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?!!

😬 good luck!

With all due respect your baby isn’t even 1 and you’re on mat leave. That’s my whole point. Babies aren’t really exposed to much at that age. They generally don’t get much germs at that age because they aren’t exposed to things in the same way.
I had a large group of friends all on mat leave at the same time and they all recovered quickly at that age.
When they went to nursery and got chickenpox, hand foot and mouth, RSV, conjunctivitis etc from all the toddlers mixing there was no obvious difference between those who were BF and those who were FF.

My two were EBF, have always been healthy and continue to be so as adults. Very, very rarely ill.

Our EBF grandson is now nearly three and is always ill. His life is a constant stream of colds, stomach bugs and conjunctivitis.

Too many factors to consider and everyone has their own anecdotal stories.

For me DS, second child, is less ill and recovers faster. Started childcare slightly earlier. Now 3. BF until about 16 months.

DD, first child, seems to get I'll more and comparably always has. In childcare from around 2.5. Now 5. BF for about 8 weeks but had to switch to FF for various reasons.

Can you imagine if doctors based their views about whether a particular medication helps with diabetes (or any other illness) based on anecdotal data of a few patients- rather than looking a large studies involving hundreds of patients?

Interesting as anecdotal data maybe on breastfeeding- it really can’t beat large scale studies on understanding the benefits of breastfeeding in reducing rates and severity of infections

Just one study- on 6000 youngsters

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6749679/

Breast feeding also strengthens immune system eg mega large study showing it reduces incidence of asthma

openres.ersjournals.com/content/7/4/00504-2021

Long term, breastfeeding is more beneficial for gut health and the microbiome.

Statistically they get sick less than FF babies, but I also haven't noticed this anecdotally.

Saying that its odd for your friends to be so adament of the wrong answer, I would do what YOU want to do, based on scientific study and what suits your lifestyle best.