Bit controversial -this one!!!

[FussyElmo]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100106/tsc-breastfeeding-benefits-questioned-4b158bc.html

[Blackhorse]

I dont know the answer but I do believe that breastfeeding is overall better for the children as it is what nature intended for them to do.

obviously if the mum eats only junk, smokes and drinks and god knows what else then maybe formula is best. but then I am no expert and have no proof for or against it.

I do believe though that bfing helps kids fight some bugs as they get immunity from the mum and I believe they have less wind etc as sucking is natural and not through teets which might have the wrong size..
I also think it gives the kids a lot more comfort being so close to mum as it is very intimate.

but then again nobody should be forced to breastfeed and if it doesnt work it doesnt work. Nobody should feel guilty (or should be made to feel guilty) if it doesnt work.

I agree that it is environmentally and economically better to bf as it doesnt cost extra....and honestly...I am lazy at 3 am and rather lie down beside dd to bf her than go and make up a bottle...that has to be also said!!

but these discussions will continue as long as there are babies....

[Hebs]

i dont believe breast is best,

what is best is a feeding choice that makes mum's AND babies happy and that might not be brest feeding.

I did not 100% want to breastfeed, personal choice but not a chance, and i have not once felt guilty about it.

i find it funny that the goverment advises "breast is best" as it helps the immune system, and then proceeds from 2 months of age to pump vaccinations full of chemicals into our babies bodies :rolleyes:

[Blackhorse]

I know you dont like vaccinations and I get why but surely you cannot argue with them having helped millions of children!!

[Annie_T]

tbh im fed up with sciencetists chopping and changing their minds about things

choc is bad then its good
breast is best then there is the not so good (tbh its down to each and every mum what they choose)
bacon sanwiches are unhealthy then they help

im not for or against anything as such but does do my head in when things are in news one way then the next its the other way ..

cant they just concentrate on fighting cancer etc (i know they do dont worry)

[Hebs]

I know you dont like vaccinations and I get why but surely you cannot argue with them having helped millions of children!!

but they've also damaged millions of children.

let the parents decide what is best for their OWN kids

i'd much rather feed a bottle than stress about breast

it's not just about what is best for baby but also mum.

[Amaranth]

I think that whatever suits mum and baby should be the best choice. I know they say that breast milk is better for babies and that it contains things to give child a good imune system but surely a settled mum and child is better than a stressed out mum who is struggling to breast feed.

For medical reasons that I knew about prior to being pregnant, I was unable to breastfeed when my dd was born. (and boy was I made to feel bad by every every doctor, midwife etc... because I wasn't doing it, but that's another story!)

My dd was fine with the formula milk and was a very healthy baby and hardly ever ill.

[Blackhorse]

let the parents decide what is best for their OWN kids

.

but it is your choice!!:thumbsup:
You dont have to do what you dont want

But parents I think also want information (reliable) to be able to make decisions for their kids...

[Heaven Scent]

I believe that whats best for mum and baby is whats best - I actually did a combination of both for various reasons - not least so that I could go out and the baby would be fine to be bottle fed or if I was ill then somone could take over - All this pressure to only breast feed and to do so for as long as possible if really terrible. We are supposed to live in diverse world yet we ar now no longer allowed to feel as though we have a choice in how we feed our children.

I had a container of soya baby milk for the baby I used to care fo on behalf of Mothercare when child left the milk was still in date with only one bottles worth taken out of it - and I thought what a waste and as it happens I was looking on freecycle and saw a midwife looking for some type of equipment so I offered her the milk to use in teaching mums to be/new mums how to make up feeds - i suggested it would last a few sessions if she just made one ounce at a time - in my day this was part of my anti-natal sessions. Well this woman sent me back the most abusive message saying how no selfrespecting midwife would ever teach a mum to be to make a bottle as breast was best.

Well you can imagine my reply - I said that she was very irresponsible and that to expect every mother to be able or want to breast feed was unfair. I also asked how she could live with hereself if the pressure she put on a young mum who couldn't breast feed contributed to her developing feelings of anxiety which could result in her developing post natal depression - I asked whether she felt that was best for baby????

I have to say I do believe that human milk is best for human babies but even farmers & animal parks use milk replacement to feed animals when the mother dies or hasn't got enough milk for her offspring.

