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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Were you formula fed as a baby?

500 replies

Janni · 01/04/2008 21:55

Do you believe you would be healthier or more intelligent had you been breastfed?

Do you believe you were disadvantaged in any other way by being formula fed?

I was not breastfed.

I breastfed my own children for 20 months.

I realise though that I do not feel in any way disadvantaged for not having been breastfed myself.

I just wondered how others felt.

OP posts:
Jacanne · 01/04/2008 23:08

I wasn't BF but have BF both of my children. I have a weight problem and am hoping that is something my children will never experience - that alone sold me on BF.

I don't feel disadvantaged though, I don't believe I have a weight problem because I as FF but I guess I might not have if I was BF - does that make sense.

Who knows - what I do know is that my Mum didn't have the evidence available to her then that BF is the best way to feed her children - I do now, therefore that is what I have done.

Jacanne · 01/04/2008 23:09

Wanted to add that I am incredibly close to my Mum and in turn she is to her Granddaughters.

bluenosesaint · 01/04/2008 23:14

I was ff as a child, as was my sister.
I was a very healthy child and am a healthy adult.
I am reasonably intelligent ('A' level standard) although i'm not about to set the academic world alight.
I do have a weight problem. Although lots of my family (whether ff or bf have weight issues, so it could well be a genetic factor).

I don't feel let down at all by my mum - she did the very best that she could for me and is a fabulous mum!

I bf both my older daughters but didn't make it past the colostrum stage with either of them. A fact that makes me very sad
I am currently bf-ing my youngest dd who is now 8.5 months old. A fact that makes me very proud
My mum is amazingly supportive of my breasfeeding my daughter and her support has meant the world to me

edam · 01/04/2008 23:16

I was bottle fed - mother forced into it. Gave birth in hospital and the midwives came round and jabbed everyone to dry up their milk. She had a homebirth with my sister and b/f her.

The only health problems I've ever had are nothing to do with b/f or f/f, though. So far.

BigBadMouse · 01/04/2008 23:22

I was FF from birth - don't think I have been disadvantaged as a result but that doesn't stop me BF my children for as long as I can.

That said, I have had a ridiculously cold relationship with my mother from birth (from what I am told). I bonded with my sister instead (10 years older than me) and funnily enough she was the one who did a lot of the bottle feeds and got up for me in the night .

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 01/04/2008 23:28

I was adopted as a baby so was given formula from birth. I have a huge IQ, no allergies and I'm rarely ill. I was however, an enormously fat baby and have to do far more exercise than most to stay fit. The fat may have been caused by a 'food' powder that was added to baby milk to help sleep through etc. It was called 'Sister ???' and was widely used in the 60s.

I b/f all my own DCs for about 1 year. DD1 has anaphalytic-level allergies. They all seem to be average or above intelligence. None of them have ever gone above the average weight centile line.

Flum · 01/04/2008 23:29

Clearly Cod was. What else could explain the dreadfl typing.

mrsbabookaloo · 01/04/2008 23:33

I'd like to say that although there are so many bf/ff threads I've never seen one like this before and I think it's really important.

I was heartbroken when I had to start supplementing my 7 week old dd with formula due to poor weight gain; I thought I was...almost poisoning her...and definitely ruining her chances of being the child I thought she was going to be. This was nonsense of course, but my mother bf'ed me and my three siblings for a year each and it had never crossed my mind that my baby wouldn't be fully bf.

One thing that made me start feeling better was when my friends talked about how they had been ff (it's not sthg that usually comes up in conversation, even with friends you've known forever)and I realised that if these normal, intelligent women I knew were ff, it couldn't be that bad.

Yes, I was stupidly prejudiced, and I think the proof that ff isn't all that bad can only be seen in the adults today that were ff and are healthy and fully-functioning!

obviously, I'm not saying bf isn't preferable, I still think it is, but this question can give us some perspective.

Sorry, rant over!

DaDaDa · 01/04/2008 23:37

I was breastfed with a top up of Carnation milk for the late feed. Since I became a Dad and learned more about the benefits of breastfeeding I have wondered whether it might have affected my digestive system a little, as it is... erm... mercurial. Could just be the wine though.

Intelligence wise, I am resolutely middle-brow. I've done OK with it so far.

KristinaM · 01/04/2008 23:40

I was FF from birth

i have hay fever, asthma and exzema.

the asthma has often been quite serious

i know i would have had less chance of developing these if i was bf

how could i possibly know if i could have been more intellligent?

VeniVidiVickiQV · 01/04/2008 23:40

I was b/fed. My younger two brothers were too. The youngest until he was 15 months old VERY unusual in the early 80's.

