Do bf babies get sick more?

[Iutr]

NO DEBATES PLEASE genuine question!

I was talking in my friendship group earlier this week then to my sisters, between these groups theres 12 kids (I’m pregnant with first due February)

it started when my friend asked how I’d feed him and I said I wanted to try breastfeeding

a few of my friends chimed in that their BF babies got sick easier compared to their formula fed child/children. 2 of my friends have only ever BF so can’t really make the argument

my 2 sisters have done a mixture too and they said the same?!! That they get sick easier and more bugs

i don’t want to think this is true but did you notice a difference if you fed your kids different ways?!!

I doubt it. Breast feed babies get fewer ear infections and are less likely to get some rare childhood cancers.

Peer reviewed medical research saying no
bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-019-1693-2

No, it’s the opposite, statistically. Just a coincidence/anecdata from your friends.

I think it's difficult to compare two babies. Were the BF babies their first or second? Second babies probably get sicker earlier on as they are exposed to the germs their siblings bring home.

Their is evidence to say that breastfed babies are less likely to get certain infections and less likely to require hospital treatment when they do

I genuinely think it's just luck and down to individual immune system. I formula fed my first and breast fed my second. First does get sick less than my second but both are very rarely sick. My sister breastfed for 18 months and her ds gets everything and anything that is going around literally

List of the illnesses bf babies are less likely to get
my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding

Why would that be? Babies are designed to ingest human milk and the milk adapts constantly with the feedback loop from their saliva through your breast. It’s a live substance, naturally sterile, incorporating antibodies and changes if your baby gets ill.

If there’s an objective difference it’s highly likely to be the opposite. Anecdotes are useless, you’ll never know what the alternative would have been. And all babies and young children get ill, they’ve never caught bugs till the first time it gets them.

Any chance they bottle fed their second babies? Second babies get sick more thanks to germs from the eldest. I bf both mine but my eldest hardly ever got sick. My youngest didn't get sick much either, but slightly more.

Population studies suggest the complete opposite. Breastfeeding is protective against infection and allergy, compared to formula feeding. That’s at a population level though, it can’t really be generalised to compare one baby to another. Some babies just have a higher propensity for getting sick than others. Breastfed DS gets cold but not much else. His breastfed cousin of the same age gets every D+V bug going.

I wrote this the wrong way round, but my point is the same. Other factors like siblings or time of year they were born probably make more difference.

I’ve breastfed all 4 of my children exclusively (so obviously have no comparables) but I stick at it as I like the notion that my milk will help them either not get sick or get better quicker.

I really didn't notice any difference in the number of illnesses my bf dc had, and my formula fed dc had.

It’s literally science. Milk produces antibodies for a virus or pathogen within the babies body within 20 minutes of contact with the mothers boob (as in latching). Bf babies can get as sick but in my experience get over it far quicker than formula fed babies.

Both mine were/are BF and both had good immune systems but my aunts formula fed got loads... not sure if any correlation but that's been my experience

Statistically a bf baby is less likely to be ill. I’m sure that there was an nhs leaflet once that said your baby is much less likely to suffer from gastroenteritis. Bf babies saves the NHS quite a lot of money which is why investing in bf support is so important.

I don't think that's true.

Also, I had shingles when BF and because I was BF it meant my DD didn't catch chickenpox.

The science says bf babies get ill less often, and less ill when the do get ill.
There will obviously be some exceptions, but over all it should bevthe opposite of tmwhat your friends have seen.

Both my sister's kids are/were bf and they are both sick constantly.
I FF mine, he was never ill and still isn't.

Mine were/are bf and barely got sick. Even managed to swerve noro and covid when the rest of the family were sick (breastfeeding through noro was no frickin joke!). All bets were off when they started nursery though and think they probably get ill an average amount compared to other kids the same age. I always thought the data suggested bf has a protective effect but of course within that people will have different experiences.

My BF baby was my 2nd DC and she was much poorlier than her FF brother. More colds and more sicky. I assume this is because we went to toddler groups though.

I hate the FF judgement but it's worth saying BFing is truly incredible. It is adaptive to illness in a way that FF simply isn't.

We have clean water and antibiotics so it's not as pronounced as in the majority world, but it's still really amazing what our bodies can do.

Statistically it’s the opposite. Anecdotally I think it’s about the same.

My first baby rarely got ill. My 3rd has had lots of illnesses due to the fact he has a brother in school and one in nursery bringing the bugs back home. It's highly unlikely that BF causes more illnesses quite the opposite in fact. If you don't want your baby to be poorly keep it away from the 12 children of your friends/sisters!! Don't take baby out amongst lots of people until they have had some vaccinations.

Breastfed both sons until 12 months. They hardly ever got ill as children to the extent I threw out a bottle of calpol as it went out if date. Obviously I don't know if it was luck or breastfeeding.

No