"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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There are milk banks, and a lot of hospitals now do Mother Share programs. Some women also do mother-to-mother donations, and of course there is wet nursing. Milk banks generally give preemies and sick babies priority, and the milk is $3/ounce (don't hold me to that, it might have gone up).
It is really unheard of in our culture to use donated breastmilk, but it is doable!
Edited 12/30/2006 11:45 pm ET by mrsmichael6300
>>There are milk banks, and a lot of hospitals now do Mother Share programs. Some women also do mother-to-mother donations, and of course there is wet nursing. Milk banks generally give preemies and sick babies priority, and the milk is $3/ounce (don't hold me to that, it might have gone up).<<
It doesn't sound like it is nearly as widely available as formula is. Maybe it needs to be, but at any rate it's not so women will use what *is* available.
It sounds like if I have a perfectly healthy baby, and choose not to bf for whatever reason I would not be able to use donor milk very easily. I didn't know we still had wet nurses, I wonder what they cost and how you would find one.
Point is - there are those on this board that say we should use donated milk if we can't bf ourselves, but I don't think that is a very practical solution. Women will use what they don't have to jump through hoops for.
BTW - I was only asking because someone said donated milk was the next best thing, but if the next best thing is not readily available it becomes irrelevent
Edited 12/31/2006 12:04 am ET by tlflag1620
FYI there aren't any hoops really to jump through in the group I donated through. You put out a request for milk, a mom who has some provides. The only cost is that donee moms must pay for shipping, which with the volume I donated actually ended up being comperable or even cheaper than formula. Yes t here are hoops at milk bank however, but in mom to mom donations, they are much fewer.
As for making it known about
I donated my freezer stash of EBM to another mom through
* Milk Share *
thanks for the info...
but it still sounds like between locating a group, paying/waiting for shipping, etc formula is the more viable option. I'm sure donated milk is *better* but don't we have to factor in availability? If a mom can go to the supermarket 24/7 and pick up a container of formula as opposed to finding a group/bank, applying, waiting etc... don't you think that formula becomes the "better" solution? (I put better in quotes here because I mean it in the convenience context, not necessarily what is better for baby)
I think it's great that this kind of thing exists, but I imagine most people have no clue that it's out there. If they are anything like me they also would imagine that there must be certain costs and restrictions on acquiring the milk. Also, how is the safety of the milk controlled? Who pays for the testing of all donor mom's and donor milk? I guess *if* you have the info and qualify and can be sure the milk is not in any way contaminated it would be a better choice.... but again, I just don't think it is a logistically good option for most people.
It's not that I have a problem with "handouts." There are times when people need help and that helps comes from government programs. I'm much more supportive of WIC than I am of food stamps. With WIC, a client gets only specific, healthy foods, but I can't tell you the number of people I've seen buying big steaks, shrimp, even lobster using food stamps.
But that's not the point that I was making about people receiving formula from WIC. There is no alternative for the food that older kids receive. There IS a viable option for at least some the babies whose moms have chosen to receive formula.
RPS
I didn't say that. But humans survived for many, many years without formula, without eating healthy diets and without doctor-specified menus. If the only way to make good breastmilk were to eat a healthy diet and live a healthy lifestyle, we wouldn't be having this discussion because the species would have died out long ago.
RPS
I guess it's a matter of how committed you are to your baby receiving breastmilk. If you can't supply the breastmilk yourself and believe that formula is the next best thing because finding donor milk is too difficult, well, then you're probably going to feel fine about using formula.
Milk banks have restrictions about donating and that you do have to be tested for certain things, such as HIV and hepatitis. The milk is pasteurized, too, to make it safer. If you use milk from Milk Share, you should pasteurize it at home.
If I had a problem producing enough milk for my baby, I'd do everything I could to find a donor before using formula.
RPS
It's a matter of committment. Generally, mothers who seek out donor milk are those who cannot biologically breastfeed themselves, or whose supply is too low to provide what their baby needs. They want the best they can give their baby, and that's human milk.
I think you'd be hardpressed to acquire donor milk if you could, in fact, breastfeed and were just choosing not to. I know that I for sure would not allow my milk to go to someone who could produce and feed the baby her very own -- that's a slap in the face. It's like saying, "Well, I'm too good to breastfeed, or pump my milk, but you're not so I'll take advantage of that." The only time I might consider the situation otherwise is if the woman in question suffered sexual abuse which makes the idea of bf'ing/pumping traumatic for her.
>>It's not that I have a problem with "handouts." There are times when people need help and that helps comes from government programs. I'm much more supportive of WIC than I am of food stamps. With WIC, a client gets only specific, healthy foods, but I can't tell you the number of people I've seen buying big steaks, shrimp, even lobster using food stamps.
But that's not the point that I was making about people receiving formula from WIC. There is no alternative for the food that older kids receive. There IS a viable option for at least some the babies whose moms have chosen to receive formula.<<
The problem I have with what you are saying is that there are a lot of restrictions on who can get WIC assistance already. If you force mandatory bfing in addition to having to basically be destitute virtually no one would qualify so what's the point of having assistance in the first place. You certainly can't qualify if you're married. A couple I know got divorced just so they would qualify. There is a HUGE gap between the rich and what is "considered" poor in this country. Let's not make it any harder than it already is.
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