Did anyone else feel rage at Karen Millen's comments on breastfeeding?

[Hoooray]

According to Karen Millen (who is, notably, a clothing designer and not a child development expert), breastfeeding beyond six months has no benefit for the child, is selfish, and is a sign of addiction.

You're not allowed to get it right as a mother, are you? Bad if you don't breastfeed but also bad if you breastfeed for too long, apparently.

God knows why Karen Millen was being asked for her opinion on the subject in the first place 🙄

Breastfeeding causes colon cancer…I’ve heard it all now 😂

If nobody cares then why was it a segment on a tv show...?

As I said, the mechanism isn't clear. It's unlikely it's breast milk of course. But it COULD be that when you BF beyond 6 months, you have somehow then missed the window for e.g. introducing cow's milk and that due to this, there is then a likelihood your body is creating an immune response, which is what might cause the early onset cancer.

They just don't know. As I said, no issue with BF for as long as people want, but it often goes hand-in-hand with delaying certain foods for longer, which is where the potential window between 4-6 (when it's been shown to be beneficial to introduce certain foods e.g. peanuts) is important.

The type who think breastfeeding is disgusting probably.

For someone who claims to have no issue with breastfeeding, you seem to be clutching at an awful lot of straws to try to portray it in an unfavourable light.

I don't think you've read my posts. I have no issue with BF and people doing it for longer but it's the issue of not introducing solids earlier I have an issue with.

You're not supposed to give cows milk until they're 1.

People who clutch their pearls about women breastfeeding past 6 months think all breastfeeding is disgusting really.

Once again, I’m glad I had a lockdown baby…

You're misquoting research again.

The study you are talking about suggested that early introduction of specific allergens to some high risk infants could reduce that risk or developing allergies, but in no way suggested that in most infants it was beneficial to introduce any solids pre-6 months, or to begin weaning any infants pre-6 months. There are significant risks to introducing solids early and there needs to be much more research before it's clear whether introducing the allergens outweighs those risks.

There is also no basis for your idea about cow's milk. CMP is passed through breastmilk (hence why mothers of babies with allergies to CMP need to remove it from their diet). Breastfed babies are just as likely to have dairy as part of their diet as formula fed babies after weaning, which is usually at 6 months.

It from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The study suggests a link, not causation and points out more research is needed. Breast feeding is not discouraged.

Never suggested NOT breast feeding. But I think the issue about why food allergies are more common and the possible link/correlation with at which stage kids are introduced to taster portions should be considered. And it is - still research ongoing in this area...

You can, it just shouldn't be the main source of milk (which should be breastmilk, or formula).

Not misquoting, just theorising beyond the paper.
But I probably didn't make that clear enough.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/10/study-finds-link-between-breastfeeding-rise-in-adult-colorectal-cancer-risk/

They dont know for sure its vitamin d. Take the wording up with havard.

Not theorising, speculating.

I didn't say you did.
Breastfeeding doesn't preclude the introduction of solids, either. Breastfeeding past 6 mos doesn't mean the baby isn't learning to eat or being introduced to allergen foods. It simply means the baby is still nursing alongside that. Babies won't automatically start eating solids at 6 months. It takes months to develop and even at a year to age two proper meals are hit and miss.
i'd be interested in the actual foods consumed outside of breast milk. It's very complex.

Yes, it is a fascinating area. And so much work now being done in the area of food desensitisation in relation to a range of allergies, not only foods.

I actually did speak to lots of allerologists (mainly concerning food/anaphylaxis) including a couple with medical backgrounds who had been involved with the WHO and drawing up potential new guidelines.

I told her about BFing my children but that I hadn't been BF myself (my mum had birth complications which meant that despite wanting to, she didn't BF me). I explained that despite my mother having lots of allergies I didn't. This medic (previously with the WHO) told me that one of the most surprising findings in her work at an allergy clinic where she worked as a paediatrician (seeing 1,000s of infants) was that none of these babies had been solely fed on formula. I.e. she did not see purely formula fed babies in her clinic at all. I honestly was taken aback as it goes against everything I/we 'knew' at the time (this was 8-10 years ago). But they were not sure why that was so. Frankly it's totally counterintuitive.

