chose formula feeding to ascertain why they wanted to use formula and educate them about breastfeeding.

[katishna.livejournal.com]

The thing is, I agree with you, I'm just an inarticulate git. :) I am firmly convinced that breastfeeding is better than formula. The thing is, I don't think the average advertising company can write a campaign that portrays that effectively without coming across as berating women who don't breastfeed. And I think in general you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. People who tell me my baby's going to die get ignored, while someone who can explain why breastfeeding would benefit *me* is going to get my ear.

I need to think on this more.