bf in the news again, for increasing intelligence

[robinredbreast]

so far its been on bbc1
radio 1
yahoo homepage

three cheers for breast feeding

also i thought alison baum who was interview on bbc1 put the message across so well, so tactfully done

well done alison,ive already signed your bf manifesto

SM, I understand what you mean abotu some people being so into doing the right thing and then not breastfeeding, i have a friend who was exactly as you mentioned, and is still very much PFB now. She is married to my exdp's brother, and both myself and her husbands sister bf, so she asked us lots about it, we always gave her encouragement, she knew all the pros and cons, and of course, we supported her when she decided to FF but I was surprised!

My reaction to this news was "what's new?" Who was that bloke in the 50s, Dick Grantly Read or Grant Dick Read or something (Hunker will know) who went on about breastmilk being the right stuff for brain development in humans?

It may well maximise a child's potential IQ, but many other factors affect how clever and successful a person becomes.

I personally preferred to breastfeed my own children because I was convinced of superiority of breastmilk in every way to its artificial substitutes. That was my conclusion based on the evidence available to me at the time. But i also wanted to believe that. It was not just evidence (of which there is plenty) but also my gut feeling. After all, I can't personally vet every scientific paper ever written on it.

Has there ever been any scientific research done which compares formula favourably with breastmilk?

Yes, I believe it was sponsored by a company called nestle

Oh what a surprise! I should have guessed.

Do you mean Grantly Dick-Read? I mean, I know you do - who else could you mean?!

MOTM, no, no axe to grind - not in the way you seem to mean anyway Just want a bit more care taken when speaking about something so core-shakingly emotive as bf, that's all.

Yes, thanks Hunker. His name is not as memorable as his views on infant feeding.

I have to say I know a lot of people who are very clever but not breastfed. Not many who are very clever, but without good genes, encouragement and opportunities from a young age.

I fully appreiciate that some mums cant breastfeed but they should feel proud that they have tried. I agree with mumoftwominxers that some just give up and cant be bothered and as BFeeders know it takes time and support to get there. Some people think that breast feeding is easy and its cheap too! Little do some know of the predjudices still out there, how some people make you feel awkward if you want to breasfeed in public, more restricted to leave baby unhless you pump the hell out of your baps!, the everychanging boobs and bras you need to buy, the breast pump, engourged boobs!... I say for all that thank god our kids might just might be a little brainy!!! ps DS also eats cheese strings and was bf!!

Nobody ever made me feel awkward about bf in public. If any one had made even the slightest critical comment I'd have leapt down their throat quick enough to turn the milk sour.

Never, never ask permission to breastfeed. You might as well ask permission for your baby to breathe and there would still be some prudes who would object.

I've had quite a few comments made to me when breastfeeding in public elastic woman, and from what I remmeber another MNer who lives where I used to had comments amde too, Maybe some towns are more bf friendly than others?
Thankfully I'm not the kind of person to be put off by someones comments, especially when it si snowing and they have their children wearing no socks nor a blanket and their problem is not wanting their fella to see my breasts!

VS - that wasn't me was it? Northampton seems to be really bad for comments about NIP and I see your in Oxfordshire....

Yes, it was, I suppose i'll see what Oxford is like this time round!
But yes, Northampton seemed to be a hive of 'putcha bewbz away'!

yy - Northampton is indeed that place. still, doesn't stop me!! i've had much more positive comments than negative anyway...

I suppose my reaction to this news is feeling bad for my own children. That isn't to take away from the people celebrating the news and doesn't mean they shouldn't celebrate it. But on the other hand, in terms of it being something to celebrate, wouldn't it be better for EVERYONE if breast wasn't best - or what I mean is, if it made no difference and it was found out that formula was as good, then mothers could make their own choices and breastfeed for closeness or convenience and no one would feel bad at all. And the children of mothers who could but couldn't be bothered wouldn't be adversely affected and all the children in the world would get the best start no matter how they were fed.

You mean, wouldn't it be good if artificial food were as good as real food?

but EBenes, that's not how it works. formula milk isn't as good as bm, and it's not likely to be, in the near future anyway. fm is an adequate substitute for breastmilk and that's fine.

anyway, i think some people are getting confused - no-one is saying that formula milk makes children stupid!!

Hmm, I'm not sure it would be good. In our over sexualised culture, I reckon the one and only reason why BF is tolerated at all, is because even those nutters who feel dubious and icky about it, have to shut up when confronted with the evidence that it's better, full stop. Without that, I don't believe the option of BF would be available to any woman who wanted it, it would simply die out as no support for it would be given at all.

EBenes, when you see that eventhough most people know that formula feeding has risks associated with it, many people still make the decision to formula feed without attempting to bf or to say the equivalent of 'right, 2 wks, that is all i will do, i want my body back.'

if both methods were equally safe, many babies more babies would not even get that. the history of ff and the promotion of ff by the medical companies would kill off bf almost completely.

I breastfed til my dd was almost 2yrs and never had any comments from the public. And I fed EVERYWHERE! I expressed at work and encountered the head of our medical centre (a woman) who asked me when I was going to stop 'coz you don't want to be doing it at the school gates'. It doesn't bother me remotely but it was a stupid, throw-away thing to say (from a health professional) to someone who is obviously committed to b/f. I expressed twice a day for 3 months..... Now I also remember a doctor in our local hosp asked me why I was still b/feeding when she had an ear infection at 12months old. He came across as confused by it and kept asking me questions like 'why don't you give her juice'. Bonkers.

Breastfeeding my second child at the moment. Had lots of problems the first time but got through it all. I think people should be given more information upfront about what the different choices really mean, maybe antenatal classes were a good idea after all!

Health visitors here tell you to 'top up with formula' if you express any doubts about your breastfeeding, perpetuating the myth that formula is somehow better, and that the mum does not have enough milk. maybe there should be more research into why people aren't choosing to breastfeed, and some proper interventions to support breastfeeding.

Ebenes, I really sympathise and obviously if you are a mum who's chosen/had to FF then you might have mixed feelings about it. However research like this is important whether you are a FF or BF mum because hopefully, by increasingly our understanding of how breast milk works, formula can be improved so that children who cannot be breast-fed get the best possible substitute. It has been known for years that "breast is best" but better understanding of why that is can only be good.

And I agree with LittleBella. If formula was as good as breast-milk then breast-feeding would probably be totally unacceptable, if not banned as child abuse.

I was bottle fed and have a PhD. I bottle fed DS (5) who is, apparently, one of the brightest children his prep school has ever known (believe me, this can be a bit of a curse...)
How you choose to feed your baby is nobody's business but your own. Whether it be breast or bottle, it is up to every mum to do what makes her and her baby happiest. That way, she will enjoy motherhood, and her baby will enjoy her. Nobody should ever be made to feel guilty for the way they feed their baby (and the midwives certainly tried with me - with DS, I was made to feel like the worst mother in the world after ten agonising, weepy days of trying to breastfeed - but by the time I had DD, I was far more confident and told them to pass me the bottle and mind their own business!)