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.

ledkr - I don't think many bf supporters would tell you to push on through the pain tbh- I think they would want to find out why there was pain and help you correct that. A poor latch does affect milk supply so helping to solve that problem could result in a very successful feeding relationship.

re, choosing not to feed number 2, ime, this is usually due to problems encountered with bf the first and again, if there was appropriate support, those problems could probably have been resolved.

I think the 'perseverance' argument can be important to note as a lot of the time (but obviously, not always) perseverance can make a difference! This is not said to upset anyone and I of course recognise some ladies have supply issues but in many cases it is a case of persevering and building supply as I know from personal experience and my support role to others with bf.

But please note this is not aimed at anyone or women with supply issues, it is just stating something that is often true.

hi bubbley! here we are again! lol x

yes but by comparison you are balanced about things and i cannot believe that you agree with ops horrible suggestion of women being more intelligent if they chose to bf.I get upset when sucessfull bf cannot accept that in some cases the woman is genuinely unable to bf despite support and perseverence and that is coming from me who bf overcoming serious probs and then really had no choice not to with the last 2 unrelated to my intellect. If women could say that they felt that they had given it their best shot and decided for themselves to stop without being repeatedly doubted,then the research quoted would be easier to hear as they were fully comfortable with their decision.Surely there is no benefit in making them feel any worse.

I know! Déjà vu! :)

YABU. I wasn't breastfed and I'm ko.

My intellegence also never came into it I have a medical condition and my medication would pass through in my milk.Didnt fancy a baby with an addiction to anti-convulsants to be honest.
It makes me sad to see how shallow minded and quick to judge people can be.

Go away missyklo i was wondering why you werent on here to argue with. What you said is fabulous cos at least you are acknowledging that some women do have supply issues etc. i am not an expert enough to say whether perseverence is totally infalable or not but it needs to be understood that everyone has their limits and tolerance levels so for example a first time mum may be able to persevere for longer than say the mother of a disabled child or a mother who was becoming increasingly depressed.Iyswim.

oh ledkr, i didn't say i agree with OP suggestions! not at all! i was just talking about the perseverance angle! i am not saying about the intelligence thing at all. what i mean about the perseverance thing is that i had so many problems that just needed perseverance and i have supported women who just needed to persevere - especially throught those first few weeks - to establish their supply. of course some women cannot successfully bf, but in many cases, it can be a case of perseverance! i think for me it seems that if sometimes women give up when it is perseverance that is needed, it takes away from those who really battle through - i am just trying to be honest with how i feel about this and i say again of course i recognise that some women have genuine bf problems and i know people who choose not to or move to ff etc and that is up to them of course but in some cases, if women had the right advice and help to persevere, some problems can be overcome so please don't misunderstand me and think i am talking about the angle the OP gives. yes there have been studies on the intelligence thing that look fairly interesting but i don't know enough to comment on them so was just talking about perseverance x

hope you and your baby are doing well x

me? argumentative ledkr?!!!! gettaway! he he
ISWUM of course i do, i suppose i just come from the fact that i had some massive problems and kept on and sometimes - just sometimes, it bugs me that some people stop when their problems can be overcome but that is my feelings on it and their choice and all that - just saying what i feel - right or wrong - its what i sometimes feel!

i would never want to argue with ya ledkr! i love ya too much and you know i respect ya loads too!

Bubbly you've lifted a quote but failed to give the whole picture that being 53% of the 1% of diaarhoea admissions(out of a 12% admissions for absolutely everything which could well include bf problems such as my dd suffered)is buggar all.

defected have you?
Missyk-i was (for once) saying i liked what you posted here,i knew you wouldnt agree with the intelligent thing,you arefar too intelligent for that-there is a joke there i think.
Baby is fine thanks,its me,im the tired one she seems to enjoy the hours she keeps!!! (tired emoticon)

With me, for DC1, it was definitely a case of perseverance. And no, you don't get a medal, but in hindsight, you do get the ease of breeastfeeding, once breastfeeding is established. And this was enough for me.

It was quite a revelation when I had DC2, to discover quite how easy breastfeeding could be - I had none of the problems I had with DC1, and was able to get it established immediately, and of course reaped the immediate benefits of breastfeeding being the lazy cow that I am.

It's very difficult to advocate persevering though. You're inevitably accused of putting pressure on new Mums, so you have to be quiet. :( I'm glad I persevered though, and honestly don't mean that a reflection on anyone else.

It's just that the 'structural adjustment' involved in b/feeding can definitely be difficult, but established bteastfeeding really is a revelation.

ledkr, I don't think that intelligence will determine whether you bf successfully but actually I do wonder if it may determine whether you even attempt bf.(broadly speaking of course before all the women with phds who decided to ff jump on me! :))

Milamae -actually I think (looking at the chart figures) that it was 1% of the total study which is 158 children - so that's 82 children who could have been kept out of hospital by bf (in the case of diarrhoea) and 128 in the case of respiratory illness. I personally think that is a significant amount out of a study of 15,890. Instead of just dismissing all those children as 'buggar all' why don't you find a study that shows that ff would prevent those illnesses?

I don't think that we can claim that bf 'prevents' anything. I think we can claim it lowers the risk of getting certain illnesses. As per the study bf babies get illnesses too...
Not stirring just being pedantic. I think it's important.

Trust thesecondcoming to start swearing and being aggressive - yep I'll give myself a big f-ing medal thanks

Sorry, of course pomme - that was a mistake.

Millymae please find a study which shows that ff reduces the risk of those illnesses :)

TSC - why would you want a medal? Surely overcoming any problems is reward enough? :)

ff makes you fucking swear a lot ...I read that somewhere on the internet

your work here is done

Spudulika Wed 16-Mar-11 18:33:54

""its an ideal and has huge benefits"

What, like walking is an 'ideal' and has huge benefits as opposed to using a wheelchair?

Or going to the toilet is an 'ideal' and has huge benefits over having a colostomy?"

Precisely. And funnily enough, I have come across plenty of people (including paediatricians) who struggle with letting a disabled child use a wheelchair too, though common sense should tell them that using a wheelchair if you need it is a far better alternative than not getting around at all. It's that same idea that everybody has got to be able to cope with the normal natural solution if only they have the right attitude and the right support.

I consider myself to be pretty intelligent. I breastfed ds1 and 100% to bottle feed ds2 after the experience. Ds2 is showing signs of being far more academically intelligent than ds1 but not as sensible. Do I think breast/bottle feeding has anything whatsoever to do with anything? No I am afraid I don't and don't regret my decision to bottle feed for a minute.

The biggest predictor of a child's intelligence is the intelligence of the mother.