Babies fed on formula sleep better as its heavier also babies fed on formula don't need to be given vitamin K injections shortly after birth. Some mums cannot produce enough milk to satisfy their children. There are loads of pros and cons to both. Personally I think a mix is good as the child and mum get the best of both worlds but that is just me. Some midwives tried to tell me that if I gave my babies a top up feed of 1-2oz then my milk would stop coming through - not true!!! This was confirmed when my son had difficulty latching on and I got sore nipples and I had a breast feeding councellor - i ended up feeding both of my children through nipple shields.

People have the right to choice and nobody has the right to take that choice away.

[Hebs]

but it is your choice!!:thumbsup:
You dont have to do what you dont want

But parents I think also want information (reliable) to be able to make decisions for their kids...

but with breast feeding, alot of health professionals do have the knack of making mums feel bad for not breast feeding :thumbsup:

[Blackhorse]

but with breast feeding, alot of health professionals do have the knack of making mums feel bad for not breast feeding :thumbsup:

agreed, and I did say I think it is wrong!!
New mums have enough going on when a baby comes along without being made to feel bad!

[RachelE]

I hate the way mothers are made to feel guilty about not breast feeding. An unhappy Mum leads to an unhappy baby!

I only breastfed ds for 5 days as he was 11lbs 11ozs at birth and it was torture trying to feed him after a section and trying to fill him.

I made the decision not to breastfeed dd at all. I had cancer and knew I was going back in hospital when she was 5 weeks old. I was so annoyed by the midwifes attitude to this - I didnt tell her my reasons - it was on my notes about my cancer - not that it should have mattered - it was MYdecision anyway! She was really snotty and dismissive with me. :angry:

Despite being ff, both of my children have only had antibiotics once and ds(8) is on the gited and talented register - so doesnt need his IQ levels boosting!

I this country there is always someone to frown upon any decision you make as a parent! :panic:
Yet, the things that are important in this country, fall by the wayside! (crime etc)

JMO!
Rachel x

[Hebs]

agreed, and I did say I think it is wrong!!
New mums have enough going on when a baby comes along without being made to feel bad!

i wanted to try and breast feed mark, but he refused to latch on, would turn his head away, midwives had a right chuckle saying............ give it a few years and he won't be doing that :eek: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

[Blackhorse]

i wanted to try and breast feed mark, but he refused to latch on, would turn his head away, midwives had a right chuckle saying............ give it a few years and he won't be doing that :eek: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

haha that made me laugh...
I actually had a really hard time when I started bfing dd. What I found the worst was that although the government is pushing for bfing the people there to help you dont know what they are talking about. I asked the same question and every person from midwife to health visitor to GP gave me a completely different answer.
They completely negleted to inform us about growth spurs where the baby would want to drink nearly constantly for 24 hrs or so to get the milk flow going...when I challenged them why you know what they said:!!!!!!
They dont want to tell people these things as it might put them off bfing!! :eek: :eek:
I would have had a much better time if I was more informed!! But we persevered and dd refused to drink from a bottle full stop so she left me with little choice anyways...she wouldnt even take expressed milk from a bottle...it was me or nothing...

[nannymcflea]

Unfortunately it's not just bottle feeding that is seen as wrong, breastfeeding can be too.

People accept that when out giving a baby a bottle is fine but some people will look or even tell you to stop as it's "wrong" "disgusting" "should only be done at home":(

There are pro's and con's to everything and all women should be supported in their choice.

I breastfed both my kids, but with the eldest did a mix from 5 weeks as she was a pain to feed. My youngest breastfed until 2 years 3 months...now theres another discussion!:laughing:

[Hebs]

breastfeeding in public is 100% fine, if people have an issue then STOP :censored: WATCHING :laughing: :laughing:

i never wanted to BF, but dont an issue with others doing it in public, it is why we have them after all :thumbsup:

[Blackhorse]

I breastfed both my kids, but with the eldest did a mix from 5 weeks as she was a pain to feed. My youngest breastfed until 2 years 3 months...now theres another discussion!:laughing:

A bit off subject, but how did you stop bfing her at that age?
my dd is still feeding and is 2 in 9 days and I am thinking of stopping. But she is showing no signs of wanting to give up.
Incidently there is also not much advice on how to stop bfing as everyone is focusing on getting mums to start in the first place....:rolleyes:

