to wonder why people are so offended by Dr Christian's comment about breastfeeding?

[Justholdthesmile]

He basically says that breastfeeding is good for the first 6 months as it helps a babies immune system. However after 6 months it doesn't have an effect anymore, but as long as the baby is getting a healthy diet then it's fine to continue. He then says that breastfeeding older children may make them psychologically dependent on their mother ....

The last part I have no idea about. I suppose it might could potentially be true? But ultimately I believe it's yours and your childs choice and if you want to listen to expert advice then by all means go for it, if you don't then that's fine too.

It seems to have stirred quite a lot of anger. I'm not trying to get into a debate about ff and bf - each to their own 100%.

I'm asking more whether someone would find this doctors advice offensive?

I wonder if maybe he was trying to give Mums a break by saying that breastfeeding was not really necessary after 6 months. There's a lot of pressure on Mums to bf and if so it's fair enough to try to make them feel OK about stopping at 6 months (hard enough to get to that stage).

Isn't WHO advice a world wide thing, and presumably there is some argument to say that it is better advice to people in developing countries where alternatives might not be so widely available to continue up to 2 years?

He really is a twat, I wouldn't listen to anything he says. He was spouting a lot of guff about page three models not along ago.

And Dr Christian if you're reading, your shirts are ridiculous. Yes you work out good for you, but maybe stop trying to emphasise this by wearing shirts made to fit a 12 year old boy. The Scandinavian Incredible Hulk look really isn't working.

The WHO advice is worldwide, and as such takes into account people raising babies in far more inimical conditions than we have in the West, including unsafe water and unpredictable food supplies. In those circumstances the recommendation to BF for two years or more is eminently sensible. Effectively in those circumstances BF represents an infant food supply that's reliable, regular, tailored to the infant and (assuming a healthy mother) free of harmful bacteria, water-borne pests etc. You'd be mad not to.

In a country where fresh, clean water is available on tap, most people have central heating and a wide range of food is (for all but the very poorest) relatively cheap and plentiful it seems likely to me that the differences between BF and not BF beyond 6mo just aren't as stark or possibly even negligible. Obviously people should do what's right for them, but I do feel as though there's a lot of pressure on mothers to BF, that might be eased a bit by this perspective.

^yeah, just what are these babies thinking?
I mean being dependent on adults in anyway.^

Yeah, the babies need to man up, tbh. And get a job instead of expecting all these handouts. Most of them are on child benefits and it sets them up for a lifetime of dependency on the state.

something
yeah! selfish little brats!

Well, I'd prefer to listen to the World Health Organisation than some bloke on Closer magazine, personally, and they recommend the age of two as a minimum. Immune system protection doesn't suddenly end when a baby is 6 months, and nor does nutritional benefit.

I say that as someone who went over exclusively to formula at 8 months and was happy with that decision. You have to weigh up what works best for your family as a whole, as well as your relationship with your baby (and a bad breastfeeding relationship, where feeding naturally really hurts, can damage that). But the fact is, from a nutrition and health perspective breastmilk is nothing but advantageous... and it avoids the risks of powdered formula milk being really rather unhygienic, and thus a faff to correctly prepare.

yes hugemanatee

My issue is that he is going against World Health Organisation guidelines, while being employed & practising as a doctor.

The fact he's a vain, smug knob head is besides the point

Whistleblower, at least in my parallel universe, people can spell.

Parallel universe, my fucking arse. You and the other people so immature and incapable of seeing or dealing with their own twisted issues on the subject are the ones living in a parallel universe, where something completely normal - the thing that ensured the fucking human race still exists, FFS - is seen as weird, objectionsble and disgusting. People who find basic biology offensive are the 'lunatic fringe'. You have to wonder what went wrong with people's lives that they would choose to be disgusted by natural things that they don't have to witness or participate in.

Comparing a toddler or even an older child to an adult breastfeeding in the Little Britain sketch reveals something truly disturbing in your attitude. You are equating something weird and probably sexual for an adult to do with the motives and so on, for a mother breastfeeding a child, or a child wanting to breastfeed. You are linking breastfeeding with sexuality and adult inappropriateness and taboo behaviour. That is sick. People like that ought to be seeking health for thinking like that, not spouting off crap on the internet. It's not really fair on you to be debating here when you have such glaringly obvious mental problems on the topic, when the rest of us don't suffer the same way.

