Formula terminology

I read Mothering Multiples, published by La Leche League, during my pregnancy. Overall, I thought the book had a lot of good advice, and I'm glad I read it. However, I wanted to get your perspectives on something that bothered me in the book. The author refers to:

formula as "artificial milk"
feeding a baby formula as "artificially fed"
babies receiving EBM = "breast milk feeding" or "human milk feeding"

Has anyone heard these terms used in the "real world"? I'm sure if I went and used these terms on the First Year board, people would be offended.

I supplemented with formula on occasion in the beginning. (My babies were not gaining much weight). At about 4 months, my babies were exclusively breastfed. Although I am totally pro-breastfeeding, these terms still bother me. Is the author implying that I was not really feeding my babies when I gave them a bottle? I was "fake feeding" them? This terminology gives me a bad impression of La Leche League. To me, it sounds like they're trying to make people feel bad if they choose to use formula or to supplement. (At least that's how the book made me feel. To be honest, in the beginning, I felt ashamed and embarrassed when I gave my babies formula. Before my LOs were born, I actually thought in my head that I would rather my babies starve than give them formula. That is a crazy thought! Eventually I decided that it's okay to use a little formula in some cases). I'm sure the author did not intend to make moms feel bad for using formula, but for some reason, this book seemed to affect me in that way.

Sorry for the vent ... I know I'm totally overreacting over terminology!

 

Artificial milk definition

I dont think the author was implying you didnt feed your babies or that you "fake fed them" but merely using correct terminilogy when she used the word artifical. Breastfeeding is a very natural psychiological way to nourish a baby. Infant formulas are "made by human work for a subsitution of something that is natural".
more reading breastmilk is a living fluid that formula can not duplicate although formula companies desperately try to emmulate it.

Same with calling pacifiers "dummies" because its a substitute for the 'real' thing.

You should never feel embarrased to use formula. I try to think of formula as a "tool" that allows breatfeeding moms to continue breastfeeding and/or formula feeding moms to nourish their children if they do not wish or are not able to do it as intended by nature.

The goal of LLL is to help women who want to breastfeed to be educated and able to do so & to have a strong network of support when they may otherwise not. While some LLL leaders are not supportive of the use of formula, again I know lots that are and see it as a very resourceful tool just like a nipple shield or a boppy

 

I agree with Jess, but I also see how that is a sensitive issue and wording it that way may make some feel bad.

 

I have been forced to use formula since my LO's were 8 weeks old as a supplement because I went back to work and no matter how hard I try I can never pump enough to keep up with their demand. I can usually pump 12-18 oz from 2 pumping sessions but I need 24 for the time I am gone. I never got a very big freezer stash because my two were terribly colicky so I never had much time to pump early on because I was ALWAYS holding/nursing one of them. At first I beat myself up about it but I finally came to terms that any BM is better than no BM and if they get formula 1-2 bottles a day it is not going to harm them. They still get all the good things in BM that cannot be duplicated and I still get to go bottle free at night (love not messing with it at 2 AM!). I hope to continue nursing them as long as possible and would love to be able to pump more but we all have to do what is best for us and our babies and be comfortable with the choice without someone judging or making comments that make us feel bad!

 

I personally think that Mothering Multiples (and LLL) uses such loaded terminology deliberately. It's a very definite philosophy, almost religion for some people. I certainly walked out of my breastfeeding class with the impression that anyone who used formula was lazy and selfish and even the occasional use would 'upset my baby's digestive system for weeks' and 'ruin my milk supply'. It's unfortunate that a burden of guilt is sometimes placed on moms who've had to make the difficult decision not to EBF.

 

I also agree with Jess, but I would ONLY ever post that term in the first year forum if I was in the mood to see hornets fly!

And of course they choose to use a loaded term deliberately. La Leche Leagaue is an organization that was founded on the sole purpose of promoting breastfeeding, at a time when breastfeeding needed some serious promotion. They could back off now, but they have chosen not to.

I absolutely believe formula is artificial milk for babies, and I fed mine some formula everyday of their first year. That is not the same as saying bottle feeding is "fake feeding". Bottle feeding is feeding with an articifical nipple. There is no getting around that.

