"Controversial" Image of Father Bottle-Feeding His Child Edited Out of Advertisement

[PeterG]

Breastfeeding activists in New Zealand raised so much of a stink over an ad featuring a dad bottle-feeding his baby that the New Zealand government actually decided to edit the image above out of the ad.

The ad is for an anti-smoking campaign in New Zealand. A rugby player and a musician appear in the ad. Due to pressure from breastfeeding activists, the image of Piri Weepu feeding his child was removed from the ad.

From the article:

While the government's decision could be viewed as a victory for La Leche League, which protested the ad, some observers have concluded that the decision is a sad day for dads. If a father is going to be involved in the feeding of his new baby, it's only going to happen through a bottle.

The New Zealand case was even more peculiar because the ad was actually part of an anti-smoking campaign. (Watch the ad below.) It had nothing to do with the breast versus bottle debate. But La Leche League still didn't approve of the bottle-feeding image it appeared to promote.

[barbk]

Does La Leche oppose pumping & storing milk? I certainly did that, and it never made me think that I wasn't breast feeding.

[danceronice]

Does La Leche oppose pumping & storing milk? I certainly did that, and it never made me think that I wasn't breast feeding.

That's certainly the implication...

[Hannahclear]

I really hated the LLL BF guide. It was very patronizing. Dr. Sears was worse.

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Soory, LaLeche, but you're out of your er, league on this. If there shouldn't be any social stigma attached to a mother breast-feeding her infant, neither should there be any stigma to a father (or mother) bottle-feeding the child. Don't behave like the high-strung busybodies that made you form your organization to begin with.

[IceAlisa]

FFS. I know pediatricians who had to admit dehydrated infants to the hospital because their LLL-brainwashed mothers didn't produce enough milk and wouldn't supplement on pain of death.

[maatTheViking]

I am strong proponent of breastfeeding, and I found the LLL guides a bit over the top - epecially trying to find information about pumping while returning to work and best introducing the bottle. I was very patronizing, I agree, something like: If you abeselutely have to pump and not feed your baby yourself, it is best that... (and some of the advice was good info, just horribly packaged). It was written as I should feel guiltly for returning to work before my baby was weaned - what bullshit.


I can understand if they protested a mom bottlefeeding, instead of breastfeeding, but a dad? Dads being part of feeding baby is awesome!

[Hannahclear]

I am strong proponent of breastfeeding, and I found the LLL guides a bit over the top - epecially trying to find information about pumping while returning to work and best introducing the bottle.

Yeah, the whole: "You don't have to work; you just want to buy fancy shoes and take great vacations," thing was a bit much for me.

[IceAlisa]

The argument against pumping is not entirely unsubstantiated. Milk production is on supply and demand and nothing will empty out a breast like a hungry baby. The pump usually doesn't empty out as effectively although I did hear something about hospital grade pumps that do almost as well.

Anyway, the short of it is that if you pump, you will likely make less milk and are more likely to end up supplementing. However, many women pump and don't supplement.

I also think that giving fathers an opportunity to feed the baby (pumped breast milk) is great. IME, dads are so much more involved these days. Feminism works both ways.

Also, I don't know how real this is but I found this entry on Yahoo Answers:

La Leche League wierdness. Is this normal?

I went to a La Leche League meeting with three mothers-to-be or new mothers and an LLL leader. One mother had to leave early, so it was just the three of us.

The group leader is still breastfeeding her five-year-old, and as part of the coaching, she obviously listed the advantages of breast feeding, telling us it was extremely healthy for mother and child.

Somewhere during all of this, she said it was very healthy for adults as well, and she offered to allow us to nurse from her, saying it was a very calming experience if we had never done so.

I refused, but the other mother laid in her lap and actually did nurse from her for many minutes while we finished talking.

Is this normal at all? Opinions?


Additional Details
I'm a little annoyed that some think I can make this up. I'm NOT against breastfeeding or LLL in general. Maybe I should report her for acting so inappropriate. The other woman seemed ok with it. She sure did stay latched on to that woman's breast long enough.

More from LLL:
http://www.salon.com/2006/10/12/la_leche_league/

La Leche League, that fervent international advocacy group for all things mammarian, has always talked a heavy nature-equals-nurture line. For the Leaguers, breast-feeding isn’t only the best source of sustenance for a baby physically but the quintessential maternal experience. But now the group has gone off the milky deep end, and its swimming buddies are right-wing Christians and fanatical biological essentialists.

That's the natural path of their fanaticism, innit.

[myhoneyhoney]

Hubby and I bottle fed our 3 kids, our 4th baby was exclusively breast fed past 1 year.... that said, I CAN'T STAND LE LECHE LEAGUE!!! Very sad that the clip was taken out.

[barbk]

I saw a mom breastfeeding a three/four year old and a baby at the same time, so I didn't think much would surprise me -- but offering to let other adults suckle? Uh, no thanks.

[Allskate]

I can understand if they protested a mom bottlefeeding, instead of breastfeeding, but a dad? Dads being part of feeding baby is awesome!

There are a lot of moms who work and therefore pump and bottle-feed. I don't get protesting that either. And there are all sorts of reasons moms have to stop breastfeeding. I've had friends and family whose doctors instructed them to stop for medical reasons.