My older brother was FF. He had asthma as a baby, and various other minor health problems including being excessively overweight as a toddler(through overfeeding from our mother ). He's now the opposite as an adult. I've no idea if it's connected to the formula milk he was given. I wouldnt like to speculate.

I think a large proportion of any health issues in our family are more likely to be as a result of my parents smoking through pg and continued to do so right through childhood. Although I wouldnt like to speculate

princessmama · 02/04/2008 08:02

I was bottle fed and am very healthy. I also have an Oxford degree. I was weaned early and so far have no problems from that. However I have no common sense, so maybe bf could have helped there .

However I do not just rely on anecdotal evidence to make my own choices, which is why both of my children have been/are breastfed.

pelafina · 02/04/2008 08:07

Message withdrawn

pooka · 02/04/2008 08:12

My brothers and I were all breastfed until 9 months, then onto cow's milk. We were given solids earlier than recommended these days though.
None of us has any allergies/asthma or anything. But then nor does my mother, or her mother. They were both breastfed too.
The only difference I think it has made in terms of my feeding choice is that the possibility of formula feeding didn't really enter my consciousness - in my family breastfeeding is very much the norm.

fishie · 02/04/2008 08:22

my brother and i were bf for about 6 months, my sister 2 or so.

she is much fatter than me and has skin allergies, but doesn't exercise much. brother is v skinny but mainly lives on cabbage soup so hard to compare.

we are all probably the same intelligence wise (i might be a bit thicker).

chonky · 02/04/2008 08:25

Interesting thread.

I was FF - no childhood ilnesses, no allergies.

Younger DB BF - has eczema and allergies.

I clearly like to believe that I have a strong intellect , so I genuinely don't feel hard done by by not having been BF.

sarah293 · 02/04/2008 08:38

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sarah293 · 02/04/2008 08:39

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blueshoes · 02/04/2008 08:45

Hi Janni, I was bottlefed. My mother was wrongly informed by medical staff that she could not breastfeed with inverted nipples and never tried. The culture then was overwhelmingly bottles and formula.

I am not sure how I could possibly answer your question as to whether I would have been healthier (very healthy with no allergies, diabetes, obesity - I have borderline high blood pressure, likely hereditary) or more intelligent or whether I was disadvantaged in any way.

The studies about the deleterious effects of formula do not state that 100% of ff babies would be affected. Save that there is a higher risk.

StealthPolarBear · 02/04/2008 08:48

I was mix fed for about 6 weeks then formula fed.
I have no health problems but am overweight and have been all my adult life.
I think this thread shows that the majority of babies - breast or bottle fed - will be healthy. That isn't particularly controversial

blueshoes · 02/04/2008 08:48

I would no more attribute my dcs slim build to my having bf-ed them for an extended period of time any more than I would attribute my high-ish blood pressure to having been ff-ed.

So many factors enter the equation that outside of a proper study, it is really pointless.

cazboldy · 02/04/2008 09:00

My Mum FF myself and my sister. My brother was a hb and Mum wanted to bf him, but got no help and couldn't do it

That said she then convinced herself that bf was rubbish anyway so when I was pg with my ds1 she pushed very strongly for me to FF him. (I was 15) when he was born he wouldn't latch properly - he kept poking out his tongue - so i stayed in hosp overnight so I could have help to get the hang of it, as I knew she wouldn't/couldn't help me She then made it almost impossible for me to feed him, trying to stop me demand feeding him ( I lose count of the number of times I took him out for a walk to feed him, or sat on the toilet ) I went back to school when he was 10 weeks old and I expressed for about 4 weeks, but he soon got so he needed 2 full bottles while I was gone, and I just couldn't keep up, plus it wasn't much fun being on the bus home with terribly engorged, leaky boobs
When we had to put him onto bottles I was heartbroken.

With my 4 other children I have fed them for 13 months, 15 months, 14 months and am still bf at bedtime my nearly 1 year old baby. Much to my Mums distaste!

Interestingly my sister didn't even try to bf.

bandgeek · 02/04/2008 09:08

I was bottle fed as mum was unable to produce enough milk for me. She later haemmoraged twice due to part of the placenta being left so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I don't feel disadvantaged due to it.

I've had two dc myself, ds was ff and dd was bf. My dd seems to get less coughs and colds than ds, however that could all change the older they get.

bandgeek · 02/04/2008 09:08

I was bottle fed as mum was unable to produce enough milk for me. She later haemmoraged twice due to part of the placenta being left so maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I don't feel disadvantaged due to it.

I've had two dc myself, ds was ff and dd was bf. My dd seems to get less coughs and colds than ds, however that could all change the older they get.

bandgeek · 02/04/2008 09:09

Oops, DD hit a button as I was posting that there..