need information on Discovery Channel's "Birth Stories"

[Janice in Canada]

Posted here with permission. If you can help, by providing your recollections of episodes of Discovery Channel's "Birth Stories" show, please reply directly to Maureen Fjeld at email below.

Thanks,
Janice


Gabrielle Palmer, an ILCA plenary speaker, on the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, challenged the 900 registrants (at the recent ILCA conference) to write individually to this channel for providing shows that are not in support of breastfeeding and may actually be perceived to promote bottle feeding.

I have not watched this show nor do I have the channel to see this so the Code Committee needs input from those who have, to assist us all with writing individual letters.

Please provide information via lactnet or write to me directly to assist with this process,

thanks in advance
Maureen Fjeld, IBCLC, RLC
Chair, ILCA Code Committee
[e-mail]

[TRIBE]

I havent watched in ages so I cant recall any episodes off the top of my head right now but there is another series that DC does that really does seem to push the bottles hard core and thats "Bringing Home baby"...i think it actually airs on TLC.

[ananas]

Bringing Home Baby is awful about that- I rarely watch it. The only times they show BFing is when a mother is complaining about how hard it is.

[Jazzmin]

Aren't the Birth Stories the ones that are all hospital based? As in it only follows them in the hospital and maybe a follow up at home? I used to watch those, but I guess I never noticed bf of ff either way. Bringing Home Baby is definitely another story. I have seen only 2 or 3 shows where the mother ends up BF. Most of the women either start out ff or try bf and then end up ff due to supplementing early on. That sends the wrong message for sure.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I used to watch that show ALL the time. I finally quit watching it regularly because I almost never saw a mother breastfeeding. There may have been moms on there nursing, but they wouldn't show it. Bottle feeding was shown ALL the time, every single episode. Little tiny babies, freshly hatched, with bottles sticking out of their mouths, with absolutely no explanation. I would have to say that yes, that show is very pro-bottle. Of course, when a comercial comes on, it's Good Start.
I can remember only once or twice noticing if a mother was nursing, but the video always clipped out really quickly, or they only showed the mom from the neck up - as if it was something shameful to hide.