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Original poster

Emily Oster on Breastfeeding - minimal benefits.

822 replies

IamOvercome · 14/03/2022 13:02

I am pregnant with my first and am an economist so I was recommended books by fellow economist Emily Oster. The books don’t give advice. They review the statistical studies underlying pregnancy advice and whether they are any good or not.

It’s been such an eye opener. For example it is pushed pushed and pushed some more that breast is best. But when you review the evidence there is minimal evidence for benefits of breastfeeding for babies. The strongest evidence is actually for mothers that it can marginally reduce chance of breast cancer in later life.

Same with not introducing babies to bottle to confuse them when breastfeeding. Literally no concrete evidence for it.

Yet this is all pushed as clear cut facts by midwives and other health professionals.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Franca123 · 17/03/2022 11:52

I'm sorry but it's completely ridiculous to suggest a school child has a low sickness rate due to breastfeeding as a baby. If this is the case, why isn't this obvious to us via our own observations or by research. To claim your child is superior health wise due to breast feeding necessarily implies that other children who weren't breast fed are substandard due to their parents choices or failure. Do you think this is why people get royally fed up with smug breast feeding proponents?

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 11:55

@Franca123

I'm sorry but it's completely ridiculous to suggest a school child has a low sickness rate due to breastfeeding as a baby. If this is the case, why isn't this obvious to us via our own observations or by research. To claim your child is superior health wise due to breast feeding necessarily implies that other children who weren't breast fed are substandard due to their parents choices or failure. Do you think this is why people get royally fed up with smug breast feeding proponents?
The poster was still bf her child, at 4.5 years.
Franca123 · 17/03/2022 11:57

Breastfeeding at four and half?

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 12:05

@Franca123

Breastfeeding at four and half?
Yes. Read up on natural term breastfeeding. It is widespread in many cultures around the world, the natural term weaning age is agreed by experts to be anything between 3 and 7 years of age. Smile
Blossomtoes · 17/03/2022 12:08

the natural term weaning age is agreed by experts to be anything between 3 and 7 years of age

I don’t believe those “experts” for one second. My gran popped out a baby a year for six years - how could she possibly have breastfed more than one of them at once?

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 12:14

@Blossomtoes

the natural term weaning age is agreed by experts to be anything between 3 and 7 years of age

I don’t believe those “experts” for one second. My gran popped out a baby a year for six years - how could she possibly have breastfed more than one of them at once?

It is called tandem nursing Smile.

Also, breastfeeding often acts as a natural contraception, so a baby a year wouldn't be particularly common if the babies were exclusively breastfed.

RedWingBoots · 17/03/2022 12:16

@Blossomtoes

the natural term weaning age is agreed by experts to be anything between 3 and 7 years of age

I don’t believe those “experts” for one second. My gran popped out a baby a year for six years - how could she possibly have breastfed more than one of them at once?

You can breast feed two babies/toddlers as some mothers of twins do.

I do agree with you about weaning. As I said earlier on the thread my DD refused nipples, by this I mean she refused both breast and bottle, at one. Other mothers I know have found similar e.g. their child decides they don't want to breast feed rather than the mother deciding.

Blossomtoes · 17/03/2022 12:17

It is called tandem nursing

It’s ridiculous, is what it’s called. Pregnancy is hard enough on a woman’s body without breastfeeding at the same time, let alone producing enough milk for two kids at once. Clearly my gran’s body didn’t get the memo about natural contraception.

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 12:19

@Blossomtoes

It is called tandem nursing

It’s ridiculous, is what it’s called. Pregnancy is hard enough on a woman’s body without breastfeeding at the same time, let alone producing enough milk for two kids at once. Clearly my gran’s body didn’t get the memo about natural contraception.

OK
RidingMyBike · 17/03/2022 12:29

It's wildly variable. 'Natural term' can mean many things and I've known several people who EBF whose babies lost interest at about a year and stopped. I BF mine to 3.5 years, but that was one BF a day from 18mo and a few times a week from 2.5. Very much doubt that made any difference to her health etc, I just followed what she wanted.

BFing as contraception doesn't work- I combi-fed and didn't do a night feed after 8 weeks, yet didn't have a period until 11 months pp. Meanwhile friend EBF round the clock and got pregnant again (unintentionally!) at 6 weeks pp. She definitely didn't tandem feed as the toll on her body from all of this was immense.

RidingMyBike · 17/03/2022 12:32

@Somethingsnappy sure but acquaintance with formula fed baby was the only FF one needing the HV's sleep clinic- all the others were EBF. So less common.

Plus FFing or combi-feeding means you can share the feeds and so get a decent block of sleep in.

