May Parents Magazine--Arrrgh!

[umsami]

So, my Mom (being a nice Mom) bought me a magazine... "Parents." OK, I thought. No biggie. I'm sure I'll find some cute ideas or whatever.

But this magazine is driving me crazy.
p.34 your child/Heath... Q&A "Is it safe to borrow pumped breast milk from my sister if I'm having trouble producing it?" Answer.... "Although you may have seen the video of Salma Hayek breastfeeding a hungry baby in Africa... the truth is that the RISKS of sharing human breast milk outweigh the possible benefits for healthy babies. Breast milk can carry diseases such as hep B, HIV, and TB. (Milk from milk banks...is pasturized.) Even if you know that your sister is perfectly healthy, her milk could contain bacteria and vireeuses that...are not safe for your (baby)....." says Parents Advisor Jane Morton, M.D. Clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Then then suggest that she a lactation consultant to find out ways to increase supply or consider supplementing with forumula. Aaaargh!!

p. 106 the Solutions/Manners column... a woman asks "Is it OK to nurse my baby in a restaurant?" The answer... "Yes, as long as you're discreet: Think scarves, shawls, daark booths, or quiet corner tables..." WTF??? I'm surprised they didn't tell her to go nurse in the bathroom!


Giant scream.

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[Abismommy]

This is why I hate the main stream magazines..so so idiotic sometimes

[NoraB]

Bleck!

[Abismommy]

GAH! The more I think about this the angrier I get. So many women read this mag and could get discouraged by it.
A few weeks ago when my supply was greatly lacking my good friend fed my baby girl! I had no problem with it at all.

[MommaKitten21]

I read this too and was really disturbed by it! I did see a cool shirt I liked the other day.... It said "If you think breastfeeding my child in public is wrong, next time you go to eat, try putting a blanket over your head! I loved it!

[MommaKitten21]

This also reminds me of a conversation I had with my coworker who said she was going to formula feed from birth because she didn't want "ugly, saggy boobs!" I told her I breastfed for a long time and didn't have saggy boobs! I even showed her them (outside of work mind you!) lol and she was like oh, maybe I will give breastfeeding a shot!

[kriket]

nak
that mag is wack. they frequently have strange things in it. There was a huge vax article a few months back that pretty much said "vax or die"

[jimblejamble]

I received a bunch of copies of that magazine from an OB. I flipped through once and threw them away. I didn't even recycle them because I didn't want someone coming across it and getting this sort of "information"!

[jimblejamble]

Originally Posted by MommaKitten21

This also reminds me of a conversation I had with my coworker who said she was going to formula feed from birth because she didn't want "ugly, saggy boobs!" I told her I breastfed for a long time and didn't have saggy boobs! I even showed her them (outside of work mind you!) lol and she was like oh, maybe I will give breastfeeding a shot!

Isn't that what pushup bras are for?

[umsami]

Originally Posted by MommaKitten21

I read this too and was really disturbed by it! I did see a cool shirt I liked the other day.... It said "If you think breastfeeding my child in public is wrong, next time you go to eat, try putting a blanket over your head! I loved it!

Oh, I so want that shirt!!!

[listipton]

huh...my husband enjoys my "ugly saggy boobs" . I recieve this mag from who knows where and get mad every time I open it up.

[Belle]

I canceled my subscription to that awful magazine last year when they had an terrible blurb promoting circ. The customer service rep was very friendly and it sounded like he was used to that sort of call. I was sure to tell him why I no longer wanted that magazine too. I never wanted it to begin with, but I got signed up for a "free" subscription when I bought underwear at Motherhood maternity.

Mothering is much better. (This reminds me, I've got to renew my subscription.)

[MegBoz]

I also signed up for a free subscription that came with my Boppy pillow.

