AIBU to ask in what way have I harmed my baby by not bf?

[LostMarbles99]

Before my baby arrived I decided I was going to ff. Ds is 10 months now and I still get little pangs of regret that I didn't try to bf.

There have been lots of threads on here recently about bf/ff and one person said how they felt so sad the baby didn't even get the first feed from its mother.

I totally get that some people cant bf but I didn't even try. Was this really wrong of me? Be honest?

Mrs you can pick and choose re stats for anything.

There is even neg research re bfing for those that want it.

Re sahp I find it interesting that restraint is expected on that subject but re ffing it's open season.

I don't need to pick and choose because I did EBF and also chose to do the best thing for my children in sharing care with their father so am pretty neutral in the SAH vs WOH debate unlike others

Mrs I've just popped your medal in the post, should arrive Monday.

In the meantime - www.ntnu.edu/news/breastfeeding

"More intelligent" absolute,utter bollocks.You do realise most babies re mixed fed so are they half more intelligent?[ grin]Lots of research discredited that claim,it was only a couple of IQ points anyway.

Maternal education and genes determine intelligence(wouldn't want my 3 any more intelligent,they'd be dangerous).You do realise most babies are mixed fed so are

Infections and allergies we've covered.

Re epidemiology the numbers invoked are tiny in proportion.

All major health organisations in the developed and developing world maintain that breastfeeding makes a very important contribution to improving child health and reducing rates of hospitalisation. Why would the NHS and UNICEF and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Royal College of Paediatrics, and the American Academy of Paediatrics(among others) choose to misrepresent the statistics and research on infant feeding issues as you suggest?

Why?

Um they generally don't,people like you do.And do I get to bleat on about,stat twist and scare monger the huge looooong list of parenting ideals I cracked?

Fearless Formula Feeder has some good stat links for those that like "research".

Dancing Lady - nobody thinks formula is poison and starvation is better if a mother can't or won't breastfeed.

You do know this of course, don't you?

All you people who harp on about bf should consider people who would have loved to bf but could not. Yes my son may have dropped a couple of IQ points, but the alternative was doping him up on breast milk laced with epilepsy pills.

I teach. I can honestly say that I cannot tell who in my class of 6 & 7 year olds were BF or FF. Nor does it matter and nor do I care.
My son (BF for first month) and FF therafter and his friend was BF until 18 months. Both hitting their milestones, both healthy weight.
My friend was actually told by a leading MW that there is very little difference between Formula and breast milk these days and that our country pushes BF because it is what the WHO suggests. But what many people do not know is that the WHO's advice is based upon the needs of third world countries - where life expectancy falls far below countries in the industrialised 'world'.
Obviously, I will get flamed for this and accused of talking nonsense and probably told to 'reveal this MW' blah, blah, blah.
I am not typing this to change opinion - that is an impossibility. Think about it: Walking down the street, meeting people in your line of work/social life - who in the hell knows who was BF or FF? Who the hell would ever ask? Do people assume that those who are poorly educated, less intelligent, of poor health, obese etc, etc were FF and those who were university educated to degree, master or PhD level and are fit and healthy were BF?
The thing is, nobody knows. You can have all the research under the sun, but research only 'tests' a tiny minority of the population and can therefore only make an assumption or 'best guess' based upon the results the test has uncovered.
Choosing what to feed your baby is the same as choosing as choosing which brand nappy you will cloth your child in and whether you choose fresh veg or frozen veg.
Does anyone know what I was fed on? Would anyone dare take a guess? Woukd anyone care? Does it REALLY matter?

Every single bit of information I have ever quoted on this board in relation to breastfeeding comes from 3 sources:

UNICEF mailings - reviews of the evidence

NHS Choices

The Royal College of Midwives

Where does your information come from?

Well I for one am thankful for formula since without it my dc wouldn't be here, my body unfortunately doesn't work properly so I am unable to provide them with breast milk. In my case insisting on feeding them myself would have been harmful.

Breast milk is not 'Superior'

it is the biological norm.

Formula milk is (basically) powered baby cow milk...

Breast milk is human milk.

human milk is better at growing... well Humans

powdered baby cow milk is better at growing powdered baby cows.

Babies need to be fed, if you are feeding them great, if you feed them breast milk thats bloody brilliant, if you dont then thats good too.

Thats about it.

Retro I am actually sitting here with my mouth doing this
that you go on and on about SAHP and how WOHP damage their children and you fed your children formula
LMFAO !!!!

Zara Im not harping on about BF- its a personal choice and if you have taken medication that stops you BF it isn't a choice .

Zara don't worry Omega oils,quality pre- school and reading have an impact on IQ if you want to worry about a couple of points later research discredited anyway.

Zarazog - believe it or not, breastfeeding advocates are actually generally aware that breastfeeding isn't appropriate or advisable for some women.

I know people want to believe that bf advocates feel that every one can and should breastfeed, but actually, they don't.

Sorry to disappoint. You'll have to find another stick to beat me with!

Mrs utter bollocks.

If you want to post on a thread about a thread get it right.

At the end of the day I think everyone knows that breastfeeding is natural and bm is a complex complete substance that provides everything a baby could ever need. It hasnt got 'extras' - its average.

Artificial milk is below average but its good enough and babies will actually thrive on it.

Epidemiologically bf babies are deemed to fare slightly better in lots of things but In sure that under the scrutiny of scientists, they wouldnt be able to test/prod/poke and tell the difference between an adult who was breastfed as a baby or an adult who was ff.

"Breast milk is not superior it is the biological norm"
this

Whats a powdered baby cow ?

Give it a few years of evolution and we might find out... whistles

thanks retropear, going to get some omega oils now

minifingers I am aware of that but it still makes me feel like crap that I did not bf

Retro am a regular namechanger - have been on many threads where you berate and belittle WOHP.
Not nice is it

Am a sahp btw

I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and have myself breastfed for years. I have, however, recently found myself worrying about all the chemicals, aluminium,BPA etc that I'm passing on in my milk.

Whatever you do, you worry that you haven't done the right thing for your child.

Retro - I agree that there is some poorly constructed research into breastfeeding around, and even the good research is often poorly reported in the press, which is what most people here rely on when it comes to information about feeding. Which is why I rely on critical reviews of the evidence, by reputable bodies like the NHS and the WHO, rather than cherry picking individual studies to suit my argument.

One of the greatest difficulties is the fact that it's very very hard to find a decent control group of fully breastfed babies anywhere in the developed world. 98% of UK babies have had formula by the time they are a year old. This means, in essence, that formula feeding on the scale we have now in the west is a huge, uncontrolled experiment, the most radical and fastest change in the way humans have been fed in the whole history of human nutrition.

Arent babies in Sweden fully breast fed Mini I thought they had the highest rates??