Family view - Media Matters
Kindly contributed by Lena S, grandmother.
Two pieces in the national news caught my attention this month – particularly as they were both aired in the same televised programme.
The first item informed the nation that British research has shown breast fed babies to become more intelligent adults - one presumes this is in comparison with bottle fed babies, but this is not clarified within the report.
The second item, which featured at the end of the news bulletin, stemmed from Canadian research findings and a warning that it is possible for babies to become infected by toxic particles from plastic feeding bottles. The explanation given is that boiling water should not be used as the toxin can leech out from the lining of the plastic bottle into the baby’s feed. As a result, Canada and America have withdrawn these bottles. Not all plastic feeding bottles feature this defect, but parents were warned to make these feeds with lukewarm water to be on the safe side. It was noted that the bottles in question are still on sale here in UK.
When I listened to these news items I couldn’t help but think about the underlying agenda. I felt it was very much a scaremongering exercise aimed at making parents, especially mothers, engender feelings of guilt for bottle-feeding. In contrast, any breast feeding mothers watching the news programme would almost certainly have felt a great sense of relief. Nevertheless, in a democratic country, I think we ought to expect more balance in our news items, containing more facts and allowing parents to make an informed decision.