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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

'bf babies more intelligent' thread II

162 replies

bubbleymummy · 17/03/2011 19:55

Ok, the original thread actually said that bf babies were more intelligent not because of bm but because their mum's were more intelligent...thread was killed by obsessive spamming from one idiot MNer and I would have been happy to let it die except that I clicked on a link on another thread and then came across this article which says that bf for even 4 weeks can have "?significant? effect on a child?s development in primary and secondary school".

Thought it might be an interesting way to reopen the debate given that many posters were saying there was lack of evidence for any intellectual benefits of bf.

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bubbleymummy · 17/03/2011 23:20

Rollitt - I don't think you get it actually. There is no evidence that ff increases intelligence - none. There is some evidence that bf does increase intelligence. There are no guarantees about anything - no one is saying that - but my point is that simply dismissing every study that shows something that you don't like doesn't make that evidence go away.

Milamae - you clearly don't understand what controls are and what they are for. I know this from my previous encounters with you and the silly comparisons that you continue to make on these threads.

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bubbleymummy · 17/03/2011 23:22

Milamae - what makes you believe those studies about health, educational benefits and sleep? I mean if the controls are all twisted to prove what the researchers want to prove.... Hmm

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TheSecondComing · 17/03/2011 23:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubbleymummy · 17/03/2011 23:38

Not trying to beat anyone around the head with anything tsc - why is any discussion about bf interpreted as some kind of attack on people who ff? Are we not allowed to discuss these things? Maybe we should stop people discussing homebirths at the risk of offending someone who had to go into hospital. Or not discuss natural birth at the risk of offending someone who had a Caesarian. Or does censorship only apply to bf?

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TheSecondComing · 17/03/2011 23:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubbleymummy · 17/03/2011 23:56

Tsc - I'm not sure we're reading the same thread or if you've decided that this one is something it's not. No one has said anything offensive about ff here at all. Unless you are interpreting that a discussion about a study about bf and intelligence is offensive and bullying simply because it is about bf? This is not meant to be a support thread or a thread to help someone decide whether or not to bf so I'm not really sure why you are talking about my 'methods' and 'intentions' - I was bringing a study to the attention of some people on the previous thread ( you included iirc) that said there was no evidence/ studies about bf and intelligence. I'm not sure how that translates to an onslaught on ff tbh.

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RedbinD · 18/03/2011 00:00

This is all getting far too intense. You only have to read most of the comments here to realise that feeding babies anything makes us all stupid.

TheSecondComing · 18/03/2011 00:01

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 00:15

This is a different thread tsc and I'm trying to keep it civil and on topic. What was the point I have failed to answer? I've already told you I'm not trying to advise or encourage anyone to do anything and have just brought a study to your (and other people's) attention - that was the only reason for starting this thread.

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choccybox · 18/03/2011 01:33

Gosh i think we all know where these threads end up!

I think this is the only place where people can feel the need to boast about how much better a parent they are through their feeding choice.

A childs life is a whole lot more than the first 6 months of EBF (if that is what they choose). Thankfully in RL people have plenty more to worry about!

AlpinePony · 18/03/2011 06:12

If any of you pious ones are breastfeeding because your children NEED that extra IQ point the bless you and "pissing in the wind" spring to mind.

crappymummum · 18/03/2011 06:31

if you'd read the old thread bubbley you wouldve seen i linked to that article.........obviously too busy arguing

crappymummum · 18/03/2011 06:40

reallytired

"Surely healthy women with normal babies who do not offer the baby colustrum are strange."

Or maybe wildly misinformed,uneducated about breastfeeding? or heaven forbid have decided they do not wish to Bf for whatever reason be it "choice" or not.

I couldnt let that one go.What a judgmental ARSE!

Oh and i thought it was colOstrum not colUstrum..lacking IQ points there obviously

bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 07:33

No one is boasting, no one is being pious and the only people here who have resorted to bad language and insults are those defending ff. If you don't like this topic of discussion then stay away.

Crappy, if you didn't like that person's opinion then I hope you took it up with them but if you don't mind I would like to stick to the topic being discussed and I think dragging up old arguments is not really contributing to that discussion. If you want to start a thread about whether or not that person's opinion is unreasonable then you are free to do so :)

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AlpinePony · 18/03/2011 07:42

haha - you're taking it more seriously than anyone else. But seriously, I'm questioning whether your desperation to raise your children's IQ's stems from your own feelings of inadequacy. HTH! :)

GwendolineMaryLacey · 18/03/2011 07:56

But seemingly not intelligent enough to use the bf/ff topic that is there for a reason...Hmm

MissyKLo · 18/03/2011 08:06

I think one of the things I really think about is that formula feeding is still relatively new in the grand scheme of things and I wonder about the long term effects on human beings

Babies were designed to drink breast milk. Formula should be the alternative when women have genuine problems bf. I cannot get my head around the fact some people view it as a lifestlye choice.

The article you linked to is very intersting bubbly my main concern remains the health aspects of bf

bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:20

Alpine, taking the topic seriously? Well yes, I did start it and I find it interesting. I'm not desperate to raise my children's IQ and if you read the study (or my previous posts) you would see it's not about IQ.

I'm actually not sure why the ff are on the rampage about this study tbh. It actually has quite a positive message. If you read it, apparently even bf for a week makes a difference - every feed counts - even if you didn't manage to conitinue for as long as you wanted.

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bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:22

Just to add, I don't know anyone who would choose to bf solely in an attempt to increase their child's intelligence. This is obviously a very small part of bf.

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rollittherecollette · 18/03/2011 08:31

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:37

Rollit, the study doesn't look at IQ and bm is more than just food and I really don't think it bears any resemblance to kfc :)

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bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:39

or falafels for that matter :)

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bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:42

The best comparison is fm, if you want to make one, and afaik there isn't any evidence anywhere that suggest fm increases intelligence.

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bubbleymummy · 18/03/2011 08:48

Also, the reason that mother's education was controlled was because there was a very distinct correlation between it and how likely a moths was to bf. I quoted that part from the study earlier. Other factors were also used as controls to do with lifestyle etc. Have you read the study? Is there one control in particulat that you think they may have left out that would account for the results? Or do you just think it is wrong because in your opinion it is illogical?

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arghh · 18/03/2011 08:50

bubbleymummy, maybe if you spent more time teaching your children, and less time on this, you wouldnt need to be reassured that bf increases IQ.