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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

why dont younger mums breas feed

590 replies

codswallop · 14/11/2004 14:39

on the whole?
18 year ikd nighbour has just had a baby !) musch to her parents horror.. and isnt even trying to b feeed.
why is this?

OP posts:

sweetheart · 15/11/2004 15:03

I haven't read all the post's but I'm bothered by the title of this thread.

I'm a younger mum and I DID breastfeed - and I know several other younger mums who did / are breastfeeding.

I also know several older mums who won'tdon'tdidn't breastfeed.

I hate the sterotypical brackets that are put around mothers just because they are under 20/25 whatever!!!!

sweetheart · 15/11/2004 15:03

I haven't read all the post's but I'm bothered by the title of this thread.

I'm a younger mum and I DID breastfeed - and I know several other younger mums who did / are breastfeeding.

I also know several older mums who won'tdon'tdidn't breastfeed.

I hate the sterotypical brackets that are put around mothers just because they are under 20/25 whatever!!!!

nailpolish · 15/11/2004 15:17

buka dont start on that one. why are you being so nasty?

sweetheart · 15/11/2004 15:20

whoops,

sorry - don't know what happened there!!!!

motherinferior · 15/11/2004 15:24

It's the stats, sweetheart. Look at Mears' link, which said: 'More than three-quarters of mothers aged 30 or over breastfeed their babies compared with less than half of mothers aged 20 or under'. Obviously, statistically, this means that up to half of mothers aged 20 or under do continue to breastfeed; but they are not doing this in the same numbers as older mothers. That's what the original question addressed: why does this happen?

crunchie · 15/11/2004 15:26

sweetheart, noonne is trying to critise you or anything so please don't get offended by the thread title. It was an honest question as to why don't younger mums tend to breast feed. Unfortuneatly the statistics speak for themselves in that babies born to mums under 20 statistically were less likely to breast feed. It is not saying that all younger mums bottle feed, but look at this link here satistics Please don't take any critism from this as everyone feels whatever the age of the mother and the feeding choice there should be more information to hand and more support to new mothers full stop.

crunchie · 15/11/2004 15:28

snap MI

Gobbledigook · 15/11/2004 15:28

Buka - is there not? So what was Andrew Wakefield's paper all about then and why is it that so many people think the 2 are linked and therefore decide against MMR for their children? Don't want to start an argument about MMR but I'm just saying, even if there is so called 'evidence' that x,y and z can happen to a bottle fed baby, one who is given the MMR injection or whatever, doesn't mean you have to be convinced by it!!

I'm saying, I am not convinced that bottle feeding does my children any harm otherwise I wouldn't bloody do it!!! Others are so they breastfeed.

I'm not convinced MMR causes autism so I give the MMR to my children. Others are so they avoid it - good on them, it's their choice.

I'm not convinced that going back to work full time when your child is still a baby is good for them so I didn't do it. Other people don't think it is of any detriment so they do - fine, their choice!

tiktok · 15/11/2004 15:30

Good question, NQC!

It really shows that (as I said down the thread) that health considerations may be only a part of people's feeding choices and not the whole thing.

moderatorlou33 · 15/11/2004 15:37

buka welcome to mn, we hope you find it a helpful and supportive place, however it may be worth having a look at our mn philospohy here ,in case you are unaware of what mn is all about. best wishes

Gobbledigook · 15/11/2004 15:39

Absolutely PMSL!!!!!

buka · 15/11/2004 15:40

No Gobbledigook,the findings of Andrew Wakefield have been discredited. Much too long and dull to go into here, but again, all info is available if you do your research.
On the other hands there is conclusive evidence lnking bottlefeeding to the things referred to earlier. In other words, it is not a hairy armpitted earth mother's OPINION that bottle feeding is not the best choice for your baby, it is a FACT.
BTW I work with Autistic people so could bang on for ever about possible link with MMR but that, as they say is a whole different story.

PS And hello to any hairy armpitted earth mothers out there!

sweetheart · 15/11/2004 15:40

Like I said - I didn't read all the thread, just don't like the "young mum" tag - it seems to equal irresponsible in some ways.

