WebMd's bfing page

[lilylove]

I was so disgusted and appalled by both the fact that they are nothing more then a glorified formula ad, and the fact that it is filled with incorrect information.
I sent them an email and wanted to post on their facebook page, but you needed to like them to post. I just couldn't bring myself to hit 'like'


http://www.phdinparenting.com/2010/0...gerber-nestle/

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/...-9/default.htm

[icesk8]

It says on the top of the WebMD page that its funded by Gerber. Why would a company that sells food for babies want you to your baby for the 2 years recomended by the WHO when they could be eating Gerber stuff at 4 months?

[St. Margaret]

And Gerber got bought by Nestle, too, so now Gerber is a formula company. I think everyone should write in to Web MD, but boy does this reduce what credibility they had.

[PatioGardener]

I started to read the 'expert Q&A' but only got to this part: "I advise new moms to pace themselves in the beginning and not to nurse for long stretches, so their nipples can build up to it." and "I advise new moms to do 10- to 15-minute sessions on each breast. At the same time, I encourage them to nurse frequently -- every three to four hours or so -- to build up milk supply."

I had to stop reading.

Way to sabotage a breastfeeding relationship.

[amydiane]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

I started to read the 'expert Q&A' but only got to this part: "I advise new moms to pace themselves in the beginning and not to nurse for long stretches, so their nipples can build up to it." and "I advise new moms to do 10- to 15-minute sessions on each breast. At the same time, I encourage them to nurse frequently -- every three to four hours or so -- to build up milk supply."

I had to stop reading.

Way to sabotage a breastfeeding relationship.

Yeah, and did you notice that the very first question is, "What common problems do you see?" and the answer is a long list of painful-sounding things?

It gets worse. She goes on to remind people not to have visitors over because it may be hard to ask them to leave the room so you can nurse. (Implication: you need to hide and be segregated, even in your own home.) She encourages introducing a bottle between 21 and 28 days and says that she often turns to the dad and says, "Wouldn't you like a chance to feed your baby?" and that they always say yes. (Divide and conquer!) She claims that it can be very hard to bottle-feed in our society, but that her formula-fed kids turned out just fine. (How can it be "very hard" in our society when the vast majority of babies are bottle-fed at least partially?)

[lilylove]

Write those emails!!!

[RoseDuperre]

And at the very end - this breastfeeding expert tells us how her two children were both formula-fed and, gosh, they're healthier and smarter than she is! FABULOUS expert advice, just what I was looking for.

[haydn'smommy]

I was appalled at this

I also refer people to La Leche League on occasion, depending what the problem is. It turns out that LLL has excellent advice for weaning an older child, which is kind of surprising

LLL is a wonderful resource for nursing moms! This makes LLL sound like a bunch of quacks, which may turn off some women.

[crystal_buffaloe]

Where's the link/contact information to write and complain?

How on earth is this person an expert on breastfeeding? Because she's a pediatrician? Because she formula-fed her children and they turned out fine?

[lilylove]

https://customercare.webmd.com/ics/s...p?deptID=18003


I'm debating trying to contact the author directly too.

[crystal_buffaloe]

I was also thinking about contacting the author directly. The phone number of her practice is listed, but I haven't been able to find an email address (which would be my preferred method). I wrote a review on Yelp and Insider Pages to help people deciding on a pediatrician -- although as one of WebMD's "expert" doctors, I'm sure she's booked and not accepting new patients.

My Yelp review: http://www.yelp.com/review_share/Ry4...rT7Qaa1vyz9wRw

[ancoda]

That is one of the ones that I really need a dislike button for.

[angelpie545]

Well, to be honest, most MDs aren't exactly up to par when it comes to breastfeeding information. Our society likes to view MDs as a "catch all" person to go to for advice about everything baby-associated..but in reality MDs are just that, medical doctors. The majority of their training is focused where it ought to be: on diagnosing and treating medical issues/disease. Some MDs might be well educated on other subjects, but it's not a guarantee (even for pediatricians). Lactation consultants are experts in their field and IMO should be the automatic go-to for parents who are experiencing breastfeeding difficulties. MDs might have some good advice, or might not. Ideally lactation consultants and MDs would work side by side, but from what I see that's not the case most of the time.

[crystal_buffaloe]

I don't think the issue here is that there's a pediatrician out there with less-than-stellar breastfeeding knowledge. The issue is that she's disseminating incorrect, harmful information. It's one thing for a ped to direct her patients to an LC and it's quite another just to tell them some piece of crap advice ... and it's still another thing to give this information not to one patient, but to the thousands of women who turn to WebMD for help. Clearly, WebMD could have found a real expert, but they didn't. Clearly, when approached to be the WebMD breastfeeding "expert," Dr. Schultz could have passed on the opportunity, acknowledging that this is not her area of expertise.

[sosurreal09]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

I started to read the 'expert Q&A' but only got to this part: "I advise new moms to pace themselves in the beginning and not to nurse for long stretches, so their nipples can build up to it." and "I advise new moms to do 10- to 15-minute sessions on each breast. At the same time, I encourage them to nurse frequently -- every three to four hours or so -- to build up milk supply."

I had to stop reading.

Way to sabotage a breastfeeding relationship.

OMG and you wonder why all these moms say my milk dissapeared or never came in so i COULDN'T BF seriously...bad advcie!

[indie]

This was very carefully crafted by Nestle to sabotage breastfeeding women. I don't know how they sleep at night knowing that babies are getting sick and dying because of them.

[Beppie]

Thanks for sharing about this. I just sent a complaint email to WebMD.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by amydiane

Yeah, and did you notice that the very first question is, "What common problems do you see?" and the answer is a long list of painful-sounding things?

It gets worse. She goes on to remind people not to have visitors over because it may be hard to ask them to leave the room so you can nurse. (Implication: you need to hide and be segregated, even in your own home.) She encourages introducing a bottle between 21 and 28 days and says that she often turns to the dad and says, "Wouldn't you like a chance to feed your baby?" and that they always say yes. (Divide and conquer!) She claims that it can be very hard to bottle-feed in our society, but that her formula-fed kids turned out just fine. (How can it be "very hard" in our society when the vast majority of babies are bottle-fed at least partially?)

that would NEVER work with my DH. His reply would be, "Yes, it's too bad I can't lactate!" He told me more than once, "If I had boobs I'd feed him for you!" We chose not to do bottles...I have high lactase or whatever (my milk didn't freeze without work beforehand) and I SAH so it felt pointless to store any...

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by indie

This was very carefully crafted by Nestle to sabotage breastfeeding women. I don't know how they sleep at night knowing that babies are getting sick and dying because of them.

You're right! And it's so sad! I had no idea Nestle bought Gerber...

I was literally thinking the same thing the other day about "how do they sleep at night". Having safe formula is a huge boon to our society and it should be available to all babies who need it, but to TRY TO STOP moms from nursing is disgusting.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by AFWife

that would NEVER work with my DH. His reply would be, "Yes, it's too bad I can't lactate!" He told me more than once, "If I had boobs I'd feed him for you!"

Mine too! I think it's one of his favorite perks of nursing! Not that he doesn't help, but he knows that there is an almost 100% foolproof baby-satisfier that's perfect for he.

Of course, now he's a homebirth activist too!