 

I had this experience with our local LLL and it was about pumping of all things. They were very against it and went so far as to tell me there was no need to pump if I was BF correctly :woah: Of course, they had no members or volunteers who had ever had multiples and said they didn't get a lot of requests from mothers of twins for help. Wonder why?

That said, I think there are many chapters that are progressive, sensitive and serve a great purpose. Jess is a good example of that. I find if there is guilt used in any effort to persuade or assist in any matter at all - it's probably not the group you want to go to for help. That's true for any type of support group, not just BF.

 

So then is the term "formula" just a slang term? Why isn't the term "artificial milk" used by everyone if it's more accurate?

 

If you look at the wikipedia article on infant formula - Wikipedia it's quite interesting. Infant food used to be a complex mixture of various things that you put together at home, hence you had a "formula" for making baby food. Today we just mix powder with water but it used to be a lot more complicated (and less effective).

ETA: At times it's not even been milk, so "artificial milk" wouldn't have made sense. It even now isn't milk when made with soy or other things.

 

Great explanation rebekah :good

Amber, if you're truly interested in the advances formula has made and the evolution of breastfeeding may I recommend a book called " Milk Money & Madness" ? its a great read very very informative.

I also tend to think LLL books are written with the target audience being those that want to breastfeed and not use formaula hence they may use less than "first year friendly" terms most moms start off either wanting to 100% bfeed or 100% bottle feed its just that often times women find a compromise between the two works best for their family but you usually have a beginning preference.

 

I have a friend who calls it the Original Junk Food. I think this is one of those situations where we as mothers have to be confident in our own informed choices. I don't think the condescending or scary terminology is necessary. It's perfectly fine to make the choice to use formula or not to use it. It's very personal and I assume most mothers make their decisions based on knowledge, research, and what's best for them. If the terms that seem to belittle the mothers are offensive then don't use them and roll your eyes to anyone who gets on a high-horse about it. It serves nobody. But, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater either. There is a lot of very beneficial information about formula and BF from the LLL, the books mentioned and other sources.

 

But isn't that correct? I don't understand the :woah: Please help me understand.

In my house we call it what it is. Soy milk, cow's milk, human or breast milk, and artificial milk. The foster baby drinks artifical milk from the bottle and the bio kids nurse or drink cow's milk. I don't that is condescending.

 

It wasn't correct for me, username. I had twins 4 weeks early and had to pump to get my production going. I also pumped to have milk in the freezer so I could get a break. Also, the pump is very useful for women who work, etc. Telling them they aren't doing it "correctly" is pompous. They are *choosing* a different method and baby is still getting BM. Mine didn't end up taking bottles so the freezer milk was used for making solids etc. For the LLL to tell me that I shouldn't pump was wrong.

Some do find it condescending. I don't. Some do. That's why I said each mother should do what's best for her and her family and ignore what they find to be condescending terminology.

 

I also needed to do the pump, at first because my babies were in NICU where they wouldn't let me stay 24hrs. Then my boys had trouble with the breast, being small and sleepy. It was until at least 3 months actual age before they got the breast enough that I could give up pumping. :banana:

 

Well, of course formula is artificial, what else could it be? It's invented in chem labs and produced in factories and fed via more products of chem labs and factories.

Of course, I am totally NOT on board with any slam against moms who formula feed. But to me, calling it "artificial milk" is an understandable effort at reminding you that breastmilk really is something unique. Here's how it goes. There's the "breast is best" campaign. Then there is the guilt/indignance/denial/"yeah whatever" on the part of some FFing moms. Then there is the rush to assure those moms that it's ok, and the message becomes "breast is best, but formula is just as good."

And that's where I get bothered, and I'm sure other people do too. Formula is not as good as breastmilk. It is perfectly adequate, babies thrive on it, my kids got plenty of it, there are a million reasons why it's a good choice for some moms, etc. But formula is inferior to breastmilk, and there's no way around it. If people were honest with themselves, they'd wonder why it seems natural to hear "breast is best, but formula is just as good" and not "breast milk is just as good as formula."

