Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

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

Original poster

why is it so important to breastfeed exclusively?

34 replies

feb · 19/01/2009 11:16

i know breastmilk is fab, but why is there so much emphasis on exclusively breastfeeding rather than mix feeding?

OP posts:
whomovedmychocolate · 19/01/2009 11:20

It's to do with the natural fauna in the gut of a baby - basically when you are born you have good bacteria in your gut and breastmilk helps keep that - whereas cows milk destroys it which makes babies more vulnerable to D&V bugs, allergies (apparently) blah blah blah.

DS was exclusively BF to six months, DD had one bottle of formula at 3 months and then went back to exclusive BM. Apparently the fauna recovers if it's just one bottle. Either way, both are very much alive and well!

Original poster
feb · 19/01/2009 11:39

ahh thanks,
so is there any continuing to bf or are the health benefits to baby negated by giving FF regularly?

OP posts:
Original poster
feb · 19/01/2009 11:39

sorry, any point continuing

OP posts:
MrsTittleMouse · 19/01/2009 11:44

I think that a big reason is that mixed feeding is quite difficult. It's easy to mess up your supply and have to give up BF completely - it happened to my Mum who was a very keen BFer when she was told by her HV that she wasn't producing enough milk. If you could see photos of me as a baby you'd know that I was getting plenty of milk - I was quite a porker!

whomovedmychocolate · 19/01/2009 12:23

yes, absolutely worth it. Much like just eating one apple a day instead of 5 fruit and veg a day, even a little helps. BM builds immunity, reduces cancer risk etc.

tiktok · 19/01/2009 12:23

Any breastfeeding is 'worth it' but there is a 'dose response effect' - the more formula, the greater the risk of infections. Of course this is only seen in big studies (like the UK Millennium Cohort study) which take thousands and thousands of babies and number-crunch their feeding and illness patterns. You couldn't show this by comparing 2 individual babies or even 50 or 100.

I am not a big fan of the 'virgin gut' theory or the need for weeks for the gut to recover from a single bottle, or for measurable harm coming from occasional bottles - I don't think the solid, up to date, and in practice evidence is there. It's a spectrum, anyway - as the 'dose response effect' shows.

We do have data to show that any formula feeding can lead to full formula feeding, and I reckon this is largely behavioural - the confidence in bf is affected and thus undermines the choice to bf...prob what happened to your mum, MrsTM.

Giving any formula is an intervention to the physiological norm, and should never be done without thinking it through, with all the drawbacks considered, IMO.

iwantitnow · 19/01/2009 12:57

From allergy specialists there seems to be quite a lot of recent medical evidence that BF exclusively until 17 weeks has significant allergy benefits, with the increase in childhood allergies I think this message should be put across more. Beyond 17 weeks there is little evidence so far (yes kellymom says benefits longer but if anybody to point to a research paper that says so then point me to it).

However, DD developed an egg allergy while BFing and before solids and exclusively BF to nearly 2 years old but don't know if she would have developed more without BM of course.

blueshoes · 19/01/2009 13:52

what tiktok said

goingnowherefast · 19/01/2009 13:54

That's interesting Tiktok, I am actually relieved to see your post because although DD has been mostly BFed, from 10 days until she was 6 weeks she had some top ups of formula because of problems bfing. I have been beating myself up about the loss of her virgin gut

Can I ask if all the benefits of breastmilk are there even if mix feeding? Or are things like eczema only protected against for exclusive breastfeeders?

stillstanding · 19/01/2009 13:57

Tiktok, does this apply to twins too? A friend of mine is expecting them and her midwife has been saying that it is highly unlikely that she will be able to exclusively breastfeed. I can't remember the exact reasons but I think it was mostly about not having enough supply for too and being too draining on her.

Is that right or is more just a practical issue?

bubbleymummy · 19/01/2009 14:33

stillstanding - that is shocking that her midwife is telling her this before she's even had the babies! A woman in my LLL group bf her twins to over a year. It is definitely possible but she will obviously need a much better support network than that midwife!

harpsichordcarrier · 19/01/2009 14:38

feeding twins is absolutely possible and happens all the time. TAMBA is a good resource for decent advice.

tiktok · 19/01/2009 14:42

There are no 'benefits' to bf - bf is the norm for our species. Anything other than breastmilk and breastfeeding interrupts this, and just as you'd expect, there are health effects of this.

