BENEFITS OF BF REDUCED BY MIX FEEDING????

[Dalrymps]

i have had problems with breastfeeding and as a result have ended up mix feeding my son, he is 18 weeks old and has been mix fed since about 3 weeks old, just wondered if the benefits of breastfeeding you hear of in the first 6 months still apply if baby is mix fed. What i'm trying to say is, will the benefits be reduced because he has not been exclusively breasfed or is it the same as long as he's had some breastmilk for 6 months?
Anyone know?

Dalrymps, any breastfeeding has a positive health impact, and any formula feeding has a negative one - the formula doesn't wipe out the health effects of bf, but it does reduce them. The best health outcomes are seen in exclusive breastfeeding to 6 mths. There is actually a 'dose response' - the more breastfeeding, the better.

oh I see, thought that might be the case, makes me quite sad that i've tried so many times and for one reason or another (pain, low supply, slow weight gain, breast refusal,etc etc) i've never managed to get to the exclusive bf point. Don't think I will now, only 7 and a half weeks left till weaning time and he now seems to prefer bottles through the day and will only bf from me for short periods during the day then he gets hungry and downs a bottle, feeds best at night and in the morning so at lesat he is getting some bm I suppose. Main thing is he's happy and putting on weight nicely at the moment so I'm not really wanting to change anything but it has made me think that if I have bf problems with the next baby i'll ask for help earlier and lots of it!

Dalrymps - you should be proud of yourself. LO will have gained so much by having some BF in his first months. Enjoy weaning! x

you have done so very well, dalrymps, and every drop counted. i only managed to mix feed until 4 and a half months, but i did my best. and so are you doing.

Realy interesting thread have you got any links TikTok ? about the dose response thing ? I tend to tell Mum's that any breast milk is a good thing but formula is not harmful (for normal term babies I mean). I wasn't aware of any research on mixed feeding.Does it make a difference when formula is introduced?

thanks you guys, makes me feel better to have your support, I am glad i've made it this far when I nearly considered giving up at 3 weeks... I'm sure he'll still be getting bm till the 6 month mark too so thats a big achievement I guess. As I say though, i'm very determined to try ex bfing the next one... when it comes along

naughtymummy, are you a MW/HV? [nosey]

No am a paediatrician, we get very little information about breast feeding. I have always been told that there is very little research (no one will fund it).I am one of the better informed of my colleagues but still feel very under-informed

Naughtymummy - that explains the crapness of the paediatrician who saw my ds when he was born - was convinced he was hypoglycemic (he wasn't) and forced me to give him formula top ups despite the fact that I had made it clear I wanted to bf, and then told my bfing MW to tell me to stop bfing and give him formula.... when my ds was only 6 hours old!
Kudos to you that you are trying to increase your knowledge - best place is here, IMO!

naughtymummy, hope I can help. The way messages get put across to people in distress is important, and I can understand why you say that formula isn't harmful, but respectfully, you can't say that 'cos it isn't true! I believe in treating mothers as adults, and just as you tell them the truth about other aspects of their baby's health, rather than sugar-coat the pill out of kindness, you can tell them the truth about risks. I am sure you'd agree with this referring to other aspects, so why be different about feeding?

Breastfeeding is the physiological norm; it doesn't have benefits, really. Formula is not the physiological norm, and of course it has risks.

Any breastfeeding is good, though.

I will start a new thread with some links in for you, as I have to 'collect' them from my folder on my computer. Watch out and I will give you a shout in the thread name.

Not sure what you mean about not much research. I have scores of papers that look at partial breastfeeding/mixed feeding.

Just wanted to say Dalrymps well done for giving it everything you have. ANY breastmilk is better than none is what I've always been told. Your son will be getting benefits from it and you should be proud that you have given him that.

Good luck on the next one

thanks suzi2, i keep swaying between wishing i'd bf him more and knowing i've done well to keep it up for this long... find it hard to stop beating myself up over it but as you say he'll have got benefits from it and thats a good thing.

naughtymummy, I have posted a thread with the links in for you - take a look

DALRYMPS - Just wanted to say well done for bf. I have flat nipples and had major probs bf too, after 3 weeks I relented and started doing both until DD was 6 months old and got a tooth She started biting me! I used to be in tears and so was she and she lost so much weight it was awful. Looking back my main regret is not giving her ff earlier as she must have been really hungry . I am due again in July and am hoping it will be easier this time as my nips are more outy now but I will not hesitate to do both again if I need to. The main thing is that baby is getting enough food IMO.

Thanks rumpel, you're right, whats most important is that lo gets enough food at the end of the day. Congratulations by the way and good luck bf this time