young breastfeeders

[katiebirdie]

This is a part poll/part rant thread!

Just wondering how many young breastfeeders we have here on mumsnet? I am 20 and am breastfeeding my 12week ds and feeling pressure from people my own age re breastfeeding. Most have been very supportive (in particular my mum and dad and dp) but couple of girls I thought were mates (especially SIL) have been really hurtful about it. Know it shouldnt bother me but its really winding me up now. I would have thought the people of my generation would have a more positive, modern and informed attitude to breastfeeding but clearly not! How did any of you other young mums deal with anti breastfeeding peer pressure. Am not gonna give up because of it but really in need of some armour!

hving a baby makes you grow up soooo much , they are probably so behind you now in maturity;
they may just ask odd questions because they feel embarrassed around the whole subject!

Katie I would make you a nice medel to wear around your neck. But...the youngest so far on mumsnet is 14. I started another thread...

Katie - I am an old cow (nearly 39) and bf my toddler son.

Well done for having your head screwed on the right way round and say BOLLOCKS to anyone who ever tells you that you are too young, too old, to short, too fat, too thin, too whatever to bf.

I know I shouldn't say this, but in fact you know what, I AM going to say it, sometimes people are just jealous. You are doing something they either can't or won't do and it pisses them off

I was just 21 when ds1 was born and I breastfed for 14 months, then got preg with dd and was just 23 when she was boen, and fed her til she was almost 2. Now I am the grand old age of 28 and have a 14 week old, and bf again

I suspect the comment 'too young to bf' has a lot to do with the image of bf (subtly supported by the formula companies - there's a fab thread on here about diet advice and bf which makes that point) as being something for Mature and/or Middle-Class Mothers, something horribly complex and delicate that youngsters 'can't' get right. Not only ageist, but wrong.
(I'm 29 btw)

Unfortunatley the UK statistics support the image: those who bf the longest are mostly over 30, uni. grads. This is a serious public health issue for young mums and their babies.

I had my dd a week before i turned 22 and bf til she was 6 months and ds til he was 8 months when i was 24 and now pg again and really want to make it til at least a year this time. Most of my friends did bf but only for first 3 months or so and didnt understand me feeding longer. Found alot of people were suprised i was still feeding dd at 6 months, they would just assume she was ff. There was a kind of attitude that by me bfing longer i must somehow be thinking that made me better than them (which i dont, im a strong believer in doing whats right for you) so i ended up, not feeling ashamed, but wanting to keep it to myself IYSWIM.

Absolutely yellowrose. Where I am (Germany) it's not much different.