Jamie Oliver has had it in the JUGular this week, for talking about breastfeeding. This is just one of the tweets I’ve seen:
“Lovely jubbly jugs wiv bootiful nipples. Bish bash bosh, lug of milk. Get stuck in, littl’un. Pukka!” – Jamie Oliver, breastfeeding expert
The trouble for Jamie is that he’s like Marmite: you either love him or hate him. He has been on the tweet defensive, saying that he is not starting a Breastfeeding Campaign and his comments were merely relating to his work in nutrition. I think it highlighted a really good point that yes, we know that breastfeeding is probably best for the baby. However, it is not always possible to breastfeed and if it doesn’t work out then don’t sweat it. I breastfed daughter 1 for 6 months, daughter 2 for 4, daughter 3 for less and daughter 4 for less again. Did I feel guilty about the later crew getting less of the boob? No. They all seem relatively normal and daughter 4 has the loudest voice – fueled on more booby juice it could have been even louder – I shudder to think.
This article in The Telegraph, written by Victoria Young, talks about the difficulties women can face when they try to breastfeed. It makes for an interesting read and a good alternative to tweets from or about Jamie:
I stopped taking much notice of Jamie Oliver a long time ago – his heart is in the right place but I don’t think he really gets the reality of life sometimes. Breastfeeding isn’t as easy he makes out, his ‘budget’ meals aren’t really that cheap and sometimes, Macdonalds is the only answer! #candidcuddles
He’s definitely a love or hate character. I agree that his heart is probably in the right place, but his reality is certainly way off mine! Thank you for commenting.
Jamie Oliver is definitely in the hate camp in our house – I don’t even know what exact thing it is, but as soon as he’s on the screen, I switch over! 🙂 #candidcuddles
I think he’s done a lot of good, raising the profile of school dinners. However, I find him really irritating! Thank you for commenting.
I don’t dislike Jamie Oliver. I think he does really well at raising health awareness. The thing is, that the breast v bottle debate is extremely heated – if you say ANYTHING then you are deemed to be anti one or the other & the volcano starts to erupt. I think there is a lot to take into account with breastfeeding & what works for each family & obviously how many kids you have already to take care of. I breastfed my 3 & think it helped them stay healthy while they were feeding. Thanks so much for sharing with #candidcuddles
Yes, two controversial topics in one post – I love a good debate . My view on feeding breast and/or bottle is like yours, extremely simple: whatever works for the family. My view on Jamie Oliver is more complex ! Thanks for commenting .