And on the topic of comparison, do you need me to explain what my example of people finding inter-racial relationships actually meant? I was equating the finding of something totally natural and right disgusting with your finding Bfing offensive. That you claim you must be right, or the normal one because others shared your views. My comparison were to highlight that many people think those bigoted things but it doesn't make them right either. I should have realised that someone so taken in by such nonsense wouldn't be able to grasp the point I was trying to make.

It's so sad to see that some adults have been so brainwashed by damaging lies, myths and misogyny about topics like breastfeeding. It proves exactly why it was so bad of Dr Christian to say what he did, because there are so many gullible and unintelligent people who will fall for that crap without thinking logically, researching for themselves, etc.

Just an observation.
There are some repeat offenders on these BF threads who seem to 'want' to be offended so they can wax lyrical. It's like some sort of perverse mumsnet sport.

Manatee, you'e mistaken. The WHO guidelines cover all babies from every country and possible background because breastmilk is best for them regardless of where and how they live. The nutrition it gives cannot be replicated by formula and a healthy, and possibly even a luxurious lifestyle. The other factors will affect other areas of their life and health, which you could argue affects whether they have BM or FM, but the fact is that BM is the optimal 'product'. As I said previously, BM changes with the child and changes what it delivers, etc. Formula will give the same things every time.

There are also the emotional effects of breastfeeding that have absolutely zero to do with where you live or how well-off you are. Those are still just the same as they were 1000s of years ago and always will be. People focus on the nutrition aspect, even though BM is nutritionally superior, but don't want to look at the emotional, comfort aspect, because it's very hard to argue those away. Of course FFing mothers are close to their babies, that isn't what I'm saying, but, until someone has BFed a child for auite a long time, you can't imagine the level of bonding and understanding and communication between the two of you it creates. The comfort and attachment that they know are there in a very real, physical way for them is wonderful. I'm not saying this makes BFing 'better' than FFing, far from it, I'm just saying that BFing over 1 yr, 2 yrs, etc., is very special and very positive and that has to be something that is allowed to be part of debate on the topic.

Did anyone actually hear him say it?
I tend not to believe everything I read in Closer magazine!

oxford you sound like a loon. You need to get a bit more methinks

justme you are so right.

It is a big deal because he is a medical professional in the media and he is WRONG.

From the NCT fact sheet:

For example, babies breastfed beyond six months have:
• less risk of eczema
• lower blood pressure as an adult
• lower risk of childhood leukemia
• less likelihood of being overweight
• less likelihood of developing childhood diabetes.
Some of the anti-infective factors in breastmilk increase as children grow older and take less milk – perhaps to protect them as they interact more with their surroundings.
Breastfeeding your toddler contributes to meeting her needs for energy, protein and vitamins. If you breastfeed for a year or more your toddler can bypass formula altogether.
Mothers who breastfeed longer have:
• a lower risk of ovarian cancer
• a lower risk of developing Type II diabetes
• a lower risk of breast cancer – on average, for every year spent breastfeeding, the risk of developing breast cancer drops by 4.3%.

I don't care if people think I 'want to be offended' - I am offended constantly by the misinformation that is given out by professionals who should know better and are getting paid shitloads to give the correct advice rather than scuppering women's efforts to feed their children in a way that is normal and natural.

"I am however, repulsed by an 8 year old breastfeeding, and so are the vast majority of people in this country.!! "

why do you find it repulsive?

People are offended because what Closer printed quoting Dr Christian was extremely factually incorrect and damaging.

People are offended because when it was pointed out and people complained he didn't insist on a retraction, instead Closer printed a follow up of the 'twitter storm' printing what he actually said (also pretty incorrect) and didn't apologise for printing lies.

People are offended because instead of being pissed off with closer for totally misquoting him apparently, he was defensive and unapologetic for their actions, and was rude, unprofessional and treated it all like a joke. When it is a serious issue.

Yawn..

If one is bored/tired perhaps they should go to bed or read some other threads where they could have an input which is useful.

Oxfordbags that bit about 'until you have bf for 1-2 years, you can't possibly understand the level of bonding...etc', may well be one of the most smug and patronising things I've ever read on one of these threads.

tbh it doesn't matter what any man, doctor or otherwise says about breastfeeding. Women, whatever their feeding choices, put so much energy into banging on and berating other women for their choices, its ridiculous.

Just do what works for you and don't worry about anyone else.

Amen AmberLeaf.

the level of bonding

are we talking about superglued together?