Breastmilk vs formula - the facts

[buzzybee]

I came across this article on a Canadian website which I think is quite an objective and unemotive summary of the factual differences between breastmilk and formula for those who are interested!
here

Funny for me this has come up now as I've just stopped at 7 1/2 months as have gone back to work (I know some people express but they must be heroic). I do love it sometimes in the evening when he throws himself at me and wants a b/f after his bottle... and I never thought I'd say that after the absolute misery of the first few weeks. And, on and off, the next few months ? every time I thought I'd got it sorted, we'd go backwards and I'd have agonising cracked nipples etc. all over again. I fantasised about giving up feeding, esp when I had mastitis and cracked nipples (never got thrush though thank God). But DH has asthma and eczema so I was determined to keep going. Couldn't have done it without absolutely amazing support from DH, b/f counsellor, health visitor, other new mums... tried NCT helpline but they didn't call me back until the next day which was a bit too bloody late to make any difference, frankly. I can completely understand why some people stop and would never criticise them but at the same time b/f mums need support and appreciation of just how bl**dy hard it can be. And properly trained b/f counsellors on tap. I used to wonder how on earth human beings survived until now if b/f was that hellish for all the generations before us who didn't have safe formula milk. And if it wasn't, what are we doing wrong today?

eddm - sorry you had to wait until the next day to get a callback from NCT. This is unusual, but it does sometimes happen. The system runs with volunteer labour, and at times the volunteer on the roster covering the message tape or handling the calls that don't get through to a local bfc is ill, one of her children is ill, or there is some domestic emergency that prevents a quick call back. But in virtually every case, there is a call back....when there isn't, it's almost always because the distressed mum has not left a phone no., or the no. is incorrect....and that leaves us helpless but wishing we could do more.

sometimes it hard to make a judgement which is best for your baby because there are people like me who had no choice but to bottle feed (milk dried up compleatly while i was pregnant and yes they tried to express while i was pregnant but it was no good there was nothing there)and just because i had to give him the bottle didnt mean i didnt want to give him the best start in life sometime when people talk about breast is best like hvs and gps they got to take into considerationabout those who cant and should be made to feel guilty or less of a mother well imo anyway

Tiktok is right all BF helpline (NCT, ABM, LLL and BF network) are run by volunteers mum - who have a life - we're not at a call centre!.... we really do our best to answer the phone or ring back ASAP. I have had mums who rang me (I am a BFC with ABM) after they had tried the NCT.... sometimes (and I know it sounds awful) you need tgo try the next helpline.

Mummytojames - what do you mean your milk dried up when you were pregnant? Were you expecting another baby while BF the first ???

no pupuce i lost a bit of milk whe i was abou eight months pregnant and was told that was the start and it would carry on until the baby was born and was shown express technechs to keep my milk producing but it didnt work it dried up on its own accord then they tried to get the milk out again about 24 hours later with a pump but they said it was no good it had dried up compleatly which was rare but could happen

I'm really proud of myself for breastfeeding ds for 6 months. I had a really tough time at the start (I had thrush but my gp didn't believe me), used to cry in anticipation of feeds, but I had brilliant support from dp & my mum & the local bfc. I passionately believed (& still do) that I was doing the best for my son. And it was at no small personal cost either - I have diabetes & the normal drugs I take are not safe when breastfeeding so I had to inject myself at every meal.

I would never argue with anyone's decision to bottle feed (& am fully aware that some people have conditions/have to take medication which mean that they can't breastfeed), but I do agree with whoever said that we should be very proud that by breastfeeding we have given our children the best start in life.

I love everything about breastfeeding, the concept, the benefits, everything. What I found hard to cope with were true concerns about my DD's weight gain. I felt that her problems with gaining were directly my fault - but who knows, I may have felt the same if I had bottle fed. There were times that I considered giving up, because I was worried for DD that I wasn't able to provide competently for her. With a lot of support from my brill HV, who helped me gain faith in my body, I continued through until my DD weaned herself off the breast at 14 months. I'm really looking forward to breastfeeding this little one that's on the way too . At least this time (having done the La Leche League peer supporters course and breastfed before) I feel more prepared for all of the delights (bleeding cracked nipples, boulder breasts, paaiiinfull letdown! ) no honestly, looking back, the problems DD and I experienced were hard at the time, but I'm sure I wouldn't be able to look back on it happily if we hadn't been able to continue for as long as we did.
tiktok, out of interest, I met a lady today who's training to be a nurse and is halfway through her pregnancy. Her reasons for not wanting to breastfeed (though she's obviously well aware of the differences) are that a/ she thinks like she would feel like a cow. and b/ that she's really uncomfortable with the thought of exposing herself to feed, . (Mentioned to her that in all the 14 months I breastfed, not one person caught a glimpse ) and then invited her along to our breastfeeding group .
For me, I think my decision has a lot to do with growing up on various farms, would you believe! In the animal world, a bottle's only given as a second rate alternative if there is a problem (mum dies/too many offspring/medication purposes). In the natural world, if animals weren't breastfed, they'd die. I never considered doing anything other than breastfeed.
Ladies motives really interest me too.

Sorry if anyone was offended. I just thought it was a good summary of the nutritional/chemical differences. Clearly does not take into account emotional and physiological issues for the mother.
In fact I still very much sit on the fence on this one. I wanted to breastfeed but never managed to get it to work despite lots of in home MW assistance and advice and ended up expressing for 7 weeks until my milk supply dwindled to virtually nil. I have to admit there were aspects about bottle feeding that I found very "useful" (to me) but that's never changed my view that if I could have I would have breastfed dd. And it is true that dd has gone on to have a history of ear infections that lead eventually to insertion of grommets last October (at 18 months)...
As for the "useful" aspects - that came down to things like DD's dad being able to do some feeds (I went away for 5 days when she was 10 weeks) and having a clear idea of how much food she was getting to eliminate that as a cause for her being unsettled etc in those early weeks (I note the article presents this aspect as a negative though!) None of those things can outweigh health benefits though...hence my fence sitting.
BTW dd was born in London but I now live in NZ.

