Just when thought we found a breastfeeding star.

[kkdmom]

ho-hum.

I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting the down sides to BF, I know when I was pregnant with my first, I wanted all of the info about BF vs. FF - good and bad, for me and DS1.

NJ - I agree with you, but I do wish she hadn't said "I breastfed for six months. That is the national guidelines". The WHO guidelines recommend for at least 2 years.
I don't think she is wrong to stop at 6mo, obviously it was right for her, and I think she has done brilliantly, but that statement to me could imply that the benefits of bfing stop at 6mo, which they don't.

I think she is still a great role model

I honestly think the big battle is to get people to bf to 6 months. But especially younger mothers. Statistically, she has done really well by bfding a baby for 6 months at the age of 21/22. She has been an excellent role model for that age group where bfding rates are very low.

Yes we could use people publically bfding longer, and saying how great it was but...6 months is great really. Anyone who gets that far should be very proud of themselves.

There's no pleasing some folk...

I was a bit at the national guidelines bit

but good on her for feeding for 6 months and encouraging others to do the same (they just don't have to stop )

i agree she is still a great role model. mentioning national guidelines makes it sounds like she feels like she had to justify stopping, which she doesn't.

the other thing is mentioning 'leaking all over the place' the tone of that is wrong plus while a few women will leak well past the early weeks, it is more common that you have stopped by then. It makes it sound to young people with no exposure to bfing (the majority0 that as long as you are bfing you will leak like a dodgy tap till you stop.

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sorry christiana, but that's just not true, Bfing has benefits way past 6 months and why switch to formula? Not as beneficial, bf changes as yje child gets older to meet their needs. The WHO recommendations are for all countries, it's just in formula companies' interests to suggest they don't apply here. Which is wrong.

for example:
'the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) joins other organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in recommending breastfeeding as the best for babies. Specifically, the AAP says babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months and that breastfeeding should continue until 12 months (and beyond) if both the mother and baby are willing.'

the sad thing is - lots of people struggle through to 6 months and then give up - when I found it was so much easier after 6 months - and really a lot less faff than bottle feeding (I have had to do both).

I guess the health benefits for the baby is extra immunity and easily digestible milk that is tailored to their changing needs. There are also health benefits for the mum.

But good on Charlotte - given she is now pregnant again she may well have not got much further than 6 months anyway - even if she intended to - not all of us cope with breast feeding while pregnant.

another point is that bfing past 6 months is really easy, compared to feeding a younger child. It gets much, much simpler as they can position themselves and all the rest of it. I'm still feeding my DS at 20 mo - we feed once a day, in the evening, it takes all of about 10 mins and has no negative impact on my life whatsoever. Older children often won't feed as much, they can miss feeds without problems and you don;t have to worry about your supply.

x-posts throckenholt

am pg again btw and if DS self weans then I am fine with that. I am very happy we've got this far, though.

I say good on her, I agree that getting people to breastfeed to 6 months is better than nothing, and if they are BFing they are more likely to come across the WHO guidelines

exactly, and once you start you often find it easier to carry on than stop

EffiePerine - I fed for the first 12 weeks of my second pregnancy - it was uncomfortable but we were down to two feeds per day by then anyway. I stopped when I found out at 12 weeks that number 2 was actually 2&3 and I decided I couldn't cope with nourishing all 4 of us ! DS luckily didn't protest at all so stopping was easy.

am actually thinking vaguely about stopping because it is still quite painful (am about 14 weeks) but will carry on for a bit and see

agree that feeding twins and a toddler would be challenging

what bothers me too, and this is the second time i have seen it, quoted by people in the public eye or journo types that the national guidelines is to breastfeed for 6months.

sorry that isn't so.

the national guidelines is to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months then to continue, adding complementary foods for (at least?) 12 months.

little misinterpretations like this is how myths and confusion get started.

"what extra health benefits happen between 6 months and 24 months for those that live in the first world and who will be fed with good formula after six months and a varied diet? "

Listening to the news this morning. If rates of overweight continue to rise at the same rate, by 2020 HALF of all school children will be obese.

Long term bf helps reduce likelyhood of childhood obesity. And that's just one really major benefit I can think of. There are others.

It's also a quality of life issue. All children deserve to be fed fresh food. Including babies.

Re: the leaking thing. I suspect CC still leaks because she doesn't feed on demand, like lots of UK mums. Bet she does lots of expressing, mixed feeds and regularly spend 5 or 6 hours away from her baby. None of these things help your milk supply regulate and settle down.

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Yes, well, at least in this country we have the option of safe formula. The difference between Africa and here, Christiana, is that if we don't choose bf it isn't a matter of life and death.

And - as i said on the other thread - it would have been much better if Charl had just kept her flippin trap shut! Way to go, to normalise bf-ing past 6 months - surely I can't be the only one who thinks she's done more harm than good here?

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Sabire I have to disagree with you I fed on demand up until 6mth and must have spent the national debt on breast pads my boobs leaked all the time.

I do say good on on her I bet if you found a statistic on how many 21yr olds breast fed you would find it a very small number.

Yes she should have got her facts straight but hey we arent all perfect, she may have been getting her information from her advisors.

Well - I do think she's done well in many ways ... but then she did have a crack team of independent midwives supporting her through the birth and postnatally, so if she can't do it with that sort of top end support then ......

Why are we knocking her cant we just say god on you, and having a crack team at your disposal doesnt mean that its going to be easier to breast feed.

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