Some of you may remember this article from last year, in which the (then) sub-editor of Mother and Baby magazine shared with the world her opinions about breastfeeding in an article called 'I formula fed, so what?'.
To summarise, she 'couldn't be fagged', thinks breastfeeding makes your 'fun bags' saggy, missed a drink, and she hates the 'milk mafia'.
The article was absolutely chock-full of myths and misinformation. As well as those given above (no - it doesn't make your boobs saggy, yes - you can have a drink, and no - not all breastfeeding mums belong to a milky version of cosa nostra...), here's a few of the others:
- Breastfeeding is 'creepy' - (er, no, that's only in your head Ms Blundell).
- Breastmilk has 'the edge' over formula - (that would be quite an edge then..)
- It's impossible for breasts to be 'dual function' (ie. for breastfeeding and for sex). Load of rubbish - most of us manage just fine with other parts of our anatomy - so what's the big deal...?
It seems that somewhere in the past Ms Blundell had a run in with a 'breastfeeding advocate' with a big mouth (apparently a stranger likened her use of formula to 'poison'). That's a real shame - perhaps Ms Blundell wouldn't have written such a bitter article if she hadn't felt humiliated for her choice to formula feed?
Her heels seem well and truely dug in now though, and her mind entirely closed. That's really sad to me, since many mums do go on to breastfeed later babies even if they formula fed their earlier ones.
At the time - like many people - Kathryn Blundell's article really pissed me off. However, the energy it created meant that the DBM blog (and others!) came into being and I felt that something positive had come out of something horribly negative.
In spite of the media circus which followed the publication of Ms Blundell's article (and the fact that Mother and Baby Magazine showed a complete ignorance of basic breastfeeding truths), the magazine's owners have now decided to PROMOTE Ms Blundell to the post of Editor, Mother and Baby Magazine.
Yup - the UK's biggest-selling baby/ parenting magazine has appointed an editor with a openly anti-breastfeeding bias.
If her most famous piece is anything to go by, the new editor of Mother and Baby magazine doesn't consider it at all important to get the facts about breastfeeding right. That is - to me - extremely worrying considering it's a publication which is being read by pregnant women all over the UK right now.
I will never advocate for the sort of 'bullying' Kathryn Blundell says she experienced. There is always a reason why someone didn't breastfeed. Perhaps they were duped by the formula industry into believing that formula really is almost as good. Perhaps they didn't get any support at home. Perhaps they got really bad advice. Perhaps they had no confidence in themselves. Perhaps they have some darker reason for not breastfeeding that they will never tell anyone about.
Making a 'judgement' of any mother - no matter how prickly and full of it she seems - is pointless and only ever results in breastfeeding getting the blame. I'm a firm believer in leaving the door open and never saying never...
However, I have no faith whatsoever in press self-regulation. I have no doubt that Ms Blundell and her team will continue to print rubbish about breastfeeding and when they do I hope we can work together to try and correct them.
Hopefully that way fewer women will base their decisions on a bunch of myths like Kathryn Blundell did.
Oh god, well... it's clearly all about profits and M&B are little more than a cheap rag. Gutter press at its finest.
ReplyDeleteErm, isn't the above post exactly the kind of 'bullying' or 'judgment' you say you will never do? When did breastfeeding become so politicised? Why does it matter what another mother does? I'm all for positively promoting breastfeeding, and education, but attacks on individuals just isn't fair. She was talking about her experience honestly, and as mothers, shouldn't we be all for that? We need to stick together, not attack each other. I may disagree with her, but she doesn't have the power to change my mind on breastfeeding just by telling me about her experiences. Breastfeeding is different things to different women and we need to be honest about this if we are ever going to stop being just either 'milk mafia' or a 'bitter' formula feeders. All women are different. All mothers are different. Isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't we all stop attacking each other now?
ReplyDeleteOh, that is very sad :( I hope she can remain professional, but.... yeah.
ReplyDeleteHi Anon - this post wasn't about attacking K Blundell's personal choices. I hoped that was clear? Isn't it ok to be concerned, though, when someone who states that her personal beliefs are 'at odds' with the evidence, is put in charge of editing a publication such as Mother and Baby mag? She is an intelligent woman, and yet clearly believed in a number of the common myths which put people off breastfeeding. This is despite the strong evidence against these commonly held beliefs. In one study, 33% of women stated that they were put off the idea of breastfeeding because they believed it made your breasts saggy. I am constantly being asked if it's ok to have a drink and breastfeed. Don't you think it's ok to 'call it' when people in influential positions get it wrong? Don't you think we should request that editors balance personal opinion with fact? Young women turn to these publications for advice and in this case they were misinformed. I think it's important that editors accept some responsibility in this regard - whatever their personal preferences. They wouldn't print such myth and nonsense in relation to a person's colouring, religion, gender etc - so why is it still considered ok to misinform young women about breastfeeding? I am hopeful that I will be proved wrong about Ms Blundell's bias. Time will tell.
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