Is a bf baby with a mother who smokes ,better off than one who is not bf at all?

[princessmel]

I've been wondering that for a while.

A friend of a friend has just had a baby (last week)and she's bf. She also smokes.

Do you think that the benefits of breast feeding outweigh the fact that she smokes? She was smoking outside by the way.

I genuinly don't know the answer to this. Also does the smoke get into the milk?
I know she will be breathing smoke onto and around him when she comes back inside but will the chemicals actually be in the milk?

I don't want to cause a huge row but just wondered which would be best for the little baby.

To my answer, I mean. I wish you could edit posts and, more to the point, delete!

Well done kama and good luck.

I would agree that it's still better to bf. If any thing does get into the milk it's in miniscule amounts and bm is still such brilliant stuff as is the very act of bf-ing.

i would have said no

surely smoking is also far more of a minging habit than formula feeding anyway

Smoking is minging,it is true.
But so is formula,and you are getting a whole lot more formula than you are fag smoke.

formula isnt minging - it is very necessary a lot of time. Ciggies arent neither is alcohol

No-one gives their kids alcohol or makes them smoke fags though fio.

'a lot of the time'
Yes,quite.

I think formula feeding and not smoking is healthier than your friend's scenario, personally.

Formula is not actually doing any harm to a baby and does have benefits (even if they aren't as great as those from breastmilk) but I think it's unlikely that a smoking mother is not going to pass on at least some of it on to her baby. Even if you smoke outside it's on your breath and on your clothes. Bleurgh - far more disgusting than formula without a doubt.

tell that to all the people who have lung cancer from passive smoking

The chemicals in cigarette smoke pass directly to the child through the breast milk. These include (but are not limited to) chlorine, nicotine and formaldyhide. I realise it is a contentious issue for some, but formula would really be best in this scenario IMO. It is ONLY best to bf when mother and baby and happy and healthy doing so. I do not believe in bf at any cost....ridiculous.

Oh dear. I can see the way this thread is going. Take cover.

Formula is 'not actually doing any harm to your baby'

Errr,OK then MP.Aren't you supposed to be a scientist?
Maybe you did a special degree where they bypassed Stats???

So lomg as baby is not Bf less than one hour after cig then HV say it is ok IYSWIM if sh ewears different top layer of clothes this minimises risk as brushing teeth etc before getting close to baby

formula may not be as good for babies but given a choice of nothing or formula then formula wins every time.

Jampot...your point being?

i would think smoking would cause more cot deaths - now its a while since mine were little but im sure the advice was not to smoke around babies

I would also like to point out that plenty of children, including my ds and my nephew who were both born early and had the health problems associated with that, would not be here today if it werent for formula milk. This attitude of not bf = bad mother is not only untrue, but cruel and upsetting to those mothers like myself and my sister who tried and failed or whose chldren were too sick to bf.

my point is that formula is a very necessary replacement for breast milk - not everyone can breastfeed. There is no need to smoke AT ALL

Even I'm bored now and that's saying something.
To recap......formula is minging.
Smoking is minging.
Neither are advicsable.

becaroo forgive me but that came out of nowhere. This thread is about smoking and breastfeeding.