Message withdrawn

bloss I think you are very brave to consider breastfeeding a third feeling the way you do. I certainly am not planning to have anymore children so hopefully it won't be an issue for me again. The thing is I am glad I took the pressure off myself with number 2 by saying I am not going to do it and have no regrets whatsoever. Nothing anybody said could have changed my mind and I don't feel guilty at all because although it may have been easier to breastfeed no 2 I just couldn't have put myself under that pressure. I think the amount of guilt related to not breastfeeding today is a lot for mothers to cope with so a lot struggle on regardless of the pain or consequences.

Saying that I do think if you are able to breastfeed your baby you should be very proud of yourself it is such a huge thing to do. Mammyshirl I would never make anyone who was breatfeeding feel they should not be proud of themselves. I don't think you can possibly realise what it involves until you actually do it. For me I felt it was more important that I was able to cope with my toddler and new baby than to spend my energy struggling with breastfeeding. As a result I was able to take DS1 out by himself etc when DS2 was born and I do think it helped as he has never been jealous of DS2 and they get on very well.

I agree stripey! I would never try to make anyone feel bad about the way they chose to feed!

Mammyshirl, you don't NEED to understand why other people choose not to breastfeed as it's not your concern!

I couldn't have a stronger bond with my daughter and i LOVE it!

(Sorry, but you did say you were sure someone would get upset by that coment so there you go!)

I couldn't have a stronger bond with my son and I bottle fed him.

Breast fed for 1 week, hated every minute of it, very painful, cracked and bleeding nipples. Wasn't enjoying ds as much as I should, I was so much more relaxed with bottle feeding. Wouldn't even attempt breast next time.

Personally couldn't give a s**t about what anyone else thinks.

I breastfed my 3 for a maximum of 4 months (less with No 3) and I HATED every single second of it. I hated every feed and started to dread them. The only reason I did it was because I knew it was best for them but looking back, I didn't enjoy their early baby days because of the bl**dy breastfeeding.

Now when I think back, if I could have their "baby" time again I probably wouldn't have breastfed them at all.

DH has been "snipped" so no more babies for us - but the first thing I said when we walked out of the Clinic after his surgery was "I'll never ever have to endure breastfeeding another baby again!".

I have breastfed my two DSs and intend to breastfeed the new baby. However I was a bottle-fed baby, and so were my siblings, and maybe I am missing something but I don't think any of us were harmed by being bottle-fed. None of us is obese, yes we all have hayfever but I think that is hereditary anyway, and we are all very brainy (!). To me the biggest argument in favour of breast-feeding is the convenience.

I am also curious (even though of course it's none of my business) someone would choose not even to feed for the first few days to at least give your baby the colustrum. A few days doesnt seem much for something so important.
Soreness is poor positioning not the breastfeeding itself so I cant see why that should stop someone, surely good advice would deal with that.
I dont know why asking why would offend anyone tbh. Would you be offended if someone asked you why you chose purple shoes over green?
If you are happy with your decision then why do some mumsnetters get so defensive?
Noone here has suggested bottlefeeding makes you a bad parent just wanted to know why you would reject breastfeeding?

dinosaur - yes convenience is definitely one of my top reasons to breastfeed.

Northerner and Angeliz - you both gave the exact kind of reaction that i was talking about - so defensive. read down the thread and compare what you said to others and read mine again. im not judging you and saying that by bottle feeding will effect the bonding process.
i mentioned the bonding as some women i spoke to said they did not like breastfeeding because of the bind!
this subject always seems to get people going...

my views on breastfeeding is that we know its best and we should all try it for the sake of our babies (unless you cant for whatever reason)and if we dont get on with it then give up but at least you tried and thats what counts.

thats just me, im not god, just saying what i think, thats what mumsnet is for isnt it?

i love mumsnet

hercules - you got it out better than me!

hercules - you got it out better than me!

Actually Mammyshirl I was going to say you said what I wanted to say only better.

Let's try not to fight about who said it better though.These things can get out of hand.

maybe we should have an arm wrestle over it? hee hee

Or we could just throw our children at each other.

Who do you think is better at arm wrestling - breast fed babies or formula fed?

i am glad that im not the only person who thought that, like you said if some people choose to bottlefeed then why do they get offensive when breastfeeding is mentioned?

im definitely breastfeeding my next baby as i cant wait for those breasts again, i am one of those unlucky girls with small boobs

Mammyshirl, i have read the whole thread and i don't think i was being defensive. Maybe what annoyed me was your sarcastic,

"("emmmmm hello? - thats what a child means a bind for the rest of your life" thats one of the things i have always looked forward to - my bond with my child - the bind)"

it's one of the things i looked forward to too and i have it.

hercules, i wasn't offended by the question, just the sarcastic implication that anyone who doesn't breastfeed is stupid!

As for the defensive thing, my freind who has a 4 month old son breastfeeds in my house all the time and i think she's a great mam, but so am i and it's not an issue that i didn't and she doesn't question me about it!
She does i don't simple as that!
And i don't feel guilty about it when i see her feeding him!

I think you got exactly the reaction you WANTED by us answering and wanted to call us defensive. After all, anyone who answered your post and hadn't breastfed, was obviously going to disagree!

It was the sarcasm that got me!