Shots of Piri Weepu bottle-feeding banned

What do you think?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10783554

Is it fair to ban shots of Piri Weepu bottle-feeding his baby?

Images of All Black hero Piri Weepu bottle-feeding his baby have been cut after protests by breastfeeding crusaders.

La Leche League, a pro-breastfeeding organisation, has taken offence from a few seconds of film showing the All Black tenderly feeding a bottle of milk to daughter Taylor. The brief scene has been cut from an anti-smoking ad, due to complaints from the league.

One email said: "The damage that this shot of a celebrity All Black will do to breastfeeding in New Zealand Aotearoa will be significant."

Karen Guilliland, chief executive officer of the College of Midwives, said her organisation opposed the ad too. "We just figured that Piri Weepu was so loved that whatever he did would carry a huge weight."

Have these organisations overreacted, or have they made a valid point? Should the images of Piri Weepu bottle-feeding his baby have been removed? Send us Your Views.

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I can't decide where I fit on this! I am very pro-breastfeeding, or maybe just pro-normalising breastfeeding, so I can see the LLL's point I guess. But man, it does seem weird to cut out such a sweet image of him parenting his child.

I agree with SethsMama.

Firstly, I breastfed both my kids for 12 and 14 months until they self-weaned. I also did formula top-ups for DS for the last few months of BF'ing. Just to show you where I am on the BF vs FF debate (ie: I don't give toss how you feed your child. Just feed them ).

My DH often bottle-fed my kids EBM and formula. It was great bonding time for them.

Getting back to the case in point.
TOTAL over reaction.
Women KNOW that Breast Is Best. It's shoved in your face when you go into hospital to have your baby - just in case they didn't notice their own boobs leaking and getting engorged within days of delivery.
It's the natural thing to do.

I understand the importance of the campaign for breastfeeding. But I also understand the importance of feeding your child.

If Piri Weepu (shirtless to boot!) wants to help his partner by taking over some of the responsibility of feeding their daughter, let him!
If he'll spur more guys on to help their partners with babycare, whether it's EBM or formula in that bottle, then let him be in the ad FFS.

*want to make more coherant/thought out points, but Miss 4 is bugging me to play.

I also think its great showing someone like Piri Weepu feeding with a bottle- shows that sometimes even All Blacks wives can possibly have trouble with feeding/choose to let their partner help with the feeding and that's OK.

I totally agree with you AandCsmum. i think people should take the positive spin on it and say wow look at Piri helping to care for his children and hope that it will spur on more dads to be hands on with their children!
Fathers need positive role models too and who better than a manly All Black to prove its ok to be hands on!

It's just media spun BS.

It's a total load of bollocks. Families should be able to choose how they feed their baby, it was a 6mo baby and who knows the background. What was Piri going to do - BF the baby!! Nice to see a man nurturing his bub and being involved in feeding i say. Especially a cute topless man.

The bf nazis have too much say in NZ. I bf my boys cos it was easy, but it is not that way for everyone and why shouldn't we acknowledge that and support all people to make the best decision for their family and well being.

Who said the milk wasn't expressed?

I hate it. Rude, Judgemental, and Assuming.

Booski wrote: I think this debacle says more about the very poor state of NZ media

AMEN!!!

This kind of things get me hot under the collar, to be honest. What happened was that the people making the add consulted LLL, who had an opinion. Whether we agree with it or not isn't a major in my mind - they were consulted, they let the people making the add know, and the people making the add thought it was worth taking into consideration. Not a group of people running round kicking up unnecessary fuss, no 'breastapo', just a group of people asked for their opinion who gave it. But the media takes it and sensationalises it and gets everyone hot under the collar. Gah.

(I don't have any issue seeing bottlefeeding in something like that, and it wouldn't affect the fact I breastfeed. But I can totally see LL's opinion, and hardly thing they should be dragged over the coals for giving it when asked )

Booski wrote: I think this debacle says more about the very poor state of NZ media Had LLL come out and started a campaign to ban the scene then yeah I'd get the uproar, but LLL were asked (along with other bf groups) by the makers of the ad for their thoughts. It was a consultation which happens in advertising (and tv) all the time and often results in scenes being cut for one reason or another - no big deal. I'm seriously wondering what NZ Herald's deal is, they have that awful motherhood opinion piece writer (sorry I forgot her name) and now they twist a completely normal occurrence and have instigated (not outright sure, but really what did they think the reaction was going to be when they worded the article like that?) a hate campaign against an organisation who is all about supporting mums

I've been saying this allllll afternoon since I read the article! Well said Booski!

total overreaction and PC gone mad in my opinion!!