when i had my last baby a year ago, i honestly thught formula was almost as good as breastmilk

[codhotbod]

didn't realise there was all these risks involved in giving formula, if i had i would of percivered more with the bf.

i bet theeres lots of women that think formulas almost as good.

my husband is urging me to do the same.

finallypregnant, sorry it's a bit raw for you at the moment ; I do know that feeling only too well. Is it too late for you to get some help? I assume that you are in the process of stopping or have newly stopped?

I don't usually get too involved in these Bfing threads, but I'm in the process of stopping myself; through choice mainly as I'm pregnant and have very tend boobs, plus DD has taken to biting me at every feed. It's still quite upsetting though, even though i know I've had a good run at it.

fp it really stings, i know, to be told that sort of thing, but as a public health message breast is best isn't really sufficient.

perhaps a second opinion is a good idea, doctors and midwives do spout a holy load of shite on the subject of bfing, it's really amazing and hard to believe.

www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=20
This has a list of health benefits for breast feeding.

Of course women who do not breastfeed need consideration and sensitivity - but that should not extend to silence on the risks of formula feeding. How does that help anyone else come to an informed decision?

Every 'benefit of breastfeeding' is actually a risk of formula feeding seen from the other end of the equation...so when you read 'breastfed babies have less gastroenteritis' you're really saying 'formula fed babies have more gastroenteritis'. Formula fed babies end up in hospital more often in the first year of life, and that is true after controlling for other factors. Any formula is a risk to the baby's health. Some of the risks are of minor conditions, some of the risks are for major conditions.

In my experience as a breastfeeding counsellor, almost every woman who has been told she cannot breastfeed for some underlying reason has been misled....it is rarely the case she cannot breastfeed, though she may need extra support and understanding.

Nobody answered my question.

Is there a website with these risks on? Im pregnant with ds2 and would like to read.
Thanks

i posted links to various websites. sorry if they are not the ones you want

tiktok might know of a more specific site that will give you the risks

yer a bossy mare, flub. pooka's just linked to one and there's nothing wrong with your googling fingers is there?

OMG - sorry, Iv missed the links somehow when I was reading, what a twerp.
Must be pregnancy jelly brain.
Thanks for the links!!

OMG - cot death is 3-5 times more likely??!!
I thought they didnt know what caused that.

So - if this is the case, why isnt formula milk only, for under 1's, only available on presciption or something?

Oh those are mcuh better links NDTH.

There so has to be a change in terminology I think. As Tiktok said, looking at my list of the benefits of breastfeeding, to work out risks one has to translate each benefit into a potential risk. I think though that in doing this, the risks get lost in translation. And yet again, breastfeeding is seen or portrayed as something over and above the norm; as "superfeeding" rather than what it is, just feeding.

fludub, they don't know what causes cot death, but of the babies that have died from it, there have been more FF fed babies than BF babies. Of course this has to be read with other underlying causes (like smoking, drug taking and sleeping on tummies) as well, as on it's own it's fairly meaningless.

I think it is important not to make women who can't breastfeed feel inadequate, and it has to be said that there are millions of healthy and happy people who were ff babies.
But I truly believe that if you can breastfeed than you should. It seems like women are asked what they would like to do rather than being given intelligent advice. There is such a thing as too much choice.

I breast fed first for 2 months then formula until 7 mths and then fresh milk from then on. My 2nd kid I bf for 10 mths until he stopped then fresh, with my 3rd it was bf for 2 mths I went through depression and just could not feed him so I put him on formula, after a week i tried bf again bt he wd not take to it no matter how hard I tried in the end I gave in. As he was looking real healthy I kept him on it for a whole year and he is the only one from my kids who suffered from dry skin, itching and at 14 months was hospitalised with breathing problems, I thought I was going to lose him...since then he gets colds and gets ill quite quickly and i put it down to formula milk used over long periods of time. i would not recommend it for long periods of time and now with my 4th I intend to carry on bf till 7 mths atleast and a year plus at the longest and he is only 2 months old yet.