About LLL, it really seems like a mixed bag. Some of their stuff is way too militant (breast only, not even pumping). Some of it is more like what (I hope!) we offer here: warm, practical, and non-judgmental support of moms making milk for their babies, from exclusively nursing to exclusively pumping to supplementing with formula and everything in between. I have no patience with "competitive mothering" - the race to see who can give their babies the least contact with the bottle (even a bottle of EBM). This is the real world, and we're all just trying to make it work in ways that keep mom AND babies (and the rest of the family) sane and happy.

 

Holly, have I told you lately that I love you. :give_rose:

I gave my girls formula in addition to breast milk. I gave them breast milk for 15 months, and formula for 24!!! And I did it knowing that formula was adequate and okay.

I think it is important that people know Breast is Best. And that is the mission of LLL. It's an organization out to promote breastfeeding. Why are we surprised that it's a little radical? It's kind of like the Greenpeace of breastfeeding.

This thread got me thinking, I've always thought of Mothering Mulitples as a fairly moderate book, and one that presents supplementing with or without pumping as a viable option. So I got it out last night. And yes, I did find the term artificial baby milk. But it also described many many different ways to use artificial baby milk in combinate with human milk.
It never said pumping is wrong for a mom of mulitples/preemies.

 

I think the term "artificially fed" bothers me more than "artificial milk." I feel like a mom is just feeding her baby one way or another (even though we all know breast is best). Why does the term "artificially fed" need to be used?

I don't know, maybe the term "formula" is no better. "Formula" kind of sounds like some strange concoction of different things.

 

But those are both special situations. Your babies were not capable of nursing "properly" so you did the next best thing until they could do it corectly. If a baby can nurse properly then a pump shouldn't be needed. I firmly believe that a pump is not needed to breastfeed. (Gosh the word "properly" is so loaded!!)

I've met women who truly believe you can't nurse unless you have a pump. I mean "How do you get the milk out and into a bottle?" sort of not understanding.

I have a love/hate relationship with LLL. I assumed, pre-kids, it would become a major part of my life. But it hasn't and I've hated the meetings I've gone to. I can't imagine being an on-the-fence mom and going to a meeting. Yikes!

 

That reminds me of the women I've met who thought breast feeding was "gross". One was grossed out by the thought of sucking food from another person. The other thought it was like "something animals do" and she was NOT an animal.

 

I agree with everything Holly said

Also, about LLL, and only speaking for the women in my area (as they are the only women involved in LLL that I know), LLL is supposed to be about educating women so that they can make their own informed choice. It is not about telling women that the choices they are making (EBF, formula, pumping, whatever) are wrong, but about giving them facts and support to make their decisions. Obviously they come down on the side of breastfeeding, BUT (and again, only speaking for the women in my area) they recognize that every woman leads a different life, and every baby is different, and the choices that work for some people will not work for others. The women I work with are very conscious about trying not to alienate other women, and recognize that this is a hot button issue for a lot of people, and try to be respectful of everyone.

Okay, off the soapbox now

 

Great discussion ladies.

I find it odd that some people think it's gross for a human baby to nurse, but are more than willing to give a human baby the milk of another mammal. It's kinda like, would you let your baby nurse from a cow because formula, for better or worse, is a few steps away from that.

I'm ambivalent about the term "artificial milk," but I did get really annoyed with my DH when he would say one of the babies wouldn't drink his "milk" when he was giving them formula. It does annoy me when people forget that we are talking about milk from a cow or a plant as the base for formula.

I'm also generally tired of the portrayal of breastfeeding mothers and advocates as extremists. There is so much in our culture that promotes the idea that bottle feeding, in general, and formula feeding, in particular, is the "normal" way to feed an infant, so anything to promote breastfeeding has the potential to be labeled as extreme.

 

I was really turned off by a nursing educator who more or less claimed that breastfed babies would go to Harvard while formula fed babies would end up as juvenile delinquents -- to the point that I ignored some of the good advice she did have to give, because I figured everything she said was suspect. I did breastfeed my son, but ran into problems during the 3 month growth spurt and waited too long to get help, resulting in my milk drying up by 7 months. So the folks who want to promote breastfeeding would be wise not to be too militant -- it turns many people off!