..To Think That The Benefits Of Breatfeeding Are A load Of Tosh?...

[CheekyVimtoGal]

I breastfed my 1st DS from day one, he fed for 6 weeks completely on Breastmilk with no formula at all.
I got mastitas 3 times and gave up feeding him at 6 weeks due to the pain and his constant hourly feeds, it was draining me.

I then said i felt like a failure for it, and that if i had anymore children i would feed them for at least 6months to a year.

When i fell pregnant with DS2 i was adamant Breastfeeding was for me, so much so that i did not buy any bottles at all.

After i had DS2 he didnt have his first feed for 2 hours due to the damage to my area, it took the midwife an hour to stitch me up. He finally got a feed 2 hours after been born and wasn't latching on properly.

Until i went home i tried my hardest to get him to latch on and suckle from me. It was no good and i was already a failure, he wouldn't latch on and he had to have a replacement forumla to replace low sugars (or something similar - i forget now, as i was still out of it from the drugs)

Now that was 2 years ago and he was a sicky baby, had reflux and didn't wean until he was 10 months old.

My oldest son who was breastfed eats anything and everything but catches EVERY illness going.

My youngest son who wasn't breastfed has NEVER been ill.

Sooo, as for the benefits of Breastfeeding - what is it meant to be, because i do not find it has helped my sons immune system at all!

Hmm yes im bored of the imminent general election threads that i decide to drag up an old thread that i didn't realise someone had already posted about the same issues as i have!!! FGS. Its a forum, a public forum at that. I was merely stating MY opinion on Breastfeeding and the benefits, Isnt this a debate board? If everyone had the same opinions on the same matters then this forum and the world would be a very boring place.

{biscuit]

Bitter?? For having an opinion on BF? Lovely.

crappy idea for a debate though, since your OP is a dubious and silly premise.

I do think the benefits are overstated.

I am sorry if breastfeeding didn't work out. Babies need a happy mother and the benefits of a happy mother outweigh any disadvantages or advantages of a feeding method.

It is easy for people to lose sight of the fact that all our families are different.

I breastfed DS1 for 10 months but he was given formula in hospital (not by me!), I topped him up with it when he was baptised because I was too scared to feed and then introduced it again at about 9m. He has excema (no family history), digestion problems and is a pale little thing. DS2 never had a drop of formula pass his lips and fed for 18 months. Fit as a fiddle. I don't know if the 'virgin gut' theory contributed to DS1 being as he is, but I think you have to have your head firmly buried in the sand to think breastfeeding isn't better than formula. My DHs grandmother smokes like a chimney and will probably outlive us all, that doesn't mean smoking is good for you!

The plural for anecdote is not data.

Its been debated hundreds of times and the stats repeatedly questioned based on sample sizes of 2 or 3.

It always ends up upsetting people and is a bit dull frankly - either believe the research and bf, believe the research and don't bf (for whatever reason)) or don't believe the research. Its up to you.

Well its my opinion and i was just stating what i thought. I knew i would get shot down in flames for it. But thats life, not every one in life will agree with yourself, you have to accept all sort of criticism and didnt views from people. People can call me what they like and what not but i was just stating my opinion on Breastfeeding.

YABU(and just wrong with your conclusions) and very unimaginative and short sighted to not think that breast versus bottle has been done to death, risen up again and back to death again a million times on MN.

Different views from people

Life is too short to have internet feuds and a few nitty comments from nitty members wont drag me down! Its a debate/discuss/delibirate board and thats what i was doing.

Great. Thanks for clearing that up. Werent you on another thread saying you werent going to vote?

In my opinion - you should spend time and energy getting an opinion on that.

mistletoekisses - Why should i put my effort into voting? Whoever gets in were fooked anyway so me voting isnt going to make a difference.

My FF child is always ill. My BF child is never ill. Kinda blows your 'evidence' out the window. Now what are your thoughts on Tory economic policy ?

BFing helps children's immunity WHILST THEY'RE BFED - they pass bugs to mother, whose body makes antibodies and these are passed back to the child through the breastmilk. I'd like to see some formula that did that!

My DS is 19 mths and BFs 3-6 times per day and he's never had any illnesses bar the odd runny nose. Still not a significant data sample, but he seems healthier than his FF and mix-fed peers. And if you can make huge assumptions based on a couple of children (and a chip on your shoulder!)...

You BF for 6 weeks - I'm sorry that made you feel like a failure, but you should feel more of a failure for writing such an inflammatory and patently foolish post!

OK, then, Cheekyvimtogal - please will you discuss how you can make sweeping generalisations about the benefits of breastfeeding, based on only two children?

If you had studied 1000 children, half of whom were formula fed, and the other half of whom were breastfed, and compared the two groups, showing that when you had adjusted for other factors, the formula fed babies were healthier and more immune to infection than the breastfed ones, then that might qualify as an intelligent argument against the benefits of breastfeeding. But your conclusions based on only two children prove exactly nothing.

Ok op in my experience of 3 children all bf from birth to around 2 I believe that the difficulty of bf is overstated and no one should ever use formula ever because I didn't need to... Except I wouldn't say that cause it is blatently wrong! So is your op.

If you post in Aibu I have to assume you are prepared to accept people will disagree with you.

So yabu

DS was BF to 18mths and is sick maybe once a year.

I find BF extremely easy, does that invalidate your experience?

op yanbu.Mine were never breastfed, dd7 has never had day off school, ds no problems.Take no notice btw of some of the opinions on here, if this is your opinion then that is fine.

Mean't to add as someone else has also said,be happy with your choices.Happy mum means happy baby.

OP - you are entitled to your opinion of course. But the rest of us are equally entitled to try to explain to you that your opinion is based on very dodgy logic. All opinions are not equally valid - those which are backed up by serious scientific research are actually more relevant and useful than those which are based only on your own tiny bit of experience.

The fact that you believe something doesn't make it true, or useful.

CVG: you have posted on a bf/ff thread which had 700 posts just a couple of weeks ago. You cannot pretend that you did not know this topic gets people heated and irritated, especially in AIBU, and especially with an OP that holds up personal experience as 'proof' of anything. You are going to get challenged, because of the poor quality of your argument...and people get a bit exasperated.

On another thread you say you came on mumsnet to make friends, and you don't know why that hasn't happened yet. You've even had to apologise for causing offence

People are allowed to debate, to discuss and to argue. What doesn't help with the 'making friends' thing is to post a strong, not-very-well-argued post and then to get all surprised and offended when people argue back