RidingMyBike · 17/03/2022 12:34

This is how immunity works. It won't make any difference to a kid in year 7 whether they were BF at all or for 4.5 years!

fedisbest.org/2020/01/will-breast-milk-protect-my-baby-from-getting-sick-passive-immunity-101/

Teastheword · 17/03/2022 12:36

@Blossomtoes

It is called tandem nursing

It’s ridiculous, is what it’s called. Pregnancy is hard enough on a woman’s body without breastfeeding at the same time, let alone producing enough milk for two kids at once. Clearly my gran’s body didn’t get the memo about natural contraception.

Oh, is it ok to call bottle feeding twins "ridiculous" too?
Peasock · 17/03/2022 12:38

@Blossomtoes

It is called tandem nursing

It’s ridiculous, is what it’s called. Pregnancy is hard enough on a woman’s body without breastfeeding at the same time, let alone producing enough milk for two kids at once. Clearly my gran’s body didn’t get the memo about natural contraception.

Why is it ridiculous? Fair enough if you wouldn't have fancied it, but a lot of women do and it's bloody incredible imo.
BertieBotts · 17/03/2022 12:40

Going to have to hide this thread before it melts my blood pressure 🤣 can't stand people being ridiculous about things just because they have no experience of them.

Franca123 · 17/03/2022 12:43

I can't take the idea of breast feeding a school age child. I wish I could wash my brain.

TheKeatingFive · 17/03/2022 13:02

The ignorance on here is appalling.

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 13:02

[quote RidingMyBike]This is how immunity works. It won't make any difference to a kid in year 7 whether they were BF at all or for 4.5 years!

fedisbest.org/2020/01/will-breast-milk-protect-my-baby-from-getting-sick-passive-immunity-101/[/quote]
It doesn't mention natural term/extended bf at all!

Plus, interesting source! Shall we look for something more neutral?

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 13:03

@TheKeatingFive and @BertieBotts... I know! Hmm

AlmostAlwyn · 17/03/2022 13:05

@blue12345

As a bit of an aside, I follow Emily Oster online and she said something really interesting in one of her Q&A's. That boiling the water before making the bottle of formula , doesn't make a huge amount of difference in terms of bacteria, but actually thousands of children are burned across the world from parents preparing boiling water for bottles, therefore it would actually be safer for all children not to boil the water?

I breastfed my kids and never made formula, so didn't really know whether this made any sense or not. All I know is that my relatives in the US with a baby, prepare their bottles with distilled cold water that they buy by the gallon, no boiling necessary.

That seems to differ from what they do in the Uk?

Do you mean boiling the water to remove bacteria in the water? Because that's not why you boil the water...

There have been countless cases of formula contamination and recalls so correct formula preparation is really important.

Blossomtoes · 17/03/2022 13:08

Oh, is it ok to call bottle feeding twins "ridiculous" too?

Nobody’s talking about twins, are they?

Why is it ridiculous? Fair enough if you wouldn't have fancied it, but a lot of women do and it's bloody incredible imo

I literally said in my post why it’s ridiculous. Bloody incredible, my arse.

ReeseWitherfork · 17/03/2022 13:11

Fucking hell. Breastfeeding is great, lots of women love breastfeeding. Many women wanted to breastfeed and struggled to and got no support so switched to formula feeding. And yes, obviously there are plenty of women who didn't want to breastfeed, and fair enough, it's not for everyone! No one side is "wrong". Why are so many women insistent on slinging shit at each other when the problem lies with:

  1. A lack of breastfeeding support and/or inappropriate antenatal breastfeed campaigns. So maybe let's aim the vitriol at policy makers?
  2. A lack of research on the pros and cons of breastfeeding. Shock fucking horror, something that affects women isn't researched adequately enough. This isn't a rare problem (seatbelt position or heart attack symptoms anyone?)

Those who feel passionate enough to question and berate other mothers really should channel that passion into becoming those policy makers or researchers who have failed us.

Somethingsnappy · 17/03/2022 13:12

@Blossomtoes. Your own hyperbole is the only ridiculous thing here. You're starting to be very offensive (and sounding rather uneducated). I won't engage with you anymore.

Teastheword · 17/03/2022 13:14

@Blossomtoes

Oh, is it ok to call bottle feeding twins "ridiculous" too?

Nobody’s talking about twins, are they?

Why is it ridiculous? Fair enough if you wouldn't have fancied it, but a lot of women do and it's bloody incredible imo

I literally said in my post why it’s ridiculous. Bloody incredible, my arse.

Yes, someone is talking about twins. So, is it ridiculous to breastfeed twins (or more)?
Blossomtoes · 17/03/2022 13:17

[quote Somethingsnappy]@Blossomtoes. Your own hyperbole is the only ridiculous thing here. You're starting to be very offensive (and sounding rather uneducated). I won't engage with you anymore.[/quote]
Fine 🤷‍♀️

Incidentally, you might want to look up what hyperbole actually means - you might look better educated if you used it correctly.