[maatTheViking]

There are a lot of moms who work and therefore pump and bottle-feed. I don't get protesting that either. And there are all sorts of reasons moms have to stop breastfeeding. I've had friends and family whose doctors instructed them to stop for medical reasons.

I understand - I was more saying that from the point of view of 'promoting breast feeding' I can understand protesting a picture of a mom bottle feeding (since without context it will be understood to be formula?) - but even within their viewpoint I don't see how they can protest a dad giving a bottle?

[milanessa]

Maybe they would have preferred this photo.

http://www.lilsugar.com/Breastfeedin...s-Dads-1692110

[Prancer]

For the Leaguers, breast-feeding isn’t only the best source of sustenance for a baby physically but the quintessential maternal experience.

That was sure the impression I got from LLL--it's not really about feeding a baby at all, but about TRUE MOTHERHOOD.

[Japanfan]

The argument against pumping is not entirely unsubstantiated. Milk production is on supply and demand and nothing will empty out a breast like a hungry baby. The pump usually doesn't empty out as effectively although I did hear something about hospital grade pumps that do almost as well.

Anyway, the short of it is that if you pump, you will likely make less milk and are more likely to end up supplementing. However, many women pump and don't supplement.

But shouldn't a woman be free to choose whether she wants to directly breast-freed, pump, or use formula - or any combination of the above?

I was recently surprised when a friend who works for a day care on the infant side said that many of the moms she dealt with had chosen not to breast feed. And my niece chose to pump rather than breastfeed because breastfeeding hurt. I remember how my mom - who did not breastfeed - was distressed by sister's (my niece's mom) struggle to follow LL. When I was talking to my sister about my niece, I learned that she actually had a difficult time breastfeeding and eventually gave it up.

So, my impression that breast-feeding is very much in vogue these days seems to be incorrect. I'm all for women being free to choose how they feed their babies and think there are far, far greater injustices performed again children than formula-feeding.

But I have to wonder - having never had kids - given that breastfeeding was the only way women could feed babies for thousands of years - why is is to hard?

Is it the loss of women's lore and wisdom that occurred in the advent of male-dominated science and medicine? Or was it always hard?


I also think that giving fathers an opportunity to feed the baby (pumped breast milk) is great. IME, dads are so much more involved these days. Feminism works both ways.

[Hannahclear]

For the Leaguers, breast-feeding isn’t only the best source of sustenance for a baby physically but the quintessential maternal experience.

That was sure the impression I got from LLL--it's not really about feeding a baby at all, but about TRUE MOTHERHOOD.

DING DING DING

[Badams]

when I had my first baby, LLL came into my room to talk to me about breastfeeding. I had told the nurses that I was going to try to breastfeed, but that I was not in any way against formula feeding. So the LLL freak comes in one day and asks me if she can help me while I'm trying to breastfeed and naturally I say yes, thinking she's going to give me some tips. She comes over, pulls up my hospital gown, and starts squishing my boobs around with her bare hands! Later that same day, another lady from LLL comes in and tells me that my baby wasn't getting enough to eat, had lost too much weight, I needed to try harder or else the hospital will send me home without my baby and she would be in the hospital all alone...I got furious and called the nurse and demanded they give me bottles with formula. I don't like being screwed with. When the LLL people came back, I told them to get the hell out of my room and they were no longer welcome. Nobody told me they were just extra and couldn't come in if I said no. I thought I had no choice. For my next 2 babies they never made it past the threshold.

[MacMadame]

But shouldn't a woman be free to choose whether she wants to directly breast-freed, pump, or use formula - or any combination of the above?

Well, yes, when it's a real choice.

But a lot of women "chose" not to breastfeed because they are given bad advice (or no advice) or because of myths about it. That's not making an informed decision, IMO.

We have lost a lot of lore about breastfeeding because women in our society are so much more isolated than they were when fewer people worked outside the home or lived in cities and suburbs.

I had friends when I had my second child who were all SAHM who went to the same church and they had formed a little community and they all breastfed and they helped each other out and traded tips and things like that and they were much more successful at breastfeeding than the average mom. I think the fact that they all watched each other breastfeed and there were experienced moms to help the inexperienced ones really made a difference.

What frustrates me is when medical professionals give out bad advice. Like my OB told me I had to keep injecting myself with heparin after Mini-Mac was born because the pill blood thinners weren't allowed during breastfeeding because they "get in the milk". Well, I knew that they had only been detected at subclinical levels (which means they wouldn't hurt the baby) and some types weren't detected at all, but I didn't care enough about the issue to argue so I kept shooting myself up even though it was a PITA. But I bet there are women out there who just can't take the needles who decide not to breastfeed so they can go on the pills. After all, their doctor told them they can't breastfeed while on that medicine, so it must be true, right?

And that's just sad.

[barbk]

Hmmm... it has been a lot of years, but my hospital had a lactation nurse who came around and helped with nursing questions; I think for mom's who went home the same day/next day they had her make a home visit. I found her really helpful -- D didn't like nursing in the "standard" position but was happy as a clam in the "football" hold. I remember that she was available by phone or by appointment for follow-up questions.