"Proud Formula Feeder"?
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| Thu, 12-14-2006 - 8:27pm |
In my playgroup, I've noticed some members have a blinkie I haven't seen before: "Proud Formula Feeder". In the past, I've seen the "Formula Feeding Mom" and "It's formula, not rat poison", but this new one struck me as odd. I can understand simply stating that you formula feed or saying that formula isn't rat poison (because it isn't), but I've been trying to figure out just why someone would be "proud" to FF.
While I don't think that women should necessarily feel guilty about not BF, I don't get what about FF there is to be proud about. Most (or maybe even all) of the women with said blinkie acknowledge that breastmilk is better, so why would they be proud to feed their babies something they know is substandard, even if they couldn't BF and FF was their only choice? What do you ladies think? Is/should there be such a thing as FF pride?



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"And yes if I do FF I will have pride in the fact that I am a mother and providing the best that I can for my baby. That's what's it's all about. Right?" - her quote
"Except that FF is not what's best for a baby, yours included I'd dare say." - yours
She did say the best *she can*, not the best period. Whether or not she could have 'done more' or whatever is rather subjective. My dh is by no means perfect, but he is perfect *for me* :)
>>I don't judge those who choose to BF even if they chose to in public nor should I be judged if I so choose to FF. And yes if I do FF I will have pride in the fact that I am a mother and providing the best that I can for my baby. That's what's it's all about. Right?<<
Sorry -- if you ff this child, you are *not* providing the best you can. You can, in fact, breastfeed, it is available to you. You are choosing not to, and choosing an inferior, and yes, substandard, method of infant feeding in its place. That is not the best you can do; it is the least you can do. As for your logic as to why formula is substandard: nature has dictated that breastmilk is the standard form of infant nutrition. Not evaporated milk and karo syrup, not the milk of other species, not boiled tree root juice, or fruit juice, or whatever other substances parents have come up with to feed in lieu of human milk. Formula is a manmade concoction of only 30 ingredients, based on the waste product of the cheese industry (whey). Breastmilk is a living substance made of up of 300 natural vitamins, minerals, horomones, proteins, enzymes, antibodies, and substances which signal the body to properly perform the processes it will execute until the death of the individual. It contains substances which kill cancer, close the gut and provide the proper GI flora, develop all systems of the body, signal the body's cells as to how much fat to retain, and many more substances of which we have yet to ascertain the function. It changes from month to month, week to week, day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute to meet hte ever changing needs of hte developing infant. Formula can never do this -- it does not measure up. It puts an infant at higher risk of every condition and pathogen on the planet. It cannot provide for full development of all of hte bodys' systems and functions. It is substandard: below standard, not up to par. Only in situations where breastmilk is *not* available are the risks of formula acceptable for an infant...
As for your first child: your doctor did the absolute wrong thing. And no one here is going to buy your "my ff infant is healthy as a horse and a genius to boot but all of the bf children I know have leprosy and learning disabilities" anecdotes. We get that a lot, and those of us who have both ff and bf children have witnessed quite the opposite in our own families. It's even worse that your doctor threw you off bf'ing due to your child's NICU status; it is well documented that NICU babies are more likely to survive and have a shorter NICU stay when they receive breastmilk.
"nature has dictated that breastmilk is the standard form of infant nutrition."
Just an aside. Nature has also dictated that if offspring is born with a deformity it be left to die. Nature is lovely isn't it? I'm glad we don't follow natural law much of the time :)
>>Just an aside. Nature has also dictated that if offspring is born with a deformity it be left to die. Nature is lovely isn't it? I'm glad we don't follow natural law much of the time :)<<
Your argument is illogical. The technology we have developed to counteract genetic and congenital defects in our offspring helps them to survive when they otherwise would not. Feeding formula when breastmilk is available in one of its 3 forms (from the mother's breast, expressed from mother and fed by other means, donor milk) does not advance the probability of survival; it actually increases the risk of death, chronic illness, disease, and developmental deficiencies.
I agree with the poster that said that if you decide to use formula, you shouldn't rely on WIC to provide it. It's one thing if you HAVE to use formula, but if you are capable of breastfeeding and *choose* not to, don't take advantage of MY tax dollars in order to feed your child.
My stance on this is a result of volunteering as a breastfeeding peer counselor for WIC. I met a lot of women that thought that formula feeding was a status symbol. Breastfeeding is free, so anyone has access to it, but formula costs a lot. I guess in their minds, it was something that made them feel as if they weren't as poor as they really were.
I don't think the same thing can be said about anything else WIC provides because once a child gets to the age where he is eating "regular" food, the food WIC provides is generally healthy stuff like milk, cheese, eggs and juice. It's not like WIC is handing out candy bars.
RPS
She did say the best *she can*, not the best period. Whether or not she could have 'done more' or whatever is rather subjective. My dh is by no means perfect, but he is perfect *for me* :)
Nope sorry.
The problem is, however, that ff'ing is so engrained our culture that ceasing to provide free formula through WIC would only harm babies. These women would still not bf -- they would simply feed straight cow's milk, or evaporated milk and karo syrup, or juice, or some other unsuitable substance. For them bf'ing is what poor people do, or they find it disgusting. And many of them are on drugs and their breastmilk would be harmful to baby anyway.
I wish it were all so simple...IMO the only way to change this is to continue working to educate mothers, healthcare providers, and government officials on bf'ing, lobbying for changes in the workplace that make bf'ing more accessible for working families, and working to make formula less acceptable (i.e. as a last resort, not a first choice). And the biggie: teaching our children, our future, that bf'ing is the natural, normal way to feed a baby! After all, our children are tomorrow's mothers, fathers, healthcare professionals, government officials, and employers.
You know what, I think I'm actually going to disagree with you.
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