I am not sure how to answer 'do all the benefits of bf remain with mixed feeding', really...sorry. The answer has to be 'no' and this is shown in the stats on babies who are hospitalised with infection. The highest risk of this is with full ff, then there is a lower risk with partial ff, and the lowest risk is with no ff (that is, full bf). Clearly, some 'benefits' of bf remain, even if it is not exclusive breastfeeding.

The eczema thing (like anything to do with allergy) is something that's hard to demonstrate either way.

tiktok · 19/01/2009 14:43

Of course it is perfectly feasible to breastfeed twins. The midwife who suggested otherwise needs to get some training!

goingnowherefast · 19/01/2009 15:07

thank you. so hopefully I was right to still try and limit the amount of formula she had once she had had some, it is good to come across a site where people tell you the facts about these things. So much conflicting information exists.

cmotdibbler · 19/01/2009 16:14

Stillstanding - I know two people in RL who have exclusively breastfed their twins to 6 months, and I think there are a few people on MN who have done at least that.

Your friend def wants to get in touch with TAMBA and LLL for some good advice

iwantitnow · 19/01/2009 19:35

EBF and my DD had eczema almost from birth - but two highly allergic parents. However, eczema very mild and disappeared when she was just over a year.

tiggerlovestobounce · 19/01/2009 19:36

I also know someone who exclusively BF her twins to 6 months, and another who did it till 18 weeks.

chancelloroftheexCHEQUERS · 19/01/2009 19:40

I've got a feeling I read somewhere that Fern Britton breastfed twins for quite a long time. It would be good if more was made of that in the media I think.

RiaParkinson · 19/01/2009 19:45

I am a great believer in b/feeding but not a great lover of it...

My reason for exclusive b/f is that once I ( you /I ) introduce a bottle it is a downward spiral

supply dwindles....baby fusses...stress rises..introduce another bottle etc etc and that's ( for me) the beginning of the end

I breastfeed and am on my 6th baby 6th month - I dont love it but i do strongly believe it is the best for baby

liahgen · 19/01/2009 19:49

at the mw stillstanding. 2 of my very close friends fully bf their twins well beyond 6 mths.

ThingOne · 19/01/2009 20:23

I know of four women who have breastfed twins exclusively to six months. Some of them carried on feeding for longer; one fed both to three.

whomovedmychocolate · 19/01/2009 20:33

If twins can't be breastfed, how can it be that I am tandem feeding a two year old and a six month old. Surely newborn twins drink a lot less than 54lbs worth of children?

Original poster
feb · 20/01/2009 11:42

really interesting to read all your replies. i ask because ds was ff for 1st 10 days and only in the last 48 hrs(6 1/2 wks old) have i managed to exc bf. it has been an exhausting time and my stubborness in getting to this point has (temporarily i hope!) damaged my relationship with DH and DS1. a child-free friend asked me why exc BF was so important and i really couldn't answer. in hindsight i'm not sure it has been worth doing?

OP posts:
NormaJeanBaker · 20/01/2009 11:54

"We do have data to show that any formula feeding can lead to full formula feeding, and I reckon this is largely behavioural - the confidence in bf is affected and thus undermines the choice to bf...prob what happened to your mum, MrsTM."

Hi Tiktok. IT's not necessarily that confidence in bf is affected - just that people find it a relief to be able to hand feeding over to someone else or not spend all day with a baby attached. They feel so long as the baby has had some breast milk it's better than nothing and ff is much easier. I know not everyone thinks it's easier but in a lot of cases it seems to be - especially when the mother is unable to get bf going due to other demands on her time. Not everyone has the right kind of support to take the time getting bf established if there are problems. And lots don't want to admit to themselves or anyone else (because they know breast milk is the best food) that they much prefer ff regardless of the drawbacks, which are minimal in the grand scheme of things - later diet etc.