FAT PROFITS AND MUMMY GUILT
As a mother, you just can’t win.
Eat a piece of ham while you’re pregnant and you’ll get listeria. Put the baby on the bottle and you’re close to committing child abuse. Now if you have a caesarean, your baby is at risk of obesity.
Except it’s all bunkum.
This is a tale of a Big Food company guilting mothers into buying probiotics, and the paediatrician who’s along for the ride.
Yesterday, Fairfax published a preview of a paper to be presented in Sydney today by Finnish paediatrician Erika Isolauri. The headline screamed, “C-section Babies at Higher Risk of Obesity“.
According to Professor Isolauri, babies who are exposed to protective bacteria in the birth canal can maintain a healthier weight later in life.
I can hear the howls of the self-righteous: “That’ll teach those selfish mothers, too posh to push. Serves ‘em right!”
But for most of the one-in-three Australian women who have a caesarean, it’s not a choice.
I had a rare condition called Complete Placenta Previa. Prior to the advent of the C-section, it was one of the main reasons for death during childbirth.
Had I opted for a natural delivery, we both would have bled to death.
If I have predisposed Taj to a lifetime of obesity, so be it. Except, I haven’t.
Professor Isolauri’s research focuses on good bacteria, not bad food, in a child’s gut. Let’s start with the bad food.
The Professor has travelled the world courtesy of Nestlé, famous for the Milky Bar, Rowntree confectionary, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and sugar-laden cereals.
She’s written a book for the Nestlé Nutrition Workshop Series.
And today, she’s a keynote speaker at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand and Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies congress, sponsored by Nestlé and Pfizer Nutrition.
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25 Responses to this article
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Monica March 19, 2012
Brilliant. Couldn’t agree more.
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Karen March 19, 2012
Would anyone really trust any research being done by Nestle?
While there is sometimes a genuine need for C-sections (having had one myself) lets not forget that medicalised birth interventions are also ‘big business’. -
Sarah March 19, 2012
Thanks Tracey, well done.
Another good reason to continue my boycott of all things Nestle, started when I learnt that Nestle was encouraging women in developing countries to use formula rather than breastfeed, when they didn’t have access to clean water.
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Tracey March 19, 2012
Good point Sarah. It’s worth a look at the Nestle Wikipedia entry, which gives a rundown of the litany of scandals over the years. And I just saw that Shelley Craft ad supporting Milo as a health drink. Sigh.
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Joanne March 19, 2012
Got over the “Mummy Guilt” thing along time ago. If I want to continue with my belief that germs are a good thing to expose my kids to, I will. A friend of mine cannot believe my kids don’t have cereal, um, because they don’t actually need all that sugar or all that wholegrain. Advertising is one thing, you take it all with a grain of salt, but when these multinationals string up an ‘expert’ as a puppet to push their product, it makes my blood boil.
I rarely discuss what I’ve learned about food over the past two years, as most people are simply happy to remain brainwashed by the hype of food companies (including the good old food pyramid – also invented by a cereal company back in the USA in the fifties).
What we should be eating doesn’t come in a box and doesn’t even need the ‘tick’, but you’ll never see any slick ad campaigns about it, what would you say? – “Here’s a vegetable, wonderful isn’t it?” -
loulou March 19, 2012
23 years ago I had my first child…I was so overwhelmed and terrified…every nurse friend and family member gave me so much “advice” and it was all different..I left hospital a mess ! We do what we need to do..circumstances and that wonderful plan we have in our heads can change in an instant…as long as mother and baby are healthy it all works out..their tough little critters ! People/companies/these so called studies..please stop scaring our new mums and loading them up with “guilt” So 23 years down the track and two more children..I wish I could go back for a moment and tell 99% of people to back the f@#k off !
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Les Posen March 19, 2012
I heard this story on the radio yesterday, and my science trained brain screamed out “Mike Daisey! Fact check, please!”
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Megan Kinninment March 19, 2012
Just shared his one with mums on FB. Enough already with the endless “mummy guilting” – it is an epidemic in itself. Great read, Tracey.
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Kitsa Yanniotis March 19, 2012
Well they got part of it right! As a nutrition consultant working with children with autism & adhd I can’t emphasize enough the importance of gut health. In addition children with asthma, eczema, allergies, dyspraxia or dyslexia nearly all have digestive abnormalities. Research shows that a child’s digestive system is a key indicator of their mental development. The children who grow up with less obvious symptoms often develop schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, bipolar disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder as adults.When a baby comes through the birth canal they end up with the mother’s gut bacteria which is all very well if she has an abundance of the good type but most women’s guts these days are compromised due to taking the pill, antibiotics, stress, alcohol, smoking, not eating well and food sources affected by environmental toxicities etc
So whether a baby is born “naturally” or via C- section is irrelevant – the emphasis should be on both parents getting themselves as healthy as possible prior to conception so that an abundance of good flora is passed down to the child. However all is not lost if this hasn’t happened in time as giving the child lots of traditionally fermented foods rich in probiotics and minerals as well as a probiotic supplement for a period of time will help to recolonize the gut along with an organic wholefoods diet. -
Jodes March 19, 2012
This is what you get when corporations use the fear of fat to sell products. Guess what, folks, Nestle owns Jenny Craig. It also owns Lean Cuisine, Optifast diet products, Ski yoghurt, Musashi diet products, as well as others that offer diet powders/pills/foods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nestl%C3%A9_brands .
A friend of mine, Dr Samantha Thomas did a study on Obesity recently in Australia – http://www.monash.edu.au/news/show/obesity-myths-and-one-inconvenient-truth – basically obesity rates are going down, but discrimination, bullying and fear of fat is increasing. Its through companies like Nestle who are encouraging the fear/hate.