[Andrea08]

breastfeeding in public is 100% fine, if people have an issue then STOP :censored: WATCHING :laughing: :laughing:

i never wanted to BF, but dont an issue with others doing it in public, it is why we have them after all :thumbsup:

does any1 remeber shops having baby feeding rooms lol
as long as you are sensitive i feel mothers should be able to breast feed in public ,, I did (under my big bat-wing jumper lol) looking down my top at my beautioful baby didnt care what others were thinking but my nan sent me to her bedroom to feed lol

mothers need to feel good about decisions made and if the bottle is whats best so be it. etc etc

[Andrea08]

A bit off subject, but how did you stop bfing her at that age?
my dd is still feeding and is 2 in 9 days and I am thinking of stopping. But she is showing no signs of wanting to give up.
Incidently there is also not much advice on how to stop bfing as everyone is focusing on getting mums to start in the first place....:rolleyes:

i fed for 18mths and one day i said ok time to stop..
that night i gave a bottle got a large bath towel and went to bed in pain until i found out from GP there is a pill i could take (silly me) to help get rid of my milk.. DH didnt mind i was bigger then then i have eva been :D down to a AA now but it was worth it..

[nannymcflea]

A bit off subject, but how did you stop bfing her at that age?
my dd is still feeding and is 2 in 9 days and I am thinking of stopping. But she is showing no signs of wanting to give up.
Incidently there is also not much advice on how to stop bfing as everyone is focusing on getting mums to start in the first place....:rolleyes:


She stopped on her own. I have to admit I was quite happy for her to do so. I felt like I'd done my bit and a bit more!:laughing:

My friends dd stopped at about the same age too, she thought she'd never stop but one day didn't want it.

Dd was only having a night feed then and I wasn't going to force her to stop as she's lactose intollerent so was getting a lot of benefits from the milk. I wouldn't have forced her anyway but would have perhaps gone a little while longer then stopped her myself in the nicest way possible! If that makes sense.:D

If you want to stop then can you drop a feed, morning or evening to start with?:)

[Blackhorse]

she only feeds in the evening and once at night...no other time off the day....

I dropped the lunch feed a couple of weeks ago :)
I dont want to force her to stop I just wish she would stop on her own at some point....

[nannymcflea]

she only feeds in the evening and once at night...no other time off the day....

I dropped the lunch feed a couple of weeks ago :)
I dont want to force her to stop I just wish she would stop on her own at some point....


I'd give it a little while then drop another feed. A is now nearly 7 so I cannot remember at what point she started to downgrade her feeds. Do it slowly and hopefully like A she will stop on her own.:thumbsup:

[Heaven Scent]

does any1 remeber shops having baby feeding rooms lol
as long as you are sensitive i feel mothers should be able to breast feed in public ,, I did (under my big bat-wing jumper lol) looking down my top at my beautioful baby didnt care what others were thinking but my nan sent me to her bedroom to feed lol

mothers need to feel good about decisions made and if the bottle is whats best so be it. etc etc

Yes Mother Care and John Lewis had them - I was happy with that because I didn't want other people watching me doing what I felt was a very personal thing - thats me and what others do is fine - I just think that so long as teh mum is mentally and physically comfortable then its fine.

[PixiePetal]

does any1 remeber shops having baby feeding rooms lol
as long as you are sensitive i feel mothers should be able to breast feed in public ,, I did (under my big bat-wing jumper lol) looking down my top at my beautioful baby didnt care what others were thinking but my nan sent me to her bedroom to feed lol

mothers need to feel good about decisions made and if the bottle is whats best so be it. etc etc

I remember Mothercare and Boots having feeding/changing rooms. I used them, especially when I was out on my own with DD (now 15!) somewhere warm to sit and feed, changing stations there with free wipes and nappies :thumbsup: I also fed anywhere else when needed but sometimes it was nice to chat with other mums while doing it :)

[kindredspirits]

my DH made me feel guilty about breastfeeding george - his ex never managed to breastfeed and so he did bottles from day 1 and he always used to say i wasn't giving him enough blah blah blah - turns out he had reflux and would feed constantly trying to soothe the pain rather than because he was hungry. never again will i allow myself to be told what i am doing as a mum is not good enough - i gave up breastfeeding at 3 months because i was nagged to - and i regret it because i enjoyed it - but i don't feel bad about giving my ds the bottle at the end of the day, he was fed and happy.

[LOOPYLISA]

I never bf dd, just wasnt for me, she was bottle fed and was fine, not really a sickly kid now :thumbsup:

Where as my friend bf all her 6 kids and they are forever catching every bug going :rolleyes: