Benefits of breastfeeding 'wear off' by 5

[greygal]

Had 6 week check for DS today with my GP. He asked all the 'normal' questions, including how I was finding breastfeeding.

I've been really lucky and had no pain, soreness etc and DS is gaining wait incredibly well so I explained that despite my longest sleep in 6 weeks being 4 hours in one go, I felt that it was going really well and felt positive about continuing.

He then launched into a rant about there being far too much pressure on mothers to breastfeed and that by the age of 5, any benefits to a baby of being breast-fed had worn off!

AIBU to wonder why the bloody hell we're all bothering (especially people who have cracked, bloody nipples/ blocked milk ducts/ mastitis etc)?

Is it true that there is no difference between a breast fed and formula fed child by 5 years of age?

What a rubbish thing for him to say. Actually some of the health benefits of breast feeding last more than one lifetime...research shows healthy epigenetic effects in the following two generations after the child has been breastfed.

I love your doctor, finally a medical professional that sees sense! Best benefit of breast feeding though lasts a lifetime, saving a bloody fortune in formula

Apologies for the plug, but whilst on the topic of breastfeeding... I have posted a questionnaire for my Dissertation research in the NFP Survey section. If you are living in UK and are currently breastfeeding, or have breastfed in the last 2 years, please take a few mins to answer my questionnaire for a chance to win a £50 gift card. Many thanks

Ha! Antihop . If you find the way to stop the feeding please let me know! 3.5 years.... I thought they were supposed to self wean by now

It does get a bit tedious that BF is harped on and on about as if it’s unicorn tears. For example, it MAY have a positive effect on allergies and asthma. Dog ownership has been proven to have a positive effect. You don’t get every midwife, medical professional etc banging on and on about how you have to get a dog.

If it’s the right thing for you, then great. It isn’t the right thing for everyone and it’s quite refreshing to hear that said.

Yes it would be fantastic if everywhere had safe and clean water but that will not happen anytime soon. Until that point it’s important that health organisations and charities keep on top of aggressive formula marketing.

Madmarchpair that sounds interesting. Im sure I’ve seen something about them exploring breast milk as an antibiotic too?

He is right that there’s a lot of pressure around feeding.

The actual evidence on breastfeeding is interesting. It’s very clear cut in areas where there’s no clean water, and issues with malnutrition etc (which is why aggressively marketed formula is an issue in such countries.)

However. When you look in well fed western populations it’s much less clear. The research is by necessity retrospective and observational and it’s very difficult to rule out all counfounding factors. The studies that are often quoted in the media (the Brazilian iq one for example) have some flaws in methodology that leave them open to confounding errors.

My own personal opinion (I’m a scientist) is this: breastfeeding is probably beneficial on a population level. The effects on the individual in well fed western populations are probably very small. Magnified over a population they become visible. It’s important to remember that what’s best on a population level isn’t always best for the individual mother and baby. The long term effects of bf are still not entirely clear nor is there enough data to really state them with confidence.

I bfd ds1 for 18m. I won’t be doing it again exclusively because for me, there were significant downsides.

No woman should be made to feel guilty about feeding their baby breast milk, formula or a mix of the two.

@NeedMoreSleepOrSugar I discussed with DH the other day the possibility that, if we're lucky enough to have a DD one day, she would be bloody massive - it's a relief to hear that you've also got a dainty girl! Unfortunately, sister in law looks like DH with long hair, which did nothing for my confidence!

www.spreaker.com/user/7940707/laurel-wilson-epigenome-27-11-14

@ohlittlepea benefits over two subsequent generations??? Come on, you surely can't believe that without some very VERY significant evidence. What are the benefits from these alleged epigenetic improvements due to one's grandparent having been breastfed? I'm fascinated.

Why are we constantly trying to search for evidence/research that breastfeeding isn't better than formula?

It's been around since time began, mammals feeding their babies milk.

And if a woman wants to breastfeed, then she should be supported and not told not to 'bother' because of not noticing any differences between formula vs breastfed children at 5

Your GP is talking absolute rubbish. Many of the benefits last a lifetime. It sounds like they’ve just got used to saying that to make mums who are struggling or are upset about not breastfeeding feel better.

Doctors are constantly being lobbied by sales reps. I would say he was told this by one of them, probably working for Nestle or suchlike.

I wonder how they measure the benefits of breastfeeding.

I don’t think we are trying to search for that evidence gluteus - my main concern comes from seeing mums who are frantic with guilt because they’ve given the baby a bottle, or bf isn’t working for them and they’re so upset and guilty about it.

My opinion is that bf should be better supported, but support and pushing something are not the same thing. There needs to be more support for mums in general in the postpartum period. More help for those who want to bf but struggle. And no guilt laden on anyone who can’t or won’t.

I found bf really hard the first ten weeks and the support was shit. It definitely contributed to my serious pnd after birth. I ended up bf for quite a while which was great in some ways but very hard in others. Ds never slept, no one else could feed him. He fed constantly, I had rheumatic issues and felt depleted.

My experiences with that have led me to think that for my next baby whats best for me will be combo feeding. And hoooooo boy the judgement if I’ve mentioned this.

Is breast best? Probably. Is it enough of a difference to drive you into pnd? Nope.

But I don’t really get why formula feeding would necessarily mean more sleep anyway..?

Share the feeds. That’s why.

I’d be really pissed off if my Doctor said that to me, and I’d remind him that the NHS are supposed to be encouraging and supportive of breastfeeding.

My DD is 3 and is still breastfeeding. At her last developmental health check at around 2.5 years old, the health visitor was very dismissive and unsupportive of my decision to still be breastfeeding. She told me that I’m ‘making a rod for my own back,’ and that she could be eating more food if she wasn’t drinking my milk. I got really pissed off with her, and told her that my DD’s weight is perfectly healthy, so why would I want her to be eating more? She then said that ‘she doesn’t think
that toddlers of that age should be breastfeeding,’ as ‘how will you ever get her to go to nursery if she wants your milk?’ I told her that
I was disgusted by her attitude

And that the NHS isn’t meant to be encouraging over-eating and becoming obese/developing bad food habits, but that they are meant to be promoting breastfeeding.

I was livid, and complained about her.

But I don’t really get why formula feeding would necessarily mean more sleep anyway..?

Because ds clusterfed like a champ for eight hours solid some noghts, then would wake after an hour, and every hour, to feed. Formula would have allowed me to get a block of rest with dh feeding. Instead I woke every hour at least for 18m, it’s not an exaggeration to say I nearly died due to the exhaustion.

Because yes he did sleep for longer with formula then I got the hang of bf and stupidly fell for the guilt and stopped giving him the odd bottle so he started refusing them. So no one else could feed or settle him. So again, me waking hourly - it was like torture. I developed severe pnd and Ocd.

I’m not doing that again. Baby two will be mix fed from the start. So I can rest, so dh can do some night feeds, so that I can actually leave the house alone before ten months. Breast milk is wondrous stuff but formula isnt poison, and there’s unhealthy pressure on women to bf.

As long as the child is fed who cares? My friend was exclusively bottle fed. I was breast fed. We are both successful parents with careers. No difference.

Exactly @gluteus! Just let BF be the normal for us as mammals again, and the profits of formula companies suffer

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe sorry the thread moved quickly. I hope they do as well. All I was saying was that I’ve never come across a health care professional who says anything remotely negative about it. I totally agree with you. Fed is best and how we choose to do that is a totally personal choice.

@Argeles At least they waited until she was 3. At DC's 10 month check I was told to stop breastfeeding as I was ruining his (at the time non existent) teeth, causing him to sleep badly (he slept very well) and he was having too much dairy. She also told me to leave him to cry more so I could get more sleep when I hadn't even mentioned feeling tired at all (because he did sleep!).

As she looked about 12 I can only assume she didn't have children. She also failed to do a referral to the hospital for something that didn't need a referral.

@Backenette bloody hell that sounds hard!

I do find it annoying that people obsess over ‘evidence’ for breastfeeding, yet formula companies get away with printing complete fantasies on their tins and marketing that has literally zero evidence to support it. Also new products aren’t studied and regulated anywhere near as much as people think they are. Why is that not the focus? Its not really fair that formula feeding parents have to trust their infants nutrition to money making corporations that can print all manner of claims about their products and have no one actually objectively look at those claims. Apart from the exception of a few charities I suppose. The nhs page on different types of formula does at least dispel some of the myths around some of the ridiculous products that are marketed.

Bf is a choice and it sounds like you are doing brilliantly. Whatever this GPs agenda is ignore him. It’s your baby and you can bf him for as long as you like.
You have made it through the difficult first weeks it just gets better after this and there are so many more benefits than you realise. If your baby gets a sickness bug you don’t have to starve them and they recover really quickly. As babies grow their stomach grow too so they can hold more food and you feed less, same as bottle fed babies, and babies become experts at filling up quickly. Breast milk tastes of what you eat so you can introduce them to a wide variety of tastes before weaning. I remember expressing after eating a load of blueberries and milk came out light purple in colour, a bit alarming but very funny.
I’m not a breast is best evangelist but if it works for you sod the rest of the world.