BFing "inconvenient for the mother, time-consuming, bad for breast shape, at odds with a night's sleep and never done by fathers"

[Ewe]

Evening Standard article.

I mixed fed my DD and as such am rarely bothered by bf/ff debates as I don't tend to fall on either side of fence but this comment article really irritate me!

Don't even know where to start. Why did I open that?

Well one could argue the same about pregnancy but don't see them suggesting growing babies in glass jars would be a better idea

LOL, so is formula feeding!

But seriously, what a wanky article. Well, title, haven't been arsed reading the article yet.

I was tempted by the biscuit but realised it looks like a rather sore nipple

So will not contribute further

Evening Standard is DM lite shurely?

I'm not sure what could have been more convenient and conducive to restful sleep than what I did - which was sleep topless, with DD in my bed, and snore my way through the night feeds. By three weeks old she'd learnt to roll over and latch herself on! Now I'd like to see a three week old baby get up and make it's own bottle

I found BF very convenient. Hungry baby, Get out breast. (No need for sterilising/heating)

The above, meaning, it was far quicker and easier.

Ok my breasts sre a little bit on the softer side but no different in shape.

Ds slept all night from 8weeks. (he might as well have been born asleep)

I'll read the article now!

I would have preferred to read this in DM.

As the Evening Standard is free it has a big circulation and people tend to pick it up, regardless of what your usual paper choice might be!

I find BFing so so convenient too. I couldn't even begin to get my head around being planned enough to bring sterilisers, warmers etc. out if I fancied staying at my BIL/SILs for the weekend. It's just lift & latch with me! I would actually argue in general and not just personally, BFing is more convenient, less time consuming, (well that's what breasts are for so who cares), aids a nights sleep (bugger stagging to the kitchen 3 times a night!) and it means fathers can do something else to help whilst you feed.

Did you see the Torygraph one today too? More pro, but still with inaccuracies.

I FF DS1 and BF DS2 and I can confirm that formula feeding is the biggest pain in the arse - washing bottles, sterelising, boiling water, midnight dashes to 24/7 shops to buy formula, the cost, stressing when baby is screaming and you don't have a bottle quite ready, warming milk at 3am, being unable to get back to sleep because the entire palava has woken you up too much. Aaargh.

Once BF has been properly established it is the most convenient way to feed your baby.

Melanie McDonagh, for example, is a twat.

having a baby at all is all of those things, surely

Christ hasn't yer woman got a chip on her shoulder??

Idiot.

I find changing nappies very inconvenient. And having sick on me all the time. And schlepping around toddler groups with DD1 and a baby. The fact that my clothes no longer fit me properly is certainly inconvenient. And the fact that when I sneeze in cold weather there's the possibility that a little bit of wee might come out. Getting two small children out of the house each morning certainly isn't the most convenient thing I've ever experienced, nor is having sore feet because of all the very small plastic dinosaurs that are scattered about the living room.

The comments are encouraging though. I particularly like Darius - I wonder if he is a MNer?

fleacircus

I think the writer obviously had a negative experience of bf'ing, never got to grips with it and therefore missed out on the real benefit as a mother which is that it is good dossing time with the baby and really relaxing. It is such an inflammatory article.

See why she said it was inconvenient though - because a man can't do it, ie, he can't share in the feeding schedule. Personally, I think it is great actually being able to do something a man can't do.

She clearly has ishoos. I would suggest she has been wracked with guilt that the loss of 4 IQ points may result in Tarquin not getting that Oxbridge place???

Hands up who breastfed because they wanted a clever baby?? [scans room, doesn't see any hands] Just stoopid, 'some of the health benefits of breastfeeding are probably real, though not all (particularly when it comes to asthma and obesity)' Probably real? Like the earth is probably round? Science eh? Bit tricky reading those reseach papers, lets not bother. I also notice that the IQ thing was a 'small study'. I'm guessing she didn't search for actual evidence on sleeping through or drooping boobs because it has been researched and babes on bottles sleep just as badly as babes on boobs and breast shape is damaged in pregnancy, breastfeeding don't make a difference.

Breast is easy, crying baby, whip out a boob, need to sleep, position baby near boob. I am expecting number 2 and hope to god I don't have any problems bfeeding because I have no idea how people get themselves organised enough to do the bottle thing. Fantastic that it helps me and bubs be healthier, but convience is my primary concern.

Leaving aside her tone, defensive to say the least, there is nothing wrong with outlining the negatives of bfing. Are you not allowed to mention them? (Regardless of any individual experiences, it's been said many times on these pages that the plural of anecdote is not data). If there were no downsides there wouldn't be a bottle in the land, and nothing but smiling nursing mothers. The question is do the benefits outweigh the downsides, excluding medical issues of course. For me, yes. But not everyone. And that's ok too.

I was gutted dh couldn't feed baby, was a right pain having to sit on my arse and eat cake while he did all the more interesting housework

actually, my dh would tell her that bf is incredibly convenient - especially the night feeds.

and as for day feeds, all he'd do is say 'i think she's hungry' and pass her over. so that was incredibly convenient too.

What a ridiculous article.

Only middleclass women breastfeed? I'm working class - I have a chip pan and everything! - and I'm feeding my 5th right now. I'm very happy with my breast shape, as it happens. And AliGrylls is right - why would I want my husband to be able to feed the baby? He loves her dearly of course but I carried her, I gave birth to her and I'm going to have this little space where I am her only source of nourishment, thank you very much.

I came on here having just read that in the ES thinking someone must have posted about it! Wasn't wrong!

I think she has written it deliberately to inflame debate. I cannot decide whether or not she has 'ishoos', but I certainly get that she felt villified over her choice to ff her DC's (for whatever reasons they were) and that this is finally her opportunity to defend her decision to ff.

Each to their own I say.