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?

Mums in other countries who drink dirty water? So those would be the same mums who are making the forumla with that dirty water then? That's when forumal does carry risks. Dirty water does not pass through breastmilk.

Of course it cant. You'd have to be bladdered for alcohol to have an effect and you shouldnt be looking after any baby in that state.

I havent got the time to go into who says it as it's like arguing smoking doesnt give you cancer (no, I'm not equating the two).

No of course I don't think that but if you drink achohol doesn't it pass through to the baby? Well, INHO babies shouldn't be drinking booze or having curries until they're old eough to pay for them And all the mums I work with are gagging for a drink but tell me they're waiting until they stop BF.

I have breastfed my kids zillions of times whilst eating a curry and having a couple of glasses of wine.

I have breastfed my kids zillions of times whilst eating a curry and having a couple of glasses of wine.

I'm going to bed (after I've fed LO as being a brainwashed bfer DH can't do it for me )

Well then they are sadly misinformed.

hercules you sound exasperated

right, breast is best. we all know that but it comes down to personal choice. some people ff because after 9m they want their bodies back. some ff coz they struggle, but we live in a privilaged society. 40y ago 60% of women would have died in labour. 30y ago, god knows how many babies. we are lucky to have the choice and women should not be villified for the choices they make.
imho anyway

I am! I couldnt give a fig if someone doesnt want to breastfeed but I do feel strongly about women being given crap and incorrect advice which might stop them enjoying themselves or breastfeeding if they want to. How awful not to have glass of wine or not eat curry because some health professional said you shouldnt.

Thjat's why I didn't want to go into the FF debate abroad. I can see it's stupid to make F with dirty water but other people can't. They have a choice sometimes between no milk in breast because of malunitician and dirty water for formula. Thank God don't have to make the choice. Anyway, alchohol does pass through and you donb't have to be bladdered, my BF is midwife and she's a cow when it comes to this. Tiny glass of wine here and there, OK, loads of achohol goes through as does some medicines and food.

Custy, dare i ask what's evil and wrong? BTW how are your teens?!{grin]

The point is noone is saying "breast is bset" because for a lot of people it isnt. That saying is outdated and shouldnt beused as it's not true. THere is so much more to feeding than the milk. For a lot of women breast really isnt best and then formula is a damn good alternative.

There are very few medicines that pose a problem when breastfeeding, and, from what I know, no foods that are a problem, in most cases. Yes, if you're getting drunk every night, then bf isn't the best plan for you, but generally, bf is much better than formula for the baby.

Your midwife is wrong.

Actually most women in developing countries produce perfectly fine breastmilk. It's the formula companies giving out samples to them that force them to stop breastfeeding.

Women in developing countires with hiv are better off breastfeeding than giving formula due to the risks there.

Formula fed babies don't necessarily (sp) put on weight faster than bfed babies. My ds was ffed from 2 weeks and he was always slow to gain weight and stayed in the 25th percentile. I know bfed babies that have gained more weight at a faster pace.

I'm not saying no alchohol but IMHO Health Visitots are so different in opinions/knowledge anyway that they can sway a vulnerable mum either way. I do think that if you drink LOADS it's a bit like drink driving-you're carrying a precious cargo and it's up to you when to stop. Look at feotal achohol syndrome, loads of young mums (don't all start on me if you're under 18) who go out every night getting pissed. I'm not saying that achohol makes you a bad BF mum, that's your choice, just commenting on the fact that surely (correct me medically if I'm wrong) that it must pass through and therefore FF can't be worse in that situation?

x posts will carry on reading wot you've wrote!

How can you feed a baby yourself if you're starving? That's whu so many babies die

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I have four children and have NEVER EVER been told of any helth risks. It's too late now but what are they?!

Anyway, I was told any achohol, even the tiniest bit, got through so not to drink whilst BF. I BF at night sometimes when LO woke up and wasn't desperately hungry. I think it's really hard to BF if you have more than one, unless you're a SAHM or work and express (ie bottle feeding)

Why the is curry considered weird while breast feeding? Is it too obvious to point out that women from the Indian subcontinent eat spicy food every day and their breastfed babies survive fine. I don't think they suddenly start eating steak and chips to purify their milk.

oh and in famine struck areas, most women manage to breastfeed, even if they are almost malnourished. In a famine, children start dying after two years old, when they stop breastfeeding and there is not enough food to give them a proper diet. Babies die from lack of medicines, but not usually from poor quality breastmilk.