Were you formula fed as a baby?

[Janni]

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.

I was bf for 3-4 weeks then formula. No health problems but am overweight. My 2 siblings were both ff from birth, both have health problems. All 3 of us did well academically though none of us a genius.

My own children have all been bf (between 8-18 months) and we have a range of health already. The one I bf longest had horrendous eczema and chest infections for the first 2 years. Still has allergies and a tendency to wheeze when she has a cold. They all seem pretty smart so far

"but the evidence you can see around you if you care to look shows that formula fed babies do just fine"

Yes - the evidence is also all around us that the vast majority of babies born to smokers are also 'fine', as are the vast majority of children fed on diets which are too high in refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and are lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Where does this lead us?

Also - the medical literature indicates that a small minority of children are damaged by not being breastfed, that some children who develop diabetes, severe respitory illness or who are hospitalised with gastric illness, would not have become ill if they'd been breastfed. That's what the medical literature says and that's why the NHS promotes breastfeeding. Just because these children aren't visible (andat an individual level because their illness can't be firmly pinned to their method of feeding) doesn't mean they don't exist or they don't count.

I too am grateful that babies who can't be breastfed have an alternative on which the vast majority will thrive, but then I'd be grateful for permanent diet of chicken nuggets, fruit shoots and chips for my older children if the alternative was starvation.

I was fed on diluted carnation milk!

I used to barf a LOT apparently

And a quick question to those of you who mention how intelligent you and your children are.... are are not.....

Just wondering why do you mention it? What do you understand about the relevance of how you were fed as a baby to the issue of how intelligent you are as an adult?

yes potpourri - a one-trick-pony if ever i saw one.

OP mentions intelligence.

Good point, kiski - I am sick of the issue being interpreted solely in terms of 'I got a degree and I was ff so it can't make any difference'.

PotPourri - read the thread, why doncha?...no judgementalism here as far as I can see.

And for goodness sake, the idea that formula is the only thing available in history apart from wet nurses, solid foods or starving should be knocked on the head.

There have always been alternatives to breastfeeding - in history and still in places throughout the world, mothers and carers have used animal milks for non-breastfed infants. Formula - meaning dried and processed skimmed cows milk sold in packages - is very new. It's not that different from the milk mothers used to feed their non-breastfed babies in the UK before - they would dilute, boil and sweeten ordinary cows milk. Done hygienically, and with fresh milk, there's really not a lot of difference between that and the commercial formulas available today.

But manufacturers have done a marketing job on them and convinced us that formulas are life savers.

I was formula fed as had an allergy to mum's milk!! And am now at Cambridge. Did go through 20 years of serious allergies (i.e. anaphylactic shock ones), but was allergic to breast milk so can hardly blame it on the formula. Dd was breast fed and is apparently exactly the same as I was intelligence, health and everything wise.

Potpourri: "There's a shock - the usual suspect on the 'but i'm using stats and so not being insulting or unreasonable' rampage again."

Are you referring to Sabire? At least have the courtesy to identify who you are referring to.

I can and appreciate that others might take away something from the anecdotal nature of this thread. I don't have a problem with that.

But it does not detract from the fact that Sabire, Kiski, Tiktok and ReverseThePolarity are making very valid and non-emotional points.

Anecdotes like these are lovely. Interesting to read, make you smile. There are lots of anecdotes on this thread. If we could get, say, several hundred - no let's say thousands more anecdotes like these, and look at the specifics, say intelligence, or allergies and how they correlate with bf / ff. Then sort of eliminate for other confounding factors like diet, socioeconomic status and so on, then we'd actually be able to measure the real impact, and see if ff truly did make a difference.

Wow, that'd be good!

CountessDracula....many, many babies were fed on Carnation and other evaporated milks. The fact evaporated milk came in cans was useful, as it meant non-breastfed babies were not dependent on the milk being fresh (in the days before fridges).

Mothers would dilute it and boil it, and add sugar.

It would be very close, in content, to today's formulas.

I was FF ( as I think were many in the 60's)

I have to conceed it has not disadvantaged me in the slightest.

Oh hang on....

I was excl ff and so was my sister. (don't know whether there was Carnation in there or when I was weaned - I should ask my mum really)

I have quite bad eczema/hayfever - don't seem to have asthma. Dsis gets hayfever but her skin is brilliant

My mum had little choice and bf was never even suggested to her. There was no support available and we were both taken away to the nursery immediately after being born, and bottlefed by midwives while mum was still in hospital (I gather this was common practice in the 70s)

I do feel disadvantaged but only because it would have helped me if my mum had experience of bf. As it was, she did not understand - not her fault - and was not able to to support me through the difficulties I had.

She also did not understand why I was bothering, since it was so hard - she repeatedly asked me why I didn't just give up Again not really her fault.

Has someone already thought of that...?

D'oh. Silly me.

at vlc

Why does it say today that it shouldn't be used for babies on the tin?

I have acknowledged that there is scientific evidence that bf is better. And myself and my siblings have all acted on that. However comparing smoking while pregnant to formula feeding is not what I would call non-emotional.

And I agree that several people on this thread have made really useful points - especially tiktok who I find is always very grounded on the topic.

kat - how do you know?

A few extra points might have helped you with your spelling of 'concede', you never can tell.

vlc
wouldn't we have to do that, oh I don't know, thousands and thousands of times over many many years to get an accurate result?
what a palaver that would be.
let's just sample 100 people on the interweb, much easier

Very interesting point about alternatives to bm tiktok. You are so right about formula manufacturers - they have us convinced that formula is some kind of miracle of science.

I was ff and a very very bright child I don't mind at all that I was ff ....... but i still bf ds for 2 years

I know someone who was ff and went to Cambridge. Her brother was ff and went to Oxford.

Both dozy buggers, tho'. They could have used those extra 6 points, I'm tellin you.