So I'm speculating (not theorising) that there must be other mechanisms that play a part.

Is it to do with the lack of Vit D? Is it to do with some allergens being passed through BF (remember it is often suggested that it's especially important that mothers with allergies in the family BF)? Is it that some mothers who don't find BF easy at all get chronically stressed which causes high levels of cortisol, passing this through breastmilk? Definitely more questions than answers.

So probably always best to be nuanced, keep an open mind for what factors play a part (not always the obvious ones) so that perhaps, for certain subsections of mothers, with certain risk factors, maybe their diets should be supplemented or their stress levels controlled or certain known allergenic foods introduced a bit earlier.

It's probably because most ff babies with cmpa are allowed onto prescription milks much faster because they've already tried dairy based formula so they don't get the yo point where they are referred to allergy clinics. Whereas bf mums have to spend months working out what the allergen might be because bf protein content = everything the mum has eaten for the last 4 days. THEN the mum asks for formula as a last resort and gets given hydrolysed or even standard formula and has to prove there is still an allergy issue and they're not just a crunchy neurotic breastfeeding crazy woman.

Why would I feel rage? We are all allowed our own opinions on things.

I bf one of mine for 14 months, one for 3 months, one was formula fed from birth, so I have no skin in the game, it doesn’t matter much to me as long as they are fed.

I couldn’t care less about what anyone else does, or what they think or say. If you don’t like what someone says, move on.

This!!!!!

@dontgetmestartedwillu yes, I agree with your last post and find your comments quite interesting.
The bf & colon cancer risk search produced many articles with "clickbait" headlines which, sadly, lead people to believe the worst and not do any further reading.
I tend to think exposure to UPF, pesticides/plastics/toxins/chemicals are the main culprits in most disease with bad luck and genetics as the other factors.
I'd like to see more studies come forward focusing on everyday chemical exposure. Science knows this, but the lobby to suppress is very strong (not trying to conspiratorial). ie Trump just signed a resolution to limit California's gas-powered car ban.
IMO acceptable limits of exposure ignore exposure from thousands of sources daily and the cumulative effect of that. And the phrase itself it subterfuge.
If bf caused crc it would be a common disease for millennia across all age groups, genders, cultures etc. Likely, the association is innocuous and environmental factors, diet and genetics are at play with heavy emphasis on food sources/pesticides.

It took 6 months for DS's allergies to be diagnosed. He was 99% BFed. He had a bit of formula in the first week where we were trying to get any milk into him after a traumatic birth. We had an awful time with the 5 month regression and in desperation we tried some formula dream feed so I could try and get more than 2 hours sleep. He broke out in head to toe eczema. A few weeks later at the start of weaning I tried some baby porridge and his face exploded. Within 10 mins I had a screaming, eye-less (from the swelling) baby in the reception of the GP having run in in a panic thinking it was the quickest way for a medic to see him. The egg allergy was more obvious but it took several GP visits and a consultant appointment 6m after that first big reaction to have his various allergies diagnosed.
By that point his feeds were winding down, and I was brewing to stop BFing as he was over 12m and I needed to restart my menstrual cycle for TTC.

I suspect that because I've got a fairly low dairy intake and consume foods lower down the pyramid, my milk was naturally low enough in cows protein for him to not react before concentrated allergens were introduced.

Arbitarily stopping BFing at 6 months would have been disasterous for his health. A couple of attempts at a dream feed and baby porridge was bad enough.

how horrifying! How are things now?

I'm really interested in your observation/surmising about low consumption of cow's milk. I wonder if that contributed to your dc not having the enzymes to digest it? I query because I am lactose intolerant and the doctor told my mum it could be related to her not consuming dairy while pregnant. I've never heard of this theory outside of our family, but I'm curious!

No they don’t. there is a pretty robust body of evidence in relation to breastfeeding. Your opinion may be that it is not the right method of feeding for you and that’s absolutely your choice and a very valid one. However that doesn’t negate the evidence base.