Is there actually anything wrong with formula feeding?!

[taffy101]

Don't get me wrong, I am an avid breast feeder (fed dd till 1 and currently feeding ds), but the more I hear about people who bottle feed that their babies sleep through straight away and gain loads of weight, it makes me wonder. I believe WHO have even brought out new weight charts for bf babies, which basically puts their average weight lower than a bottle fed baby's.

I do realise all the benefits of breast feeding but once baby has all vital antibodies and mum+baby are nicely bonded, if formula milk makes for a more contented baby why has it become so demonised?

I dont get the 'made to feel bad' thing. I really dont. If you make the decision to bottle feed then surely you are doing it becuase you think it's the right thing to do. How could someone make you feel bad for that unless you thought they might have a point?

Mumydson - why did she bottlefeed?

Thanks hercules i was beginning to wonder if there were any downsides of formula (after first vital weeks on bf anyay). Its just that I never did any research on formula butblindly assumed I was doing the best thing.
Of course I will carry on bfing for another 10 months (hopefully) as its nicer, cheaper, quicker, , etc...
BTW my LO is contented, is asleep on DH atm

hercules its the way the mws/hvs look down their noses at you and say "YOU ARE GOING TO TRY AND BR AREN'T YOU' like as if you are amonster if you don't. We are all wimps and scared of these people!!

the downside is that it isnt breastmilk but I am no expert on all this.

BF not BR [thick emoticon]

I wanted to breast feed but wasn't built to breast feed anymore than I was built for vaginal delivery. My dd is 7, we are very closely bonded, she is more healthy than average, no known allergies so far, and not at all obese. I think breast is best but bottle feeding has its own advantages. My dd and I have had a happy and healthy, mainly bottle fed experience.

my bottle is fed baby is now three, he does not sleep through the night. He is also not overweight however, so you have to take these common misconceptions with a pinch of salt.

I fully understand the importance of breastmilk for a baby, I was however, unable to breast feed- possibly now looking back at it, due to lack of help from health professionals.

But I never once look at my sons and feel as if I have cheated them for not supplying breast milk for them

"it's not as good as breastfeeding" Who says. The Supposed Few who supposedly know it all? Mt kids were FF ( and it's my choice and reasoning why) and they are all healthy, happy, not overweight and have no problems because I didn't breastfeed them. Each to his own but no-one has the right or knowledge to say one is better. IN YOUR OPINION one can be better. Just because people say it doesn't mean it's true. My kids all slept through at 8 weeks and yes, I was lucky. It wasn't breast or bottle feeding, it wasn't because I followed this or that baby guru, I was just lucky. Motherhood is a minefield of feeling guilty, should I breastfeed or not? Is my child going to be deprived etc etc because I don't? Chil;dren need love, not just food whichever way it comes and smug Bf's are as bad as FF's that tell you it's not right. Each to his own, but don't tell me FF is wrong or BF is exclusively right because it's not.! I was adopted and my mum fed me formula. Am I damaged or not full of antibodies? I was the healthiest kid on the block. (Compared to some neighbours' kids whose mums smoked, drank pints every day, smoked other stuff and ate general crap food because times were hard and that was life then. Baby milk was expensive and people budgeted to afford it.And FF kids don't IMHO take more time off-mine are really healthy and have been in somechildcare, not much. I think that boobs are OK but if you're a Dad, Grandma, plastcitiy doesn't count. It's the bonding that's important and most babies don't care what they suck on, it's a reflex that goes as they get older. I thought and correct me if I'm wrong, that the most important time for antibodies etc was in the early weeks. Judging by all the MN'etters posts on here, it matters if you do one day or three thousand, each day is an acheievement and BF's are to be congratulated for giving up their boobs abd life to carry on feeding. I admire women who BF as long as possible, my BF is feeding her 3 and 1/2 yr old and he's at Nursery School.And what about Preemies who have to have FF for whatever reason, my friend's baby (born at 30 weeks) is small, perfectly formed and feisty.He's now two yrs old but his mum spent weeks worrying, in turn, about whether he should have been BF and whether he would survive. She quickly put it into perspective and now doesn't give a shit. He's alive....!

Oh - and my mainly bottle fed baby has always been a very good sleeper fwiw

The thing is you do what you can at the time. WHat I do find unacceptable is when women who want to breastfeed are let down time and time again by health professionals who either give incorrect advice or dont support women as they should. I have no problem with formula itself or women who choose to formual feed because they dont want to bf.

I think we have established that there is nothing wrong with ff, its just hvs/mws that make us feel bad if we dont bf

Err I dont think it's just the chosen few who say that breastmilk is a better milk than formula. It's a widely accepted fact adn you'd be hard pushed to find anyone who says it's not.

Overall breastfed babies are healthier. That doesnt mean a child who is forumla fed wont be healthy or a breast fed child will. Anecdotal evidence isnt helpful when looking at which milk is a better milk.

It's not 'my opnion' that breastmilk is better. It just is. I can still say that and not think that formula is crap though

That's my earlier point. If a woman doesnt want to breastfeed and has made an informed decision then please let her get on with it.

hercules, you ARE made to feel bad, the mw when i finally gave up sniffed and said "well if you dont think its worth trying...." the implication being (quite clearly) that if you dont bf you obviously dont care/are lazy. it took a lot of soul-searching to decide to switch to ff and im sure that my pnd was in part due to my "failure" to do what comes naturally. we know breast is best, its not new news, but if you ff it doesnt mean you dont care/are lazy etc

Ahh, i never said breast was best, I said breastmilk was better than formula. Two different things.

OK so breastmilk is better. What if you're eating a crap diet, alchohol, curries etc etc. Whatever you eat gets to the baby. What if you have meds and they get through too? Breast milk is better if your breast milk is up to standard. What about mums in other countries that drink dirty water and pass it on to their babies. I don't want to get into the debate about formula abroad because it's been done time and time again. BF is best if you have the diet, the time, the help to start it and finish it and partners that don't feel left out.If mums want to BF they need help and how many mums (including my niece) had a baby, got stuck in a room and left to try on their own. My niece only succeeded because my Nan sat her down, in a quiet room (she was a bit shy at 18) and sat with her until baby latched on and sucked for ages. There's not many girls of her age would of sat in a room of teen friends feding a baby and ignoring the alchohol that was passed around. She now has a liitle one of two and has started going out again.I'm proud of her

Complain then. We wont be able to change the system unless we do make a fuss and object.

Why would you ignore the alcohol when breastfeeding? There is no such thing as better quality breastmilk. You'd have to be severly malnoursihed before it affected your milk supply.

good point jollymum. My ds had curry + glass of red last night. Good on your niece/nan btw

I eat curries all the time. Do you honestly believe that people who eat curries and bad diets and drink alcohol cant or shouldnt breastfeed?

can't it upset baby a bit if spicy/alcohol. see I AM brainwashed

But WHO says it's better than FF? and why?I know it's not your opinion amd you can like both feeding ideas but who says and what mkes them right. The same people who have told me that each of my four children should sleep a different way or they'll be at risk?!

its evil and wrong