Breastfeeding

[rosesandpie]

Yes, it’s a choice but make it an educated choice.

Nobody is making money off you if you are breastfeeding your baby, unlike the formula choice.
No expense has been spared to market formula and they are clearly doing a good job, as many people are now actually getting cross when you dare say ‘breast is best’.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/breastfeeding#tab=tab1

https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/news-and-research/baby-friendly-research/research-supporting-breastfeeding/supporting-breastfeeding-research/

https://www.chla.org/blog/research-and-breakthroughs/new-research-traces-breastfeeding-benefits-10-years-childhood

https://breastcancernow.org/about-us/media/press-releases/new-research-to-investigate-why-breastfeeding-reduces-the-risk-of-developing-breast-cancer

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11597163/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10631302/

I am as pro breastfeeding as they come, but you know what happened before the alternative option was available, right? Babies whose mothers couldn't breastfeed them for whatever reason died.

And actually, as much as I think breastfeeding is brilliant, I don't think promoting breastfeeding is actually that big a priority in the developed world.

In the developing world, where people don't necessarily have access to clean water to safely make up formula, and where any problems in the supply chain or temporary inability to afford formula makes formula fed babies very vulnerable to starvation and disease, breastfeeding absolutely should be promoted as the best, cheapest, healthiest option. And the focus should be ensuring that the mothers themselves are getting adequate nutrition.

In the developed world, there is no real difference between children or adults who were breastfed as babies and those who were formula fed. If you are going to use finite resources to promote children's health, I think it would be a far better use of those resources to promote healthy eating habits in children who are already weaned. There's a much bigger difference between a five year old who eats a balanced, healthy diet and a five year old who eats mostly chicken nuggets and drinks Coca Cola than there is between a child who was breastfed and a child who was formula fed.

Absolutely agree @MissScarletInTheBallroom

@rosesandpieI don’t understand why you feel it’s so important to convince all other women to do what was right for you, when it might not be what is right for them? Should women really have evidence and recommendations rammed down their throats to convince them to do something that a) they may not want to and b) may be unable to do, when outcomes for breast fed vs formula fed babies in the developed world are unlikely to actually be that different? I actually think there is a lot of support available for breastfeeding, certainly in my area anyway. I’ve accessed a lot of it and breastfed two babies, but with both I have started combi feeding after a few weeks because it simply works better for me, for a whole multitude of reasons. First time round I felt like the worst mother ever for doing so and struggled for months with PNA and PND. Luckily second time I’ve got a more adjusted perspective having seen how exceptional my daughter is despite being given the devils powder…

Fed is best. Breast feeding is great if it works well for you, but if it doesn’t formula feeding is absolutely okay and not detrimental to your child. That’s all women need to know really.

Every woman should do what is right for them, especially after going through pregnancy and birth. No one should feel pressured by posts, people or even medical professionals to breast feed. Fed is genuinely best and it’s great there’s options out there.
I did actually breast feed but that was right for me at the time and if with my current pregnancy I feel formula is right then that is what I will do.

I’m on month 5 now and baby won’t go in to bottle & I’m done feeding him myself
I bother fed my first, BF second to 12 weeks.
And this baby got the most, it’s been so handy for me but now I’m done.

any tips to get him off?

It just seems, we are in a place in time where speaking up for breastfeeding and advocating for why women need more support is seen as ‘shoving down information about something mothers don’t want to do.’ It’s seen as an individual attack or shaming if you encourage breastfeeding. Most mums will use formula at some point. It has become the default. Nestle has proven formula to be good enough (and made a fortune), teaching mothers a new lifestyle where dads can “help with feeding” (and men can enjoy breasts for other purposes without being exposed to embarrassing public breastfeeding; have women back in the workforce quickly, etc.)
I’m not convinced that the best interests of mother and baby, and their bond, played a role in any of that.

Mothers who want to breastfeed but cannot are not receiving the support they need because we have decided that it is not a real problem if mothers don’t feed their babies with their milk.

This is not personal. I’m talking about a shift in society and how it’s up to us, mums, to take back control of the narrative.

But why do we need a ‘societal shift’ or to ‘take back control of the narrative’? It’s not a real problem if mothers don’t breastfeed - formula is absolutely an acceptable alternative and not detrimental to a child? It is fine for women to choose how to feed their babies based on what is best for them, and great they have the choice.

I think the difficulty with people advocating for breast feeding is that it is a sensitive issue for many, and those advocating rarely manage to do so without sounding preachy and self righteous. Sure it’s fine to say breast feeding is a good thing, it might have some additional benefits for your baby and you, and there should be support available for those who want to breastfeed with accessible information as to how to get the support. But that’s as far as it needs to be taken I think, and women should be reassured that choosing to formula feed is also a perfectly acceptable choice. This last bit is generally missing at the moment due to the obsession with breast feeding, to the detriment of many women’s mental health.