Encounter #1:
We were riding a bus on the way to church. Dio was really, really fussy and started lunging toward my chest. I was wearing my favorite wraparound dress. When you're jetlagged and feeling like you're wading around in a fog, it helps to have a pretty dress on. I pulled my dress open and nursed Dio, who went at it with gusto (and then passed out a few minutes later). Obviously, this wasn't "discreet" nursing since I had to pull my dress down, rather than lift the fabric up like you do with a shirt.
I was facing two older women in their 60s or 70s. When I began nursing Dio, they smiled and began talking to me. They said "Ah, he knows what he wants!" as Dio was nursing voraciously. They remarked how good it is for a baby to have his mother's milk. They reminsced about nursing their own children back when it wasn't "à la mode" to breastfeed. Eric and I chatted with them for until we reached our stop.
Encounter #2:
I saw this pharmacy display window when we were going for a walk and had to take pictures. It is an advertisement for Novalac formula.
Look more closely at the breastfeeding baby's latch.
What we're seeing is the bottlefeeding norm being applied to breastfeeding. Look at how the breastfeeding latch closely parallels the bottlefeeding latch:
Overall, this advertisement really puzzles me. I'm trying to figure out the subtext and having a really hard time.
First, I think the text is meant to be read in this order.
Allaitement ou lait infantile?Or should it be read in this order, in which case it makes less sense?
La réponse qu'attend maman...
Pourquoi?
Breastfeeding or formula?
The answer that mom is waiting for...
Why?
La réponse qu'attend maman...And what is the message behind this advertisement? Here is what I think it's trying to communicate:
Allaitement ou lait infantile?
Pourquoi?
The answer that mom is waiting for...
Breastfeeding or formula?
Why?
Expectant moms are asking themselves the question: breastfeeding or fomula? But why even ask the question? Formula is the obvious choice.If the ad is really saying what I think it is, I am a bit stunned at how blatantly it makes out formula to be clearly superior to breastfeeding. In North America, formula ads give lip service--in the form of small print somewhere at the bottom of the ad--to the idea that "breast is best." They portray formula as the "next best thing" to breastfeeding and note that X or Y formula is made with the same components as breastmilk (DHA, etc). But this French Novalac ad seems to say that formula is clearly the superior choice and that really, there should be no "breastmilk or formula?" question at all.
You native French speakers out there, please chime in. How would you translate both the literal text, and the implied message behind the text and images?
Moving Kate's comment over from the earlier version of this post:
ReplyDelete"Kate said...
Hi Rixa! I wonder if the "pourquoi" is meant as shorthand, as in "pourquoi choisir?" It seems to me like the advertisement is trying to suggest that one can do both as needed -- i.e., to move back and forth between breastfeeding and formula -- and when I quickly checked out Novalac's website, it seemed to suggest that this is a kind of bonus formula for colic, etc. (which the display does suggest, with the boxes at the bottom for colic, teething, etc.)
I mean, obviously this is troubling regardless -- who would argue that formula is better than breastmilk for almost any infant ailment -- but I THINK that's the message: that there's no need to choose one exclusively, when you can have both.
Just my two cents. Hope you're enjoying Nice!"
Kate's interpretation seems to make sense. Very interesting. What are breastfeeding rates like in France? Your interaction with the older women indicates it is seen as very normal.
ReplyDeletePS The 'baby' who is breastfeeding and bottle feeding in the pics looks like a doll too me-- the expression is so similar in both shots. Also the bf latch looks so bad it makes my nipples hurt in sympathy.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Advertising or promotion of formula is banned here in the UK they got around the law by bringing in follow on and toddler milks, they have recently been called up for suggesting that follow on milk gives children amazing immune systems and for using children who looked younger than 6 months in adverts. In my opinion there should be a blanket ban on forumla advertising, it's not as if women don't know where to buy it if they choose to bottle feed.
ReplyDeleteOoh, just another quick thought: could "attend" take its other sense: "expect"? So the copy might read:
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding or formula? Why?
The response Mom expects...
(with Novalac being the expected response: Feeding the baby well is the right choice)
In that respect, it would be a much less sympathetic reading than "pourquoi choisir" and more in line with Rixa's original formulation (haha).
Hmmm...When I think "What's the best choice to take care of my baby?", I think a cow. Of course!
ReplyDeleteWell, at least I could laugh at that!
I'm not a native French-speaker. I'm not *even* a French-speaker. But going solely on your interpretation of the text and the display itself, I understood it to mean, "Why" does the expectant mother need to choose breast or bottle/breastmilk or formula--when the two go hand-in-hand so very nicely (or when both are equally good choices, so it doesn't really matter which she chooses)? That also seems sort of consistent with the way I see formula-in-general advertised (or otherwise promoted--by doctors, hospitals, et cetera) in the US.
ReplyDeleteWith my admittedly rusty French skills, I had interpreted it along the lines of "You don't have to choose between breastmilk and formula, because THIS formula is just as good as mother's milk".
ReplyDeleteI agree, that latch isn't great! One of my professors does some great illustrations in her presentations of formula companies deliberately showing terrible latches/positions in their breastfeeding lit. Also demonstrates how the bottle feeding moms always look happier, aren't dressed in nightgowns, hold their babies closer, etc. There are no mistakes in advertising...
Breastfeeding rates in France are quite low. I searched around for some good numbers and haven't found anything really recent (ie, in the past few years). Initiation rates in France are around 50% (compared to around 75% in the US). Unlike in the US, seeing breasts in public isn't really an issue--you'll see some women without tops at just about any place people go swimming.
ReplyDeleteFormula advertising and in-hospital support for nursing mothers have a very strong assocation with breastfeeding rates. For example, visit:
www.babymilkaction.org/pages/uklaw.html#4
My experience is that in France woman are discouraged from breast feeding because that takes away from your relationship with your husband. In general, you are perceived to belong, or your body does to him. So, you do not breast feed for long so that your body can go back to normal for him. However, in the rural areas it is different, and those with large extended families that live together are different as well.
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks like the baby is the one who can't tell the difference, so why does mom care? Hence the crying baby under the word pourquoi? the baby is upset that mom hasn't made up her mind!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the reason this ad shows poor latch is to show how similar breast and bottle feeding are. If it showed a proper latch the differences would be more pronounced, but what they are going for is that this formula is really no different than breastfeeding so why should mom subject her baby to the learning curve of breastfeeding?
I speak very poor french, but that's my two cents.
Hi Rixa,
ReplyDeletewomen in France don't breastfeed that much, usually because they go back to work after three months for their first baby. Extended breastfeeding is met by uncomfortable looks, sniggering and bad comments (I encountered it first hand both in my family and with my in-laws...) I think some women are trying to change this but the consensus right now is that breastfeeding is a counter-feminist thing to do (talk about twisted!)Most hospitals in France do not have the baby friendly standard and bottles are still routinely given to babies after birth, very little hospitals let baby room in with mom so there is not much support for initiating successful breastfeeding... very sad, it takes women who have informed themselves beforehand and who have support from La Leche League or others to really work against the system. The good news is that more and more young women choose to breastfeed for ecological reasons and because they did their research and feel it's best! So there is hope :-)
Breastfeeding is the best. No formula could ever replace mother's milk. Good luck! By the way, this home protection devices for women like us might interest you. Thanks and more power!
ReplyDeleteKimberly--yes, I like your interpretation with the crying baby saying "why bother asking--they're the same to me."
ReplyDeleteIt's still puzzling that BF rates are so low compared to the US. Sure, French women return to work after 3 months. But American women get--if they're lucky--6 weeks of unpaid leave. Childcare is much harder/more expensive to come across in the States. etc etc etc. But the US initiation rate is much higher than France's--which leads me to think that it's probably less because of returning to work and more cultural attitudes/beliefs about feminity, the body, etc, like other commenters have mentioned.
I know this isn't how it is intended to be read, but the way I read it is that the baby has the breast, the baby gets the bottle, the baby cries and asks, "Why?" More along the lines of the French announcer in the 2006 World Cup match when Zidane head-butted Materazzi and the announcer screamed out in agony, "Mei, pourquoi, mei pourquoi?" How could you do this to me, to France?
ReplyDeleteYes Rixa, it's totally about beliefs and societal views. Women are lead to think that they cannot continue breastfeeding when they resume work (which we all know is ridiculous...), there is very little knowledge of what a "pumping working mother" looks like. I was met by astonished looks when I said I pumped milk when I was away for work.I heard so many times "aren't you worried about getting sagging boobs?" although after close to a year of extensive breastfeeding, my boobs look just fine! French lactivists have a lot of work to do to change those views!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I would have guessed that since the French are more comfortable with bare boobs, that breastfeeding was more common, but alas, these things are more complex. Keep sharing your observations! A friend of mine married to a French guy says that they are much more restrictive with children's behavior than Americans (ie, scolding a 9 month old for throwing something whereas we might just think of that as normal and expected) resulting in older kids with 'perfect' behavior.
ReplyDeleteHi Rixa, I so love reading your log! I think the pic of the baby BF is a bad latch so that he baby and breast are more photogenic. But I agree with everyone they seem to be pushing both for feeding. But I find the comment about a womans body belonging to her husband funny! I tell mine if he doesnt like a little milk, stay away from the cow! LOL Have a great time in Nice!
ReplyDeleteI speak French and I beleive the ad is highlighting women's choice to "choose" how they feed their baby. There cold be connotations of being "pro-choice" here (ie "Choisir"), and therefore somewhat more progressive.
ReplyDeleteI also beleive that the low rates of breastfeeding in France are more to do with women possibly wanting to regain their figure quickly - a colleague of mine was prgnant in France, and when she was close to term her bump became really big - she was happy because she interpreted as having a healthy baby, but all the French women really wanted small, neat bumps and wasted no time in telling her that!
I think it's too bad that France's breastfeeding rates are so low. But at the very least no riots ensued due to the photo of a baby breastfeeding in an advertisement. In the U.S. it would have caused a media-storm... *sigh*.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of research about infant care in history, and the French are to thank for the resurgence of breastfeeding in the very late 18th and early 19th century. It was considered patriotic to breastfeed your own child and Rousseau’s writings popularized it further. My how things have changed. Moo.
My daughter was born just outside of Paris and I breastfed her in public all the time, in the metro, on the bus, au cafe.. and my experience was exactly the same...women were always very encouraging and delighted, always a smile and a kind word..
DeleteThis is completely different from the USA. Although there are many that would like to see breastfeeding banned.
ReplyDeleteThe latch is so poor that baby would be unable to drink any milk at all like that and mom's nipples would be an absolute mess. No matter how good the website, coming across a photo of a decent latch is a very rare occurrence indeed. Even on this site, most of the photos of babies breastfeeding show a less than optimal latch. I'm not saying that a baby needs to be perfectly latched and drinking well at the breast at all times. Comfort sucking is important too but because so many breastfeeding failures result from poor latch and so many women and health care providers are mistaken in what they think is a good latch and what nutritive suckling really looks like, wouldn't it make sense to show photos of well latched babies?
ReplyDelete