finallypregnant - I'm the one who started the risks of formula feeding discussion on this thread (although it has been done before many times!). Obviously talking in those terms does upset people who aren't able to breastfeed as you point out. However, breastfeeding is the normal process, formula feeding is a necessary intervention when breastfeeding isn't happening for whatever reason. Taking it to an extreme no one says "walking is best but using a wheelchair is absolutely fine". The assumption is that unless there is a need, most people would rather have the use if their legs! As I said, that is an extreme example, but the breast is best message only serves to promote breastfeeding as an (unattainable) goal. Women are also made to feel awkward if, facing normal, run of the mill feeding issues they refuse to give in and give the baby a bottle. They are seen as stubborn, rather than fighting for the right to feed their baby in a normal way. Hundreds of women stop breastfeeding before they wanted to, and a large part of it will be to do with this attitude.
If you do want to breastfeed (not sure if you are pregnant at the moment or whether you are just using your pg name?), please get a second opinion - maybe name change and post on here, there are plenty of people who know what they're talking about, rather than just ranting as I do If you can't or choose not to breastfeed then formula is essential of course, no-one is denying that!

mrsr - yes, giving women the facts and allowing them to make up their minds. INstead of hiding things in the interests of not making them feel guilty and allowing their 'information' to be general vague public opinion and formula manufacturers' slogans.

desperately tried to breast feed first (now 15 months) she could not latch on and after 3 days I panicked and bought formula, felt like I had let her down so badly and it was amplified by all the snotty mums who looked down their noses at me when I produced a bottle and tub of formula. I felt like the worst mum in the world and eventually stopped going to groups until she could manage to go the full time without a feed.

My son is 9 weeks tomorrow and I didn't even try to breastfeed him, straight on the bottle.

I will let you all know if he gets scabies or an ASBO first.

The list of risks seems to be endless, they are finding more and more as research goes on. Something like 26% of type 1 diabetes in kids is caused by formula feeding. It increases allergies to pretty much everything, has a direct link to increased gp visits particularly with ear infections, is one of the world's major contributors to obesity, decreases potential IQ, increases risks of social dysfunction as teenagers.... as I said the list sems to be endless.

Only 5% (maybe less?) of healthy women cannot physically breastfeed. The rest is a choice you make.

Its incredibly important that all women are advised of the risks - how can you make a decision when you don't actually know what you are choosing?

Its terrible that there are so many of us out there who weren't given this info - you can't change the past, but you can influence the future. You're doing it now!

finallypregnant: as you don't feel like discussing the reasons why you were told you will not be able to bf on this forum, I urge you to ring one or all 4 of the breastfeeding charities if you must, in order to discuss these reasons on a one-to-one basis.

Many medical personnel, even those I used to suspect would be well informed in breastfeeding, know scarily little. I am not saying that they are wrong. I really think you will benefit from getting a second opinion and the 4 charities are very very reliable in the information they provide.

in addition, they are also able to counsel you on emotional aspects connected with feeding or not feeding and if they don't think they can address your issues to satisfaction, I trust that they will refer you to someone better suited for doing so.

good luck with your pg and your baby.

While there may not be a physiological reason not to breastfeed for the vast majority of mothers, the fact is that without adequate support post-natally many mothers find themselves unable to do so.

I think our generation is one where a vast number of us were bottlefed, and where more than ever there isn't the community and family support network that perhaps existed pre-war. By that I mean, it is no longer common for new mothers to have seen their own mothers, aunts and the wider community breastfeed. It is no longer the norm. I was breastfed, as were my brothers, but I think my mother was fairly unusual among her peers.

The support network of old needs to be replicated as far as possible in the post-natal breastfeeding support offered to new mothers.

There is little point wishing for the 'risks' of FF to be better communicated to new mothers unless the whole support system for new mums is completely changed - by which I mean better support for women across the whole post natal spectrum, from more adequate BF-ing support to better informed, better trained HVs and midwives. Otherwise, it just becomes yet another stick to beat mothers with - something else we 'aren't getting right'.

This thread is very encouraging actually.

It shows the stirling work that tiktok, hunkermunker et al have done over the last few years.