To think breast fed babies are more intellegent

[thecatamongthepidgeons]

Because their parents tend to be more intellegent not because they were breast fed?
More intellegent parents are more likely to choose to breast feed regardless of any dificulties they face if they think it will benefit their children.

honestly, unbelievable.

"Compared to other issues which have a far bigger impact it is-sorry"

The truth is MilaMae that it's actually very difficult to quantify and always will be.

Hospital admissions for babies under six months are signficantly lower in those who're exclusively breastfed (even when everything else is adjusted for). For those parents who've had a child admitted to hospital with respitory illness, gastric illness or a UTI - all higher in babies who are not fed on their mothers milk, these things can have a huge impact and will be very distressing. Of course neither they nor anyone else can establish a clear cause and effect relationship between how an individual baby is fed and an episode of illness, but just because this is true, it doesn't mean it should be disregarded and diminished.

My understanding is that there are a small number of children who'll become seriously ill because they weren't breastfed, and a larger number who'll experience distressing ongoing problems like ear infections and bronchiolitis who might have been spared these things if they'd been fed differently. For me the experience of these children and their parents does count for something.

"Go away and amuse yourself in private instead of trying to start a bun-fight!"

It's not compulsary to join the thread and contribute to the bun throwing.

If you don't like it, ignore it!

But some people - they can't leave a scab alone. Have to keep pick, pick, picking at it, until it's really sore.

If you prepare formula safely there are no risks,it's up to the parent to ensure it's prepared safely. It's not rocket science and very easy to do. It's scaremongering to indicate otherwise.

Obsessing over ear infections .Poor diet and little exercise have a far bigger impact on a child's health yet for some reason we don't have weekly threads highlighting the problem.

I did half and half with my DS so I expect he will be right smack in the middle of the bell curve then...

Shush now.

I'm pretty sure we do have weekly threads about poor diet in school age children, and in far more judgemental tones, but no-one piles on to say "I gave my children ham sandwiches for lunch everyday, so you shouldn't say that it can cause colon cancer because it might make me feel bad".

We don't have much about exercise though, I agree.

"If you prepare formula safely there are no risks"

That's not what all the major medical organisations say, including the American Academy of Paediatrics, the Royal College of Midwives, andNHS Direct.

I'd prefer to believe them than you.

"Obsessing over ear infections"

My niece only has 30% hearing in one ear because of repeated ear infections. She's also had many days off school with it. They're one of the most common reasons for children taking days off school and being prescribed antibiotics. So not trivial for many parents or children.

"Poor diet and little exercise have a far bigger impact on a child's health"

Possibly. We don't know enough about these things.

Lots of children at my dc's school eat bloody horrible diets yet appear completely healthy. Would it be unreasonable for their parents to argue that it doesn't matter what they feed their kids because 'the proof of the pudding' and all that? Just like people do about not breastfeeding on thread after thread on mumsnet?

Not sure I've seen these threads Dilys do share.

The sugar ones are the first I've seen for a while and scaremongering and judging don't seem to be present.

"I gave my children ham sandwiches for lunch everyday, so you shouldn't say that it can cause colon cancer because it might make me feel bad".

It's these bloody health nazis. They make you feel bad on purpose if you give your kids bacon.

Actually they made a friend of mine feel so bad about what she fed her kids that she became really depressed and anxious. And how's that good for children, having a depressed and anxious mum?

'Happy mum, happy kids' I say.

Now pass the salami and chuck another homework sheet on the fire. I'm starting to feel the cold.

Fruit shoots, McDonalds, aspartame vs sugar, why is my child fat, can you believe the crap they served at lunch at school, why am I not allowed this in a lunchbox (normally with a sideorder of "when all the other kids have junk").
And the rest.

MilaMae, it depends what you count as 'scaremongering'.

You seem to count any information which suggests that ff is linked with higher rates of any sort of illness as 'scaremongering', even when it comes from the most impeccable sources/respected public bodies.

It's common currency among health professionals that incidences of infections requiring medical input are higher in ff babies. It's in every medical and midwifery textbook.

But to you it's 'scaremongering'.

Thank god someone who speaks sense spudulika!

As for ear infections, have you actually seen a child screaming in agony over an ear infection-they can be agony.

Why can't we just accept breastfeeding is normal and not feeding babies milk from cows out of plastic bottles. FGS bottle feeding doesn't poison babies, but why not just use the milk that is there, free and healthy?? ESpecially as it protects your baby from being ill.

Spud care to link. I'd love to see the huge risks from bottles of formula prepared correctly and safely,thousands of which a baby consumes in it's lifetime.

"we don't know about these things" pmsl err yes we do.

However children look to your expert eye if they're been eating a continual diet to high in fat and salt and lead a sedentary lifestyle they'll be unheralthy-trust me(breastmilk or no breastmilk).

and the first thing a doctor asks you when you have a sick baby is 'are you breastfeeding?'

Spud it's scaremongering when a risk is absolutely tiny.

Ear infections can be attributed to smoking and genes too.

My dp was bf until 2 and he was plagued with them. By inferring bottle fed babies are destined to a childhood of agony is scaremongering. You're over inflating facts in order to scare.

Fat,sugar and salt cause far more serious widespread damage in this country yet it doesn't get half the air play or over inflating of facts,linking,judging etc etc

We don't know that poor diet and little exercise have an impact on a child's health??
Seriously? Umm, well we do. We know that obesity is bad. We know that the current generation of children has a far higher rate of obesity than any previous. We know that the current generation of children led a more sedentary lifestyle and probably eat more processed foods (because there are more available). this has happened even when bf rates have been on the up.

I am SO sick of people assuming that women who do not BF do so out of choice. All this scare mongering judge mental shite only serves to make women who fail to BF even worse.

So much for fucking sisterhood.

Oh do fuck off, we are mammals meant to suckle our young but not everyone can, someone who sticks a baby up their top several times a day is no more intelligent then someone who does not, however the people who go on and on and on about how wonderful they are for sticking a screaming child on their tits are really stupid.

Breast feeding does not make someone a better parent or smarter then someone who uses cow and gate

OH and by the way DS1 was not breast fed but at the age of 11 yes 11 he had an IQ of 148

runawaywife I heart your post. I wish Mumsnet has a like button like facebook!

Thank you NGS I get so fed up with this whole we are better because we breast fed shit.

I know it is as nature intended but sometimes things do not work out that way.

And as DS1 is really very very intelligent and fed on cow and gate I think it is a stupid argument, I know some really thick people who were Breast fed and some really smart ones who were not so it really is rubbish

Runawaywife - age is factored in when determining childrens IQ (so an IQ of 148 at 11 should mean the same as 148 at age 8 or 15)