Further reading? Go look at these two reviews of popular diet programs. TLDR? They’re rubbish. Expensive rubbish.
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Mrs Woog March 19, 2012
I wrote about this yesteday as well. It shocked and angered the crap out of me! http://www.woogsworld.com/2012/03/fear.html
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Mrs Woog March 19, 2012
Just re-read it again Tracey, you are just so spot on xx
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Mauree March 19, 2012
Well said Tracey! Another example of advertisers praying on the insecurities of mothers. I have had four children- two difficult forceps and two cesareans. They are all healthy and well adjusted. I am sure I have made mistakes along the way, but hey, isn’t that part of life???? Not something to be guilty about!!
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Jane March 19, 2012
Believe it or not most debates that put mother against mother are done so by big business and not the do goody mothers everyone thinks. Nestlé is the worst culprit, often fuelling the breastfeeding debate so they can come to the rescue with their formula. As mothers we need to stop taking the bait and see the bigger picture on who is conducting this research and in whose interests. We need to continue questioning the research while supporting each other as mothers, who are all doing the very best for the little ones in our lives.
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kim at allconsuming March 19, 2012
I am so pleased you have shone the light on this – the infiltration of fact and research by corporations in search of increasing market share unnerves me no end.
I believe it is now so prevalent and pervasive that people – including some in the medical profession – ‘forget’ to really research the research.
Yes it makes us look cynical but sooner educated and cynical than passive and gullible.
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Mummy McTavish March 19, 2012
I have felt for a long time that when the media quote this piece of research or that study then it is less important to state which scientist/doctor/whoever wrote the study and far more important to publish who funded the study.
I was even tut-tutted by a midwife after my second child was born because she saw on my chart that I had and elective c-section. I set her straight in no uncertain terms that it was because of the wonders of modern medicine that my first son and I didn’t die during child birth and thankfully it was then recognised that my babies can’t get out the ‘old fashioned’ way. So, number 4 is due in July and by golly it’s getting out the same way as the others… am I harming my children by taking this path? Well, not as much as I would harm both of us if I tried to get them out any other way. So they can keep their research that tells me my kids will have a lower IQ and will have respiratory problems and will have eating disorders and whatever else C-sections cause… At least I can get them out that way!
Also, on the plus side it sure makes it a lot easier to explain when an inquisitive 2 year old asks “how does the baby get out?”
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The Huntress March 19, 2012
I feel it’s high time women fought back against the judgements of others and the guilt utilised by advertising companies to sell products that are so unnecessary. We’re women, not stupid and we all make decisions that we feel are best for ourselves and our children. We all have a different circumstance which compels us to make certain choices and more often than not we will utilise the best information we have available to us to make an informed choice. Whether it’s natural birth/c-section or breast vs. bottle feeding all have their pros and cons and we choose which is best for us and our children.
Thankfully my son is old enough now to be past all the judgements made on new mums, but I remember all the derision I went through when people found out I had a caesarean AND bottle fed. Yes, I did elect to have a caesarean, I was terrified of giving birth and happy with my decision. Fate in the end decided I had to have an emergency caesar due to pre-eclampsia. For all those people who scowled and made horrible comments as I gave my gorgeous baby boy a bottle of formula I didn’t even bother with trying to explain myself. Truth was I was humiliated after trying so desperately to breastfeed to only find out that I was starving my baby. I had plenty of milk that refused to come down and believe me I tried EVERYTHING, including ancient tribal breast preparation rituals that I am certain are partially responsible for the terrible saggy boobs I have been left with. At least I can laugh at myself somewhat now, but at the time I was horrified at my inability to sustain my childs life in what was deemed to be the best way. The good news was when I finally ‘let go’ of the breastfeeding thing and got him onto the bottle (the sheer exhaustion of a 24-hour non-stop feeding/pumping/prepping cycle got me in the end) we had a much easier life and didn’t look back.
Research is vitally important to provide us with the best quality information, however transparency of funding and interests is crucial so women can make a better judgement of what is credible and what isn’t, rather than caving into the judgement of others and guilt.
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Lauren March 19, 2012
Comments like ‘too posh to push’ bring tears to my eyes. I was determined to have a natural birth but when my little angel’s heart dropped with ever contraction I had no choice but to get her out fast. I was angry at myself and feel guilty enough without this. In the 4 months of being a new mum I have never been burdened with so much guilt, even for the things out of my control. Media please leave us alone. Let us be the best mums we can be in the safest way.
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Maria Tedeschi March 19, 2012
I heard about ‘good bacteria’ years ago and I don’t know if anyone has had this happen to them but apparently it’s not totally uncommon for the OB to take a swab of the mother’s vagina and rub that same swab in the baby’s mouth if they are born via C-section so the baby is exposed. I don’t know if it has the same effect, I don’t know how common it is but the questions begs to be asked. Is this possibly a better alternative?
Love & stuff
Mrs M (Mum’s Word) -
Cath March 19, 2012
This is good info to have. I wish I had known and could given my kids probiotics as they were all cesearean. Apparently you only have to do it for the first four months, but it is important to do it then. If you do it later it doesn’t do such a good job. My kids have allergies, poor concentration and candida and I think being cesearen non breast fed babies is why. I don’t feel guilty as I had no option but I wish I had the info to give them probiotics and make sure to give an infant formula without added sugar. I tell all new moms now. I think natural birth and breast fed is still the best option for your child if you can and if you can’t this information can help their long term health.
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Tess March 19, 2012
Can I be cynical about the purpose of Cath’s post here? It sounds like it is straight from a toddler formula ad.
