So, I had a disagreement with a very intelligent, well educated (childless) friend who claims that there are 'schools of thought' as to which is healthier - breast or formula feeding

[bangandthedirtisgone]

She doesn't have children, so I suppose she wouldn't necessarily have researched it. She's Cambridge educated to masters level and works in the City.

Can't remember why but we were talking about breastfeeding and I said breastmilk far healthier than formula. According to her that's not the case, there are 'schools of thought' as to whichever is the healthier, and that there is no definitive answer.

This really shocked me, I mean, fine not to have an opinion, but to have that one!

Explain that there aren't 'schools of thought', any more than there are about whether smoking is healthy.

I'd bet she was bottle-fed, or a dear friend bottlefed her kids, and she's defensive about that.

If you feel you need to sort this out, then send her some links from Kellymom or similar.

she is simply passing her (wrong) opinion BUT plenty of educated and clever women do not really understand how breast and formula differ . i certainly did not look into it, i presumed formula was as good as breast milk. HCPs can often pervade this and packaging etc does so too

'closer to brestmilk' 'closest to breastmilk' etc

intimating it is really not so different

schools of thought might be the opinions of her other friends

Sorry, to clarify, she was talking about schools of thought amongst health professionals.

Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion but this is not worth arguing with her about. She's paying devil's advocate with limited knowledge.

HCPS are not neccesarily well informed either

THat's true lulu, I guess she was right on that score, although that's not how she meant it. She was referring to medical research rather than individual opinion.

Agree with duchesse. When she is pregnant she will research it herself and will be embrassed if she remembers the conversation she had with you.

She sounds arrogant I have come across many "educated" people who will argue the toss on anything because their aim is to win the argument whether they are right or wrong.

Ditto what the others are saying.

I'm only joining this thread to say in a totally O/T way:

bangandthedirtisgone - totally LMAO at your fabulous name! I can hear it in my head!

Ha ha ha! Rubbish! If there was any debate then they wouldn't be forced to say in formula adverts that breast milk is the best for babies. How can formula be better? It's based on the milk of another animal! Obviously for some babies who cannot tolerate breast milk for some reason, special formula is better, but all things being equal breast is best!

Yes, I'm sure she'll change her mind when the time comes.

I'm just sad we live in a society where people grow up to believe this stuff without question

Penth

Yep, I assumed that formula was as good as breast milk til I came on here.

Oh and educated does not mean intelligent. I know lots of total idiots with first class degrees!

Why would she have any particular knowledge on this subject? She may be intelligent and well-educated but that does not mean she is knowledgeable and informed about every subject in the universe.

Send her a link from the WHO website.

ok... in Google i typed in the search bar "deaths linked to breastfeeding" and got this...

then i searched "deaths linked to infant formula" and got this...

says it all really doesn't it?
what could possibly be healthier for a baby than the milk that was made for him / her???

and then I found this "In the past, recalls have been ordered because of contamination with substances such as broken glass, fragments of metal and salmonella and other bacteria. The fungal toxin aflatoxin has also been detected in some commercial formulas. Although detected levels were very low, this toxin is known to cause cancer and is not present in breast milk. Infant formulas also may contain excessive levels of metals, including aluminum, manganese, cadmium and lead. Soy formulas are a particular concern due to very high levels of plant-derived estrogens (phytoestrogens) in soy products. In fact, the concentrations of phytoestrogens detected in the blood of infants fed soy formula were 13,000 to 22,000 times greater than the concentrations of natural estrogens.

Some formula companies have been affiliated with pesticide or chemical companies that make hazardous chemicals."

What a mess!

That's the point bonsoir. She thinks she does have knowledge on this subject.

But she is mistaken in her thinking. Give her better information . If she is intelligent (and you are not aggressive), she will thank you.

Give her a sheaf of references to academic papers showing that breastmilk is better for the baby. Ask her to provide you with references to academic papers showing that formula is better.

Is she maybe talking about when breastfeeding is not working properly? I mean I can completely agree that breastfeeding is best when both are compared in optimal conditions, but real life just isn't like that is it? People have all kinds of problems like low supply, inability to get baby to latch properly etc and although these can usually be sorted out, many people can not get the help they need to sort them out. In those cases a bottle fed baby which is thriving will be healthier than a breastfed baby which is starving.

This is why motherhood is great for humans. We are so sure of ourselves, we have made a great choice of car, great choice of house, career, diet, on and on and on.

We think we will make the same great choices re birthing, parenting and so on as we are used to being good at stuff. So we think we know all about bf, ff, weaning, sleeping etc too

Then birthing and parenting and our dc's come along and sing they're own jolly tune and we have to just adapt and get over ourselves, or suffer and it's great! I'm a much more humble flexible person since podding dd. Clearly not everyone chooses/is given motherhood and they aren't paragons of arrogance - I speak in terms of myself only.

Still think breast is best though

they're????????? THEIR. Dear me.

what did she actually say about bottle feeding being healthier? or did she just say it and thought that it was correct? human's are still animals and no other animal in the world needs to use formula - as nature intended for a v.good reason.

We were talking about someone we know, who had a newborn that she was formula feeding. I ventured that it was shame she hadn't given b/feeding at least one attempt (judgey I know, but it's how I feel).

She came out with that.