Is it just a societal norm? (Breastfeeding related)

[Emerald95]

Inspired by last night's controversial opinions thread.
Many women on the thread were saying breastfeeding your child after 6m/1y/2y was weird and by that age a child should be on cow's milk.

I think it is odd to take away the milk made for your baby, and replace it with a cow's breastmilk made for a calf.
Why is giving a child cow's breast milk so normalised? Is it simply because that is what that generations before have done and thus become a societal norm?

I am not a vegan, or even a vegetarian. I am not against consuming animal products but it just seems very weird to be swapping milk produced by a mother for her specific child for milk made by a cow for her calf.

I understand when a child is older and away from their mother for longer periods of time at nursery ect that cow's milk would then be easier. But when the child is mainly at home with their mother, say under the age 3, why should she choose a cow's breastmilk over her own?

Those who hold the view that young children should move onto cow's milk instead of breastfeeding, why?

YABU- Cow's milk is better for a young child
YANBU- Swapping a young child from their mother's Breastmilk to Cow's breastmilk is weird

I returned to work after a year each time I had my three babies. Still breastfed them all for many years after that. I was a primary teacher at the time so obviously couldn't feed whilst at school. So do I accept returning to work as a reason one must stop breastfeeding? No.

I breastfeed my two year old, and it does limit what you can do. Impossible to have an evening out when he needs to be breastfed at bedtime. I have been away overnight with work a couple of times when he was born, and he cried for hours into the night both times. I am happy with my decision, but 100% get why others would not choose this.

Where did anyone say it was?

OP is talking about the expectation of nursing women to switch from their own milk to cow’s milk when they are happy or choose to continue nursing after their baby is a certain age.

Nothing wrong with cow’s milk, only pointing out it is an odd thing to expect nursing mothers to go from the milk that their bodies created for their baby to a milk that was created by an animal for their own baby that humans choose to drink.

Just to give some perspective i think the uk is fairiy supportive of breastfeeding - i breastfed and people mostly didnt notice /ignored. The odd person said something supportive or offered to get me water/a cuppa. Breastfeeding in france however, I had some men openly staring at me. There are a lot more weird/snarky comments on web forums than in real life, I guess because web forums attract weird and snarky people!

From what I’ve read, breastfeeding is only associated with a modestly lower risk of obesity, diabetes & cardiovascular disease in adults. There are lots of other factors which are more determinative (diet, exercise, environment, education, income, healthcare access etc to name a few).

Please stop pretending that breastfed babies are growing into these supremely healthy individuals.

Breastfeeding is (usually) healthier for babies but babies also thrive on formula. It’s not a case of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. It’s ‘good’ and ‘better’. You have to look at the overall circumstances of a family to determine what is healthier for that family as a whole. If breastfeeding is causing a baby not to thrive (through intolerances, reflux, low supply, lack of support for mother, mother’s mental health etc) then formula is the better option despite the initial health benefits of breast milk.

It’s biological norm and adequate substitute.

It's just England. Everyone else is normal, most people BF and if people can't it's not a big deal

You haven't read much then if that's your conclusion

I fed mine until she was three and lost interest.

It has so many benefits for both of you it’s not worth stopping until you want to.

Agree in some ways, but also people in less educated countries understand this too. It's not really rocket science to know giving your baby something natural is going to be best for them.

Of course you're selfish if you actively choose to.use formula knowing it's inferior. Just own it.

I breastfed without stopping for 7 years. Dc1 was almost 3 when dc2 was born and dc2 was 2 when dc3 came along. All tandem nursed.
I hate that people have an opinion on something that isn’t their business. You should absolutely do what is right for you and your little one! Block your ears 😊

Can you add a link to what you’ve read?

I’m being genuine! I’m happy to have my mind changed in a debate if the evidence is there

Also, no one is suggesting that formula is a bad idea for babies who need it!

It's not really rocket science to know giving your baby something natural is going to be best for them.

Mercury, snake venom, arsenic, and ricin from castor beans are all "something natural".

I agree with @namechangeGOT! Who cares? As long as they are getting fed and thriving that’s all that matters. I breastfed my first for five months until I returned to work. Not interested in pumping. My second I stopped working and she self weaned at a year, but was down to just one feed before bed by then. I was delighted. I actually don’t know how long a close friend who had her baby three weeks after mine breastfed - not my business.
It doesn’t make you better or worse or more bonded or not whether you breastfeed for two weeks, two months or two years or not at all.

Will there ever be any evidence which can show something fake made in a factory cam be better than something especially made by a mother for their baby? Breatmilk will make antibodies when you are ill, it produces different hormones at night to help with sleep and SIDs, it can even distinguish between two different babies if you are doing that.

You win the internet for the dumbest comment ever 🙄🤣

I rather suspect that accolade goes to someone else on this thread.

You compared arsenic to breastmilk 🫣

That's completely untrue.

Keep digging

For what? Some more "natural" products like gold or diamonds?

What is the point you are trying to make? Genuine question. Would you feed your child chicken made in a lab? Or would you find that a bit ick?

@HillbillyBackstroke the Systematic Review of the Long Term Effects of Breastfeeding commissioned by the WHO found that:

Total cholesterol: “we conclude that breastfeeding does not seem to protect against total cholesterol levels”

Blood pressure: “we conclude that the protective effect of breastfeeding, if any, is too small to be of public health significance”

Diabetes: “further studies are needed on this outcome” (there were only two high quality studies at the time and they provided conflicting outcomes)

Obesity: “breastfeeding may provide some protection against overweight or obesity, but residual confounding cannot be ruled out” (protection is not evident in studies from low and middle- income countries & the Belarus trial did not find an association)

Intelligence tests: “strong evidence of a causal effect of breastfeeding on IQ, although the magnitude of this effect seems to be modest”

https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/79198/9789241505307_eng.pdf;jsessionid=F2B7276594F71CBA468C8BD0A9E97E21?sequence=1

@Pennyforyourthoughtsplease would you like to be more specific about what you disagree with in my post and why?