How to reduce healthcare costs 101--

[30ashopper]

You are right about that. Especially when huge multinational corporations have a stake in keeping breastfeeding nasty so that formula feeding is seen as preferable, more prestigious, etc. I don't think I can take that one on by my lonesome, but maybe some of my comments here on this thread changed a few hearts and minds in a nursing-friendly direction? I hope.

Susan I agree with you and I support you on this, but really, are people sheep? This blaming of corporate america for all things bad in world, I just don't agree with it. People have a responsibility to make up their own minds, if they don't that's not the fault of those trying to convince them of something.

 

[Susan Horn]

I wrestle with the same questions myself. Not sure I can give clear answers. I don't blame corporations for all the ills of the world, but I don't think it's a fair game when you have millions to flood every inch and every minute of modern daily life with advertising of products that are designed to make you a profit even if they are bad for your customers. And then there are more subtle "ads" like product placement and other stuff I don't know names for.

I think also the changes in broadcast and other media are significant. They have gotten away from the concept of public service and public good, or even of balancing profit motive with public service. It's a huge topic and I really have to go to the office now, but am hoping someone who knows the lingo better than me will jump in to flesh out what I'm mentioning here.

 

[scooterbug44]

My views on public breast feeding have nothing to do with corporate America pushing formula and everything to do with what I feel is appropriate public behavior. Every female relative and friend I have (that is physically able) breastfeeds their babies, but they do it modestly and stop before their baby is in kindergarten.

Susan, all the stuff you mentioned (spitting, adjusting yourself in public, etc.) I also find to be unacceptable behavior. Frankly, cell phone rudeness is a much bigger problem IMO than nursing mothers, but that isn't a 'health issue'.

Was public breast feeding ever completely acceptable in the US? I am having a hard time picturing it during the various eras that were much more limiting as far as behavior and dress - thought it only became okay during the 70s & 80s.

 

[Blair]

My views on public breast feeding have nothing to do with corporate America pushing formula and everything to do with what I feel is appropriate public behavior. Every female relative and friend I have (that is physically able) breastfeeds their babies, but they do it modestly and stop before their baby is in kindergarten.

Susan, all the stuff you mentioned (spitting, adjusting yourself in public, etc.) I also find to be unacceptable behavior. Frankly, cell phone rudeness is a much bigger problem IMO than nursing mothers, but that isn't a 'health issue'.

Was public breast feeding ever completely acceptable in the US? I am having a hard time picturing it during the various eras that were much more limiting as far as behavior and dress - thought it only became okay during the 70s & 80s.

We are a country of prudes! It's a breast....It's really no big deal(no pun intended)

 

[Susan Horn]

I don't know about public breastfeeding in USA before my lifetime, but I'm betting it's not a topic that would have been covered in any depth in our history books. Even so, I'm not sure it matters to me at this point, since Puritanical repression is one of the forces driving our nation's unbalanced attitudes around sexuality and our bodies. Another driving force is whatever you call it that is behind the ever-more-prevalent sales tool of showing lots of big cleavage and boobs to sell cars, trucks and beers. Odd, isn't it, that revealing displays of breasts in the interests of capitalism are fine, but showing some skin while feeding a baby is inappropriate?

I think 30AShopper is on the money in that it is a perception thing. That's where the roles of advertising and marketing come into play, as well as the social customs and mores/perceptions, as described above.

That so many Americans regard public nursing as inappropriate is also considered in many circles to be an issue of women's rights. There are nonprofits, blogs and movements all across the country dedicated to amending or passing laws so that women can feed their children in public without fear of arrest, harm or other hassles.

I guess I would say to everyone who gets nervous or embarrassed or otherwise uncomfortable around nursing mothers and babies in public, please try to accept it; if you can't, please just look the other way--live and let live. One of the earliest lessons I learned in counseling was that one cannot change others' feelings, thoughts or behavior of others, one can only change one's own feelings, thoughts and behaviors....

 

[scrappymommy]

In my opinion, you cannot blame the corporations for everything because in the end, people need to be held accountable for the decisions that they make. BUT, there is definitely a push from the formula companies to get babies on formula and not breast milk.

All of the welcome packets from ob-gyn that you get at your first pre-natal visit include formula samples, and when you leave the hospital you leave with tons of formula samples, just in case...

When I had my daughter, I came home feeling frustrated because we were having issues getting her to latch on. This feeling is what corporations capitilize on. The mother is frustrated and wants her baby to eat so she remembers that formula sample she got and it's easy to slip into that routine instead of giving breastfeeding a real chance. Thankfully, in my case, the lactation consultant at the Sacred Heart in Pensacola was awesome I think if the hospitals didn't give out samples (unless requested, I suppose), then maybe more people would stick with breastfeeding because they HAD to.

Also, on all formula packaging and magazine ads, you will notice they say that breastfeeding is best for your baby. This is because they have to by law, I wonder if they would still include that if they weren't forced to? There was supposed to be a big public campaign (similar to no smoking campaigns) back in 2003 about breastfeeding from the Department of Health and Human Services, which didn't happen because of lobbying from the formula companies.

It's a shame that doctors/hospitals don't really inform their patients about breastfeeding...I wonder if it's because some of them get $$ from the formula companies to handout their specific brand's samples?

As far as WIC goes, why wouldn't they offer coupons(not sure what the right word is there) for breast pumps/supplies as well as formula? Then children would be healthier and think of all the money that would be saved, considering that formula feeding costs between $1500-$4500 a year.

I think that corporations and the media don't help. Any story you hear in the media regarding breastfeeding is always about some lady nursing her older child. I saw a story awhile back on Fox Business Channel about a breastfeeding doll and they were talking about how outrageous it was. I wonder if they think a little girl feeding a babydoll a bottle of manufactured food is gross? In almost all of the books/videos we found while trying to prepare my daughter for the arrival of her little brother showed babies been bottle fed...so there is marketing from the start to push you towards formula.

 

[Susan Horn]

Breasts - sexual or for breastfeeding babies?

This is a great website that covers a lot of the things we've been discussing about breastfeeding and cultural attitudes, laws, etc.