GMTV about to present findings of their breast vs bottle survey..... 8.55

[Jackstini]

Article here... www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=33217

Agreed tiktok, I am culturally and socially opposed to bf beyond the point where it is necessary. If you want to take it to its physiological limit thats your business but I won't be joining you in that practice.

jemart - you have a social and cultural definition of 'necessary' then, given that it is not 'necessary' (for survival or well-being) for any breastfeeding to happen at all.

Do you feed your children anything else that's strictly unnecessary though?

Moondog made a good point earlier about understanding why people feel this way i.e socialised into this but then not understanding why a person can't see beyond this and examine why they hold these opinions.

StealthPolarBear at no point have I said breast milk is icky, actually icky is not a word I commonly use.

There is nothing wrong with breast milk, its great stuff. I have breastfed both my babies, stopped at about 10 months. It is my belief that bf far beyond this age is unnecessary thgats all.
Please note I did not ever say it is bad or wrong, just a bit odd IMO.

Am bewildered about people being 'opposed' to bf at [insert arbitrary age here].

'Opposed'?

'Personally not wanting to do it' I can understand.

But 'opposed'?

I mean, what a waste of energy to be 'opposed' to something no one is forcing you to do, and which other people find makes them and their children happier....strange, eh?

Not really tiktok, just firing your garbled sentence back at you.

Haven't the energy for splitting hairs on semantics today.

Must go make lunch, catch you later.

Okay, we are getting somewhere. You've extended your reasons to include "odd". But it's been explained to you that physiologically it's natural and in no way odd. IT's not a question of taking this to it's limit but a question of simply doing what is natural and what we were designed to do. Far more odd to give milk from another species. Can you not see the oddness in that??
It's not extended feeding but natural term feeding. Hardly odd apart from what society has imprinted on you.

Which of my many sentences was 'garbled', jemart? Or are you now saying you are not 'opposed'?

Do make up your mind

"It is my belief that bf far beyond this age is unnecessary thgats all. "

Wrong

The health benefits of breastfeeding extend throughout the entire time you nurse. A longer duration of breastfeeding has been found to be directly associated with not only fewer infant illnesses, but subsequently, fewer toddler illnesses. (Gulick EE, 1986. The effects of breast-feeding on toddler health. Pediatr Nurs 12(1):51-54)

Plus, extended bfing may delay the return of fertility by continuing to suppress ovulation in some women. So the longer you do it, the better.

Breastfeeding also provides protection against these diseases:
ovarian cancer (Schneider AP, NE J Med, 1987)
uterine cancer (Brock KE, Med J Australia, 1989)
endometrial cancer (Petterson B et al, Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 1986)
osteoporosis (Blaauw R et al, SAMJ 1994).

Breastfeeding also has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (Davies HA, British Med J, 1989).

Jemart, sometimes the "majority" just means that all the fools are on the same side.

Agree with all who say Dr Hilary is an utter twunt and knob. Half the world would be psychotic if he was right.

Jemart - May I ask how you knew your child no longer needed breastmilk at 10 months? DD obviously was not talking at the same age but she had been competently baby signing for two months and would sign milk frequently.
And this meant breastmilk, not cows milk or even expressed milk, which were offered to her on occasions when I was in the shower or otherwise unavailable. This is how I knew she still wanted breastmilk until she learned to verbally request. I wonder how you knew your child didn't want breastmilk?

WinkyWinkola I am not trying to say extended bf is bad or wrong, I just think its not necessary. I am aware of all the supposed benefits extended bf may infer on children and their mothers. Its only my opinion, no amount of badgering me is going to change my feelings on the matter. And yes I probably am socially conditioned to think this way, I find it easier to get on with the wider community if they think I'm like them and not slightly weird. We all choose our own path.
On a separate note your assertion that "the longer you do it the better" does not logically follow from your premise that "extended bfing may delay the return of fertility by continuing to suppress ovulation in some women" Unless of course contraception is your main motivation.

Puzzlerocks a child wanting something is not the same as needing something. At 10 months my dd was eating solid food and drinking other beverages besides breast milk. Nursing had become something we did prior to naps and bedtime, it had reached a point where it served only as a comforter. go back about 4 pages and read through thread from last night, I'm just repeating myself here.

jemart: "it had reached a point where it served only as a comforter."

And that would be wrong....er, why?

It's up to you what you do, jemart, and up to you to decide how you want to feel among your peer group, and up to you to decide what feels right, and up to you to decide what is important by way of comfort and what isn't.

But quit the 'not necessary' and 'opposed' and 'odd' stuff, won't you?

tiktok, at no time have I said its wrong.

And no I won't modify my thoughts and feelings on the subject to appease your nit picking on particular words.

You are welcome to totally disagree though. I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking, just defending my position which has been vehemently assailed.

jemart - what is 'nit picking' about asking you to resist using words like 'odd' and 'unnecessary' and being 'opposed'? Those are words you are using to describe your feelings about breastfeeding beyond 10 months (because this is the age you stopped). These are not words compatible with someone who is tolerant of other people's beliefs and experiences.

tiktok, who are you to censor which words I can or cannot use? I am not using abusive/offensive language. Think you are the one being intolerant.

If you had bothered to read entire thred you would be aware I was initially agreeing with this quote "After the age of one breast feeding is bizarre, unusual and not necessary." I never said it was bad or wrong.

I am not censoring you, just pointing out inconsistencies. Say what you want to say, but you will get called on inconsistencies...claims of being tolerant are not consistent with saying other people's behaviour is 'odd', 'bizarre', 'unnecessary' and that you're 'opposed' to it!

Bizarre means strange or odd. Not exactly positive.

And obviously, jemart, I have read the entire thread!

Thanks GM, glad someone has some sense Following on from what you said about comfort, my daughter is chronic brittle asthmatic. Her last attack took three days of nebulisers to bring her out of and each one is worse than the last as it leaves scarring on her lungs. Sometimes I?m her sole source of nutrition through an attack, I?ve been told without me she would have been on a drip or had an NG fitted. I certainly don?t feel it?s my place to take it from her and tell her she?s grown out of it.

?I do not dispute that extended bf may of benefit to some babies, but I do not believe it to be a necessity?

Can you explain how that isn?t a contradiction?

?Why should I want to conform with bf practices common in India/Africa/China wherever??

A rather racist statement! Then you come out with ?nit picking?!

Anyway, it?s not just India, Africa and China that believe in natural term breastfeeding.

?Unless of course contraception is your main motivation?

Actually there are many of us on here who are tandemers, it doesn?t delay fertility indefinitely.

?I am not using abusive/offensive language?

Yes you have.

Moondog, I love the way you put it!

The benefits aren't 'supposed' either.