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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Breastfeeding myths-BUSTED

100 replies

EdieMcredie · 19/01/2008 17:41

Im so sick of hearing rubbish about breastfeeding-one of my friends simply didn't breastfeed because she was told some complete rubbish by a HV that put her off-how terrible.

What have you heard/been told about breastfeeding that you later found out was incorrect?

OP posts:
thefabfour · 19/01/2008 19:03

One of my HV told me with DD (DC2) that it was impossible to b/f a baby when you had more than one baby because of the increased demands on a mothers time.!! (Am currently b/f my 8 mo old baby - DC4)

Was also told by a mw with DC3 that lots of women stop producing sufficent milk to feed their babies because they don't eat enough?!

phdlifeneedsanewlife · 19/01/2008 19:08

Oh, all the "they MUST feed for more than 5 minutes at a time, he's only getting foremilk" bollocks.

And all the "if they feed more than 5 times a day" / "if they weigh more than X" - they are hungry cods.

And fwiw, I never heard it was going to be difficult to bf after a section until much later, but I certainly didn't find it so.

HaventSleptForAYear · 19/01/2008 20:15

Impossible to bf twins - am a bit sad because a friend just had twins and didn't really try (though claimed she reallly wanted to). Think the hospital just assumed it would be too much work - they let her out of hospital before either baby had latched on - surely that's a bit negligent???
Not saying I expected her to bf excL but think mixed feeding for a few weeks at least could have been feasible.

MarsLady · 19/01/2008 20:23

That I'd never have enough milk for twins. Told her not to visit again!

sherby · 19/01/2008 20:26

That if your mum didn't have enough milk you wont either

BroccoliSpears · 19/01/2008 20:28

That eating curry would make my milk spicy and the baby wouldn't like it.

(Would eating crisps make my milk crunchy?)

HaventSleptForAYear · 19/01/2008 20:33

broccoli ! Yes have had all that rubbish too and people watching every morsel I eat. Nobody asks what that cow has been eating?!

mawbroon · 19/01/2008 20:35

I was told in hospital on day 1 that ds had to feed "for at least 40 mins to reach the hindmilk".

Except it was day 1 therefore only colostrum

And, I have since seen it said many times on MN that anyone who says you must feed for X length of time is showing off their lack of breastfeeding knowledge.

ib · 19/01/2008 20:39

That ds wasn't gaining weight because my milk was too cold.

I kid you not.

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 19/01/2008 20:41

That b/f babies take much longer to sleep through the night (happily, not in this house).

And also... that b/f will help you lose the weight (sadly, not in this house)!

BroccoliSpears · 19/01/2008 22:28

Mawbroon, you've reminded me!

There I was, in hospital, feeling okay and desperate to get home with my gorgeous new little baby. They said I wasn't allowed to go home until I had established breastfeeding, and that it wasn't established until she'd fed for 40 minutes from a side. This was 12 hours after giving birth!

I kept asking if I could go home, and they'd ask me how long I'd fed for. I'd stretch the truth to about 10 minutes (2 minutes more like) and they'd say no, I could go home when it was 40!!!

I ended up lying through my teeth and left the hospital convinced that I was a complete failure at BF my child.

I was so weepy and upset then, but my god I'm angry thinking about it now .

No support, no one ever saw me feeding her, they just wanted to tick the 40 minute box on their form or something.

Bloody hell.

Original poster
EdieMcredie · 19/01/2008 22:48

Broc-PMSL about the crunchy milk!

However, most of this is not funny

Especially when most of the incorrect information comes from so called professionals. And when this information puts people of breastfeeding

Broc-No wonder you are angry-40 minutes from each side!! How awful you were told that.

OP posts:
varicoseveined · 19/01/2008 23:00

My cousin and aunt said I risked dehydrating DD if I didn't give her water. This was when she was newborn! Many older female relatives were shocked that I didn't plan to give DD water until she started solids.

My mum told me that none of us accepted the breast, so therefore I would fail at breastfeeding.

mybabysinthegarden · 19/01/2008 23:05

duchessofnorks,

  1. snap
  2. snap
Original poster
EdieMcredie · 20/01/2008 10:14

I always thought that you had to eat quite a bit to maintain a good supply and I remember a thread on here some time back when a woman was eating loads and loads throughout day as she thought her milk would dry up if she didn't.

OP posts:
juuule · 20/01/2008 10:48

In the early weeks if breastfeeding hurts then you must be doing it wrong.

You would lose weight easily if you breastfed.

Breastfed babies are more clingy.

ReverseThePolarity · 20/01/2008 10:49

Have a look at some of these I compiled!

There are others too... some of my favourites are:

You must eat a balanced and varied diet or your lo won't get enough nutrients
That you must drink lots of water in order to maintain supply
The old "pump & dump" if you have a drinkie
Once your lo is six months / a year (delete as appropriate) your milk has no nutritional value

The mind boggles.

juuule · 20/01/2008 10:49

Breastfeeding will lead to osteoporosis later in life.

Your dh will get fed up of you and resent the attention you give the baby.

StealthPolarBear · 20/01/2008 10:52

Not really bad advice but I'm sick of being asked when I plan to stop
DS is not even 9 months
Maybe I should say 31st February 2008 19:32

pukkapatch · 20/01/2008 11:04

er, excuse me, but some of these are not myths at all.
breastfeeding DOES help you lose weight. it was the only reason i lost all of my pregnancy weiht by the time dc2 was 11 weeks old, and a further stone during the rest of the time i breastfed. however it didnt happen with dc3, because i was eating too much crap, not because it is a myth.

drinking lots of water does help milk to flow and prvents you from gettin gdehydrated etc. but normally we should be drinking lots of water, so shouldnt need to up the intake by more than a glass at most a day whilst breastfeeding.

lol at the curry and crisp one. when ds had jaundice, someone told me not to eat anything at all with turmeric in it.

VictorianSqualor · 20/01/2008 11:06

Oh gosh yes, it certainly does, anything that takes 500 calories a day to do is going to make you lose weight, if you're eating a normal, sensible diet.

VictorianSqualor · 20/01/2008 11:08

I think the one thing I've seen on MN that has to be cleared up to bfing mothers the most is this huge difference between foremilk and hindmilk, it's not different types of milk!

3andnomore · 20/01/2008 11:15

the weight one can be a myth though...with ys I was not able to loose any weight, despite eating a healthy diet, etc....I lost the weight fine AFTER we had stopped bf

phdlifeneedsanewlife · 20/01/2008 11:16

at BroccoliSpears's hospital, ffs!!!

I got some of the same thing from a MW at the MLU when I went back for help, but at least I'd escaped by then!

my mum keeps asking what I'm eating that's giving my (teething) ds the runs...

3andnomore · 20/01/2008 11:16

foremilk and hindmilk isn't different milk, but it is different concentration, isn't it...foremilk having a higher lactose content and being lower calorifically...or is that wrong then?

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