To wonder if 'celeb' Mum's get paid...

[iamanewmum31]

AIBU To wonder if 'celeb' Mum's get paid to say they 'can't' or 'won't' BF to increase sales of formula milk. I can't understand any other reason why 'celebs' would make such a personal time in their life so public.

[MrsLadywoman]

No, blame the media. Here's how it works - most celeb women are looks-obsessed, they have to be. The media makes them totally paranoid about their looks. They believe all that balls about bf = saggy tits so they don't want to bf.

Mags that do interviews with celeb mums want a 'hot' angle. So they deliberately target controversial topics because basically writing about a new mum, celeb or not, rambling on about how great they feel about becoming a mum is boring as shit.

Voila - big anti-bf story in all these celeb interviews.

[Vallhala]

I presume that your OP relates to Denise Van Outen?

If so, I'd guess that she made her comments (or didn't as the case may be, the press are good at making it up as they go along!), because she was heartily sick of being harrassed by them and truly didn't want to b/f owing to being recognised and photographed. It is, after all, a personal action and one which some women feel uncomfortable in performing in public. Heaven knows what it would feel like to be watched by a person with a camera as you are b/f-ing.

Perhaps they don't want to have such a personal time and situation made so public but quite the opposite and choose to opt for a quiet life.

[BertieBotts]

This is going to kick off... BUT I will say I very much doubt that the pictures of Katie Price with the very prominent logoed bottles of a particular milk were accidental. You can bet they paid for that to appear.

[ifancyashandy]

LOL that any company would want to be associated with Ms Price! She is toxic as far as PR / product placement is concerned!

And no, DVO (and the like) will not have been paid to have an opinion...

Now, I'm not sure on the correct terminology etc but if you get paid for a job and you are self employed, you have to declare those earnings. I think those declarations / accounts become public property via Companies House. Thus any lazy journo can look up said records and create write a story based on 'celeb got paid' to have opinion etc.

[ifancyashandy]

ps - at the mo (it's about to change) there are very strict rules regarding product placement and UK TV. Not allowed to pay for a product to appear on a show ANYWHERE on UK telly (but is about to be deregulated coz UK telly going to the wall strugging financially.

[BertieBotts]

I think that Vallhalla is right too, in answer to your OP - some celebrities do breastfeed, I don't know what proportion, but the breastfeeding stats for the UK are not that high as it is, perhaps celebrity baby-feeding trends do follow roughly the same patterns as all mums in the UK, with the extra off-putting factor being the paparazzi. It wouldn't have bothered me to be photographed feeding DS at all, but I have a friend who really hated it and would make a big deal of moving out of the way if anyone got a camera out when she happened to be feeding. And I am sure there are others who would have moved discreetly which I didn't notice.

[BertieBotts]

It was in a magazine, not on TV. The picture was of her feeding her newborn with a bottle with the formula company logo displayed on the side, with the logo turned towards the camera - if the rules are so strict (and they knew it, which surely they would) why didn't she use a plain bottle, or at least turn the logo away from the camera so it wasn't immediately obvious which brand it was?

Katie Price - however vile - is a role model for a large number of young girls, many of who will have babies in the future and make that choice between breast and bottle feeding. That is who the formula manufacturers target. Coincidence?

[BertieBotts]

(Sorry to keep posting, I keep thinking of more to say!) I don't think that the celebs are paid necessarily to "talk down" breastfeeding, they probably just say why they can't or didn't want to breastfeed - the same as any mum. But I can easily believe that bottlefeeding celeb mums are offered underhand payments to appear in public feeding X brand of formula to their baby. Otherwise why would they mention it? You never see them mention what brand of shampoo they use, unless it's on an advert.

[Chil1234]

Don't believe what you read in the papers. If some hack asks a really personal question... 'Are you planning to have children?!!'... and the reply was 'mind your own bloody business' then they'll write something like 'Celeb Denies Pregnancy Rumour'. If the personal question is 'Are you going to be breastfeeding'... and the reply is 'what and have all you grubby reporters photographing me in Starbucks? Not likely.'... then the headline is 'Celeb Denounces Breastfeeding!!'

See how it works? Doesn't mean a thing. So don't believe anything unless you hear it from the horse's mouth.

[cornsilky]

Who knows, maybe they can actually make their own choices about how to feed their children.

[Harimo]

Hear hear, Cornsilky!!

[porcamiseria]

no! I think they dont tend to BF cos

(a) They have maternity and night nurses, in situ, so more likely to FF

(b) they tend to return to work/social scene earlier

(c) BF is bloody hard work. If you can afford a night nurse and nanny that take off the burden, its more likely the BF will slip

very tired how they are suposed to be an example on this anyway TBH!

[ifancyashandy]

Katie Price is going to be doing a live webchat on gmtv in 10 mins or so.

Why not get it from the horses mouth?

[MiladyDeScorchio]

Good idea. In the O.K article when Princess was born she was raving about the SMA disposable bottles which she had crates of.

Could have paid for them all herself though...

[lilllysa]

Hooter hider? I love it Must google

I remember there was a big hoohah when Selma Hayek (spelling?) BF a child other than her own.

Forgotten my point

runs off to google

[BaggedandTagged]

Katie Price did in fact say

"I didnt breastfeed because I dont like the idea of something drinking out of me."

porcamiseria- that's interesting re mat nurses. I commented on another bf thread that I thought one of the reasons why many of my friends had succeeded in bf was that they could afford maternity nurses to help them establish. I can see how it could go both ways though.

[porcamiseria]

honestly, if I could afford to spend that kind of money on a maternity nurse I suspect I'd be slipping them some SMA and going for 8 hours sleep

but no, as I am poor I shall BF all night every 2 fucking hours instead!!!

agree ref the N americans celebs and BF, have noticed this too

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Oh god why does everyone care so much.

If they feed their babies formula milk it doesn't mean that they love their babies any less that breastfeeding mothers.

Why are celebrities considered role models?

It really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. People really over think this.

[omnishambles]

It does and yet doesnt matter - on a personal level it doesnt matter at all and nor should it but on a visibility/influencing level it does - as it does with every woman.

I must admit I thought a lot of Billie Piper when she didnt mind being papped bf on the beach in Miami some time ago. Fair play to her. Unusual though.

[omnishambles]

oh and if you have your baby in the Portland or wherever then it will be whisked away overnight to the nursery so thats going to kill bf from day one...

[Mingg]

Actually, they will only take your baby to the nursery if you ask them to and they do bring him/her back for feeds - yes, even the night ones.

[omnishambles]

Really? fair enough...my SIL reported that not to have used the nursery overnight would have been seen as a bit odd when she was in there - it was a given that you would.

[silverfrog]

I had dd1 in a private hospital akin to the Portland. I was asked whether I wanted her in the nursery. I didn't for a few days, but then was ill so relented. She was brought to me immediately she needed anything. The rest bit came from not being the one to change and settle her.

Same when I had a maternity nurse with dd2. She was there to help me out, not replace me. So I would feed, then hand over dd2 for mat nurse to change/wind/settle while I grabbed some sleep. As soon as dd2 needed anything, mat nurse would bring her to me.

I bf both girls - dd1 until 14 months and dd2 until 20 months.

I don't see that either private hospitals or mat nurses necessarily mean bf doomed to failure.

[Mingg]

Nope, Portland prefers you to keep the baby with you in your room (all my mws did anyway). Mine was taken to the nursery the first night around 2.30 because I couldn't sleep and then brought back for his feed around 4. Me not being able to sleep btw was nothing to do with the baby, he slept quietly and happily.