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Infant feeding

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

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:
misdee · 14/11/2004 16:10

i breastfed my dd1 when i was 19. i was under pressure from midwives/hv to give formula as dd1 was slow to gain weight. she still is slow to gain weight at the age of 4. i also breastfed dd2 for a while and she gained weight quicker than any baby i know.

Poo2 · 14/11/2004 16:10

Gobbledigook - glad to hear it.

blossomhill · 14/11/2004 16:12

That is just the sort of person you don't want on mumsnet IMO.

PeckaRollover · 14/11/2004 16:15

Im a young mum - tried but failed to BF my first (I was 18) breastfed succesfully my 2nd (I was 22). Alot of this I put down to me being much better informed (mostly due to this site!)

libb · 14/11/2004 16:16

Please don't make this thread contentious? Lets stick to the subject. We are talking about young mums and the choices/support made/available to them! Not examining an individual and their choices. Pretty please? this is a good honest debate, lets keep it going.

tammybear · 14/11/2004 16:17

I had dd at 18, but when I tried to breastfeed, she didn't want to. I remember freaking out in the delivery ward that I wasn't doing it right but the midwives were doing their change of night shifts so I was forgotten about with a crying hungry dd even though I kept tugging at the help button thing. I had to give her a bottle as she didn't want anything else, but I did believe breastfeeding was better for her.

misdee · 14/11/2004 16:18

my cousin who is 3 years younger than me (m,akes her 21ish?) fed her 2nd child for 6months+, that was 2yrs ago, so was 18/19, not sure how long she fed her 1st dd for.

moomina · 14/11/2004 16:19

Tammy, did oyu get any support with bfing at all, after you came out of hospital? Did any of the midwives offer you support with it, or ask you if you wanted to try again?

tammybear · 14/11/2004 16:24

Well I was in hospital for two nights. When I was still in the delivery ward, I asked the midwife to help me with breastfeeding as I wasn't sure if I was doing it right as dd didn't want it, we tried a few times, and she finally managed to latch on but didn't take a lot and stopped. She didn't want it after I was taken to the ward I was staying at for the couple of nights so I was given a bottle to give her and we said we'd try again a bit later. A midwife came after an hour and we tried again. Still didn't want it. So over the couple of days we tried doing breast feeding when bottle feeding which kind of worked. Still tried this when I got home, but she just didn't want to be breast fed so I gave up as I didn't want to starve her with trying to get her to breast feed.

Angeliz · 14/11/2004 16:25

Oh good another thread to try and make all us non breast feeders feel guilty!
Just what i needed today.
Why but WHY should it matter to anyone but us?
and Zebra, how uncalled for and childish!
My reasons are just like fairydusts. I hate my boobs being touched and the thought of it is just eagh to me!
May as well just have it, take it unstrapped for a ride and not bother with the formula at all then eh???

Infact why the fuck i bothered to stop smoking and eat right and be healthy for 9 months is beyond me when i'm gonna use formula!

Angeliz · 14/11/2004 16:29

BTW coddy, that may have been an innocent question, i just got pissed off at zebras sarcastic tone.

blossomhill · 14/11/2004 16:30

Angeliz - It's awful isn't it that someone can be so sick? Comparing mums that don't breastfeed to parents that don't use seat belts. Basically saying we don't care about our kids!!!! WTF?????

moomina · 14/11/2004 16:30

Angeliz, there is only one person on this thread who has made stupid comments, so I don't think there's any reason to get defensive. Personally, I think it's an interesting question, particularly from my pov as (hopefully) a midwife-to-be. It is very often the case that younger mums don't breastfeed and I don't think it's unreasonable to ask why that should be. Because it's very obviously NOT always a matter of personal choice.

No-one's trying make anyone feel guilty. Ignore the stupid comments.

Socci · 14/11/2004 16:30

Message withdrawn

Angeliz · 14/11/2004 16:32

Thanks you two.
Moomina, i realised my mistake as soon as i posted that's why i added that comment to coddy. It's fine to discuss it's just stupid comments about bad mothers that get my goat.
Sorry for outburst
Off to make tea.

BH, t=yes, ridiculous comparison!

Socci · 14/11/2004 16:33

Message withdrawn

spacemonkey · 14/11/2004 16:33

It's a silly question. Lots of younger mums do breastfeed. I did with both mine. I do find it hard to understand why someone wouldn't want to breastfeed though. We are animals and that is the natural thing for us to do. Support and education should be available to all about breastfeeding. Having said all that, there is an alternative available. I wasn't breastfed and I grew up with no allergies or health problems at all.

pixiefish · 14/11/2004 16:34

I do think that coddy is asking why do younger mum's on the whole not breastfeed. Think she may be asking because there could be some way of supporting them to make this choice if they wanted to do it.

As tammybear says she wasn't given enough support in the hospital- maybe older mum's will insist more, maybe it's a confidence thing in asking for more help...

Generally no one is criticising anyone's right to choose how to parent and generally no one is criticising anyone for not bfing. Please don't get upset Angeliz

moomina · 14/11/2004 16:34

No, I totally agree with you angeliz. I'd love to see zebra come back and justify herself but equally don't want to see what should be an interesting and informative thread descend into a slanging match.

I hope I would never make anyone feel guilty for bottlefeeding. I am pro-breastfeeding but I also had a pretty easy time with it and enjoyed it. I don't for a second believe that anyone who didn't make the same choice as me is a bad mother.

blossomhill · 14/11/2004 16:35

I had such an awful, traumatic time with ds that it put me off with dd. I didn't want to set myself up for failing again. Exactly how I felt when I knew (for my own health) that I had to stop with ds

zebra · 14/11/2004 16:36

Don't worry, Moomina, I'm the only one who will get slagged off.
Implying that breastmilk is equivalent to formula is equally stupid, Blossom.

pixiefish · 14/11/2004 16:37

Blossomhill- my mum had an op before she had me and was told not to bfeed. When she had my brother 18months later she didn't bfeed him because she didn't want to give him something she hadn't given me IYSWIM. I think that also is a valid reason

blossomhill · 14/11/2004 16:38

Excuse me?????? - When did I say that??????

pixiefish · 14/11/2004 16:39

My comment? I think I misread your post that you had a traumatic birth with one baby and then didn't know what to do with the second

pixiefish · 14/11/2004 16:40

or was it zebra you were talking to

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