Thanks for the positive responses MI and crunchie - I'll get off my high horse now!!!

aloha · 15/11/2004 15:43

NotQuiteCockney, well, if I had HIV I wouldn't breastfeed - ie if I saw evidence that it was harmful. I do think breastfeeding it is a question of confidence and I think for most women, confidence (esp in your body) grows as you get older. It certainly has for me and most people I know. I don't mean confidence in a 'I look great in a bikini' way (atm at 7+months pg I think I look more like Little Britain's Bubbles De Vere, actually), but in a 'I don't really care what you think of my body' way. I'm less shy and less influenced by authority figures such as bottle-mad, weight-obsessed HVs (as so many of them are younger than me!).
But even so, I found the pressure to bottlefeed my son in hospital absolutely overwhelming and impossible to fight against, so I can totally understand how hard it is for women to ignore that pressure - I was lucky and determined to breastfeed so went on to do so, but could so easily have been put off.
It's very hard to discuss this without people thinking you are snobbish or patronising, but the studies do show that older mothers are statistically more likely to be educated, confident etc (which is NOT to say that younger mothers can't be those things too, or more so) and that this has an influence on decisions taken around breastfeeding in general. Of course different people have different reasons for choosing bottle feeding, including very good medical reasons, shyness, lack of confidence etc. Also, after the initial trauma of fighting off midwives who kept telling me I was 'starving' my baby, I did find breastfeeding easy and painless, and never got mastitis or thrush, so feel very lucky. Who knows what I would have done had it been horrible. Also, ds gave me agonies of sleep deprivation and I was quite glad that he would take a bottle of formula so that dh could take over during some of the appalling, exhausting, prolonged night wakings. I do know however that my milk is better for babies' health than formula milk so I will breastfeed number two (unless there are complications such as hideous infections/hospital admissions etc) for that reason, but I can't promise to do so exclusively. I think that depends on how much sleep she will permit me.

donnie · 15/11/2004 15:44

mums can only do what they can.I BFd for 5 months and to be honest I was relieved to stop. I had mastitis twice as well as other boob problems so thank God for formula I say.An earlier poster said isn't it a hassle all that sterilising, boiling, washing etc ? well, yes, but it's better than feeeling like total shit, then being put on antibiotics which give you insomnia, an upset stomach and other symptoms actually - which would you prefer?? Friends of mine have had huge problems BFing and my mother couldn't BF at all.I also have friends who have BFd for up to 12 months.As far as I am concened women should never be criticised for either BFing or formula feeding.And as for this Buka poster - what is going on there? where did this MMR/autism comment spring from?

Angeliz · 15/11/2004 15:45

Lou, lost cause springs to mind..........

Original poster

codswallop · 15/11/2004 15:45

I think slef confidence has a lot to do wiht it too aloha when you are younger

OP posts:

aloha · 15/11/2004 15:48

BTW I never found breastfeeding particularly ecstatic or anything - I don't think you have to love it to do it.

Gobbledigook · 15/11/2004 15:55

Buka - I know it's been discredited!

What I'm saying is, although there's absolutely masses of evidence to prove that there is NO LINK lots of people remain unconvinced and choose not to have MMR.

So, faced with all the evidence, people are still not necessarily going to make the same choices and that is fine!!!

I don't care what evidence you care to throw at me about the risks of bottle feeding - I've done it for 3 children and I was bottle fed myself and my personal experience has lead me to believe that I have not put my children at any risk whatsoever as neither they or I have suffered any detriment, neither has my mother (while friends children who HAVE been breastfed suffer terribly from allergies so I just don't buy the protection argument).

Just as, despite a wealth of evidence that there is no link between MMR and autism, those people whose experience unfortunately convinces them otherwise are not going to buy it!! And who am I to argue?

JoolsToo · 15/11/2004 15:57

well I can now add hysterical and aggressive to my list of many talents

Buka? your quote "(Interesting how there seemed to be a hardcore of hysterical aggressive people who felt the need to remind themselves and everyone else over and over and over that they bottlefeed/bottlefed and didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse about it.
If they were/are so sure, why the need for constant reiteration? Just a thought......)

and the reason you keep coming back to post is?
just a thought

nailpolish · 15/11/2004 15:59

gdg, i dont think she is listening to what anyone else has to say. she is obviously looking for a rise. please dont let her get to you

Gobbledigook · 15/11/2004 16:00

There's also conclusive evidence that antibiotics CAN cause liver failure but your chances of reacting in that way are quite slim, therefore the majority of parents are happy for their children to be treated with them because the benefits to them outweight the risks.

Gobbledigook · 15/11/2004 16:02

Hi Nailpolish - she's not getting to me because I don't feel in anyway guilty about my choices but she's annoying me cos she's not getting the point!!

Not that bright after all then

buka · 15/11/2004 16:02

On the contrary.
I am very intersted in what each and every one of you has to say.

nailpolish · 15/11/2004 16:03

no i think shes not too bright too.......

or maybe she feels guilty about other things in her life and needs to hurt people to make herself feel better. isnt that what bullies do?

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