AIBU to feel scammed by breastfeeding

[PickledElectricity]

Kind of joking, kind of not.

I breastfed my DS until he was 19 months old (he's now 2) and despite this he's had every bug going at nursery, is allergic to nuts and now seems to have hay fever! I'm gutted as he loves to be outside and is now sneezing, congested, has puffy red eyes and a runny nose.

Where are the miracle benefits I was promised?!

Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad I did it, it was lovely for bonding and saved my life and sanity in the middle of the night, and tbh I am a very lazy person and couldn't face washing and sterilising bottles every single day.

Interestingly one I bottle fed has very few allergies but the one I breastfed is hideously allergic to lots of things and has anaphylaxis and needs an epi pen

‘I’m obese but I don’t have cancer so therefore it PROVES there’s no evidence that obesity increases the risk of cancer!’
‘Mu granny smoked 20 a day and never got lung issues or cancer so it PROVES not smoking isn’t so much better after all!’
‘I eat sweets every day but I’ve never had a filling so it totally proves sugar is fine for teeth!’

All the above statements are nonsensical, so why do people apply the same flawed logic to BF?

The plural of anecdote is not data.

I suppose it’s hard to tell because it’s all individual genetics (which varies even between siblings) and there’s no version to compare to, eg DS whether allergies and illness symptoms would have been more frequent, severe, or long lasting?

In a mixed feeding group of friends the bottle fed babies frequently had stomach upsets, which the EBF babies never had or caught. That was the only difference I really noticed in terms of health issues at the time though.

Antibiotics at times essential, can have a lasting effect on gut microbiome and immunity however, leading to more antibiotic use, so can be self perpetuating.

I don’t regret it, but did often find it draining and seemed to hold on to the extra weight until after weaning, so if anything that’s where I felt ‘scammed’!

Can you please supply some evidence supporting your final sentence?

Interestingly, my Granny smoked every day since she was 20 and didn’t get lung cancer. My colleague who never smoked did.

The above statement is true, but it doesn’t mean that avoiding smoking has no benefits.

Formula is a UPF and it’s obvious to anyone that breastmilk is going to be superior. Most babies do fine on formula, but that doesn’t mean that BF isn’t superior health wise. Most people do fine on white bread, but that doesn’t mean organic sourdough isn’t healthier.

This is interesting about holding on to weight and early return of periods, what’s the link? Mine also came back like clockwork at 6 weeks PP which I’d forgotten, also hugely disappointing 😂

I was back in pre pregnancy clothes five weeks post partum with all my DC. Weight dropped off with EBF.

Why are we comparing formula feeding with smoking 😅

I know what you mean, I did baby led weaning and my child is the fussiest kid ever. The last time he ate 90% of food ingredients was when he was 12 months old.

I get you.

I also feel the same annoyance that I bf for a million years and both kids hve some allergies and health problems!!!

My sister did extended breastfeeding on her children and constantly complained about how exhausted she was. I told her to give them a bottle but she wouldn’t. She would rather complain.

She quoted all these statistics on breastfeeding. I noticed how clingy her kids were too. I think she liked being wanted.

Breastfeeding bashing bingo in this post.

I’m merely sharing my observations. I do think breastfeeding a toddler beyond three years old is very strange.

It reminds me of this Little Britain skit:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FmD2Y6WxpIw&pp=ygUUQml0dHkgbGl0dGxlIGJyaXRhaW4%3D

Yes, every mother breastfeeding a toddler has been told "bitty". We can cross another bingo square off there.

Think it says more about you than anything else

Well according to the majority of the posters on here, breastfeeding is a scam which you should only bother to attempt to do if you want to:

Have a child attached to your body all day Feel trapped
Have a child with every allergy going
Have a child that catches every bug going
Have a clingy child
Have a terrible sleeper
Be a smug parent
Be a parent that wants to be 'wanted'
Be a parents where the Dad apparently cannot be involved at all.

And people wonder why the U.K has such awful breastfeeding statistics compared to so many other countries with people spouting this kind of thing.

If you are a soon to be mum reading these posts who is considering breastfeeding, read the actual years of science and research on it and the many good things about it, not the bashing mumsnet anecdotes, before you decide what you want to do.

I think if you actually read some people's responses, you will see that whilst this might be true for some, it certainly isn't for others.

It doesn't protect against breast cancer, but it can make cancer easier to detect on mammograms as the breast tissue becomes less dense.

And apparently it's much more expensive too 🤔😆 This thread is an amusing read at how delusional people can be 🙄

It really is, isn’t it 😂

Absolutely. I love BF my 20 month old. She barely ever catches a bug, it creates wonderful closeness but she’s still Daddy-obsessed, it’s what nature intended, when she was a baby she wasn’t ingesting a UPF throughout the day, it’s free, easy, and wonderful really. And REDUCES (for the people at the back, that does not mean ELIMINATES) the risk of certain serious illnesses for me and her. Just leaving this here for anyone put off by the posts from people undermining BF.

Oh do fuck off. Shaming women who want to feed their their children in the best and most natural way is gross.

You do realise natural weaning age is 2-7 right?

Is that what I did?! Absolutely not. I’m illustrating the logical fallacy of saying that because something hasn’t appeared to harm someone on an individual basis, then it’s generally a good idea. BF, if you can do it, is scientifically proven to be beneficial. It’s obvious when you think about it. Why would milk from another species be just as good?

I disagree. Children who eat sweets all the time tend to be larger than other kids. And I clearly said there ARE benefits to breastfeeding.