News & Politics

Row over photo of dad feeding baby

February 28th, 2012 by | Permalink

A recent ad featuring Piri Weepu, a beloved New Zealand rugby player, feeding his 6-month-old daughter has really caused a brouhaha in New Zealand.

Image causing controversy. Via www.msnbc.com

The photo was a to be a two-second shot included in a public service anti-smoking advertisement for the country’s Health Sponsorship Council.  However, La Leche League and other motherhood advocacy groups disapproved of the photo claiming that Weepu’s high profile stature would persuade mothers against breastfeeding.

According to La Leche League director Alison Stanton, the message contradicts the core message that breastfeeding is best.  Stanton said, “You’ve got the healthy eating message, exercise, breastfeeding, smoke-free environment, wearing safety belts and this is about making sure that we give consistent health messages.”

The crux of the ad is the message “Smoking, Not Our Future.”  The ad shows Weepu at home with his daughters, 6-month-old Taylor and toddler Keira.  During the ad, Weepu explains the advantages of living in a smoke-free environment.  The photo has been removed from the ad due to the outcry.

Weepu has countered La Leche League’s argument by stating that his daughters both have dairy allergies and bottle feeding was necessary.

He told TV One in New Zealand, “We do get prescribed this special formula for her[Taylor] called Elecare and that’s all she has at the moment.”

Some critics of La Leche League’s decision have viewed at as anti-father sentiment.

The image has spawned a real firestorm of opinions in New Zealand that is taking awhile to simmer down.

 

 

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  • dana champion

    So, this ad is going to convince someone NOT to breastfeed? If a mother has the right to “bond” with a child by latching it onto her tit, why would it not be fair for the father of the child to experience the bonding of feeding their newborn?

    Women’s “rights” are a joke anymore, so you want this man to disipline, raise, & support your child well being but you wnat all the bonding to yourself? BS! No wonder so many men get labeled as dead beat dads, the mothers are selfish twits. I can say this because I am a female as well as a single mother. This breast feeding crap is going too far especially when breast fed babies are proven to be fussier. Get them off your tits & stop saying its for their well being when the female is only concerned for herself & too lazy to pump! You can breast feed from a bottle & every father deserves the chance to bond as much as the mother.

 
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