I didn't catch that in the May issue, but it would have infuriated me. Thus far, anything about birth talks about "your OB" and "the hospital." As if no sane woman ever does it any other way... :

And another article about how to keep your baby warm in the winter in his stroller... Uh.. WEAR HIM! (I've never seen ANYTHING about BWing in the mag)

& finally, an article on pregnancy testing... "your doc will do blah blah blah" "If glucose tolerance test is positive, you will go for glucose challenge test." As if no one EVER considers the concept of making decisions for herself. You just WILL do whatever the OB says. Sick.

[peainthepod]

I hate that magazine. I'm not sure why I started receiving it but it's awful, full of bad advice and ridiculously ignorant articles about...well, about pretty much everything. I've canceled it like four times but it keeps on coming, so straight into the recycling bin it goes. :

[SashaBear]

I saw both of those in the magazine and new it would throw up read flags. The donated milk didn't mother me. I think they have to say that flor liability issues. LLL doesn't support that either.
The nursing in public made with steam up though. We don't have to be discreet if we dont want to/cant'.

[umsami]

Regardless of liability, the donated milk thing bothered me on a lot of levels.

First off, they could have addressed her low supply issues in the article. How difficult would it be to have a pediatrician who is also IBCLC certified? How difficult would it have been to say that the best thing to do if you're concerned about supply is nurse more often? Why not tell her to chart her baby's growth to see if she really does have a supply issue? To me, raising the oh my your sister's breastmilk may kill your baby, you better supplement is WRONG. Period.

Secondly, while I understand liability, I still think they could have addressed the donation thing differently. If you go to the International Breast Milk Donation site... they have some screening questions regarding donors that could be used on the Sister. http://www.breastmilkproject.org/hiw...guidelines.php (Smarmy me can't help but point out that breast milk sent to Africa isn't pasteurized... but apparently it is in the U.S. : )

They could also suggest that her sister get clearance from her OB/PCP if she was going to donate on a regular basis.


I'd love to see some statistics on the number of children harmed by donated breastmilk vs. the number of children harmed by improperly prepared formula. My guess is you're at much much much greater risk from the formula.

[jocelynr]

I'd love to see some statistics on the number of children harmed by donated breastmilk vs. the number of children harmed by improperly prepared formula. My guess is you're at much much much greater risk from the formula.

Exactly!

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by umsami

p. 106 the Solutions/Manners column... a woman asks "Is it OK to nurse my baby in a restaurant?" The answer... "Yes, as long as you're discreet: Think scarves, shawls, daark booths, or quiet corner tables..." WTF??? I'm surprised they didn't tell her to go nurse in the bathroom!


Giant scream.

Send comments to [e-mail] Include your daytime phone number, city, and state or province. You bet I will!

I saw this too, though somehow I missed the other. Probably because i let DS have fun ripping it to shreds! i dislike this mag but somehow got a subscription, very annoying. this NIP comment made me so mad. i nip all the time, including in restaurants, grocery stores, church and sunday school. and so many times no one ever notices, because i dont hang a sign saying "oohhh scary look, my boobies are feeding my baby now, but you cant see because im going to put this blanket over his head, so pretend im not doing it!!!!" the only time i cover is if i feel like im exposing too much skin. then i simply cover my breast, not my baby. no wonder extended bfing rates are so low in this country. if we make bfuing women into social outcasts or self-concious wierdos then of course they are going to wean asap, or supplement in public. this whole issue just makes me so :

[Twelve21]

I read this too and was shocked. I guess the moms I donated BM to missed this artice. They were beyond thrilled to have my milk!

I absoutley hate hate hate this magazine. Not only do they give horrible (and inaccurate) advice like is the mentioned article, they have terrible buisness practices. They "renewed" my free, spamed subscription without my permission and have now sent me to collections for $114. I cancelled the subscription in Feb and in the June issue I just recieved there was a card for 24 issues for 12 bucks!!

[caiesmommy]

My aunt was wanting to get it for me for my birthday...I kindly pointed her in the direction of Mothering