breastmilk isn't really magic, just NEARLY so...

i swear, some people drive me crazy with their absolute belief in the magic of breastfeeding. i know why i breastfeed, but some people are nearly worshipful of the whole process. WTF?! my neighbor seems to think that as long as i breastfeed i WON'T have a period (started right away), Can't get pregnant (whatever), and my baby will never contract an illness. jesus. it helps babies fight infections, but it's not 100%! we all got the flu and a sinusy cold. YES, my baby got it, too. not as bad as the rest of us, but YES, she got sick.

you'd think i'd just told her that santa wasn't real, the way she reacted to this. she's breastfed 3 children, and seems to forget that she's a FOUNTAIN of information on how to deal with illnesses in infancy. it's like those two portions of her brain exist exclusively of one another.

please, understand that breastfeeding is the best and most natural thing. but don't act like you have ambrosia emerging from your nipples.

 

hahahahahaaaa!!!! yes i do!!! that is sooo funny...

but i know what ya mean, my hubby's nana has done a complete 180 in her beliefs about nursing since joey was born. now she believes it's like popeye's spinach or sumthin

 

Do women not normally breastfeed where you all live? I have never met a women who didn't breastfeed her children. My mother breastfed me and my sisters, my grandma breastfed all her kids... all my friends parents breastfed, and all my friends are now breastfeeding. I plan on breastfeeding... haven't even considered not breastfeeding.

Was not breastfeeding a fad or something? Maybe the "bottle fad" just didn't make its way to rural canada? (btw.. i am not meaning to sound disrespectful. I am honestly wondering.) I don't understand why someone wouldn't breastfeed, unless there was a medical reason for her not to... i mean, wtf do people think breasts are for if not feeding babies?

People, en mass, have no logic.

 

Hardly anyone nurses their babies around here, past a few weeks at least, it's really sad. Even moms that i know have breastfed previous children aren't set in it with subsequent ones (they shrug and say "it just didn't work out this time, oh well"). The exception are the very few AP moms who breastfeed 2+ years, so i don't fit in on either side, lol.

My grandma is 65, and she says in her time, only poor moms breastfed--well, my mom's mom breastfed her and her twin sister, lol, and they're healthier even now than my dad and his sister ever were! So apparently the low-income babies weren't the disadvantaged ones in the early 60s

Anyway, i'm angry at my nipples right now, so no more milk talk from me, until i get it sorted out, lol

 

Around the turn of the century when people began to really worry about their social status, breastfeeding fell out of fashion. Only the rich and privileged could afford the equipment and formula necessary to bottlefeed their infants, so this was what was strived for. You only breastfed if you just couldn't afford otherwise.

And this maintained throughout the 50s and 60s, when more scientific research began to sing the praises of breastfeeding. However, in the smaller areas of the country, farther away from large hospitals and research facilities, people still maintain the old fad of bottle-feeding without giving much thought to the benefits or consequences of one versus the other.

So, 100 years ago, the poorer children were better off, and now they aren't. Very sad.

 

HippyFreek2004- that brief history recap really explained a lot. At the turn of the century, my province wasn't a province... it was just a couple towns and a bunch of rapidly angering Natives. Also, by American standards, there isn't a "metropolitan area" in all of my province... so the "bottle feeding" trend had no place to start. Our cities are just glorified towns, really... and 9/10 people who live in the province tend to be simple, not simple as in stupid, but simple as in uncomplicated, by North American standards at least.

Basically, in general, the inhabitants of my province are too uncouth to have ever considered not whipping a tit out.

 

We just had a huge debate at school (University of Cincinnati) and you would have thought I was back in the stone age. It amazes me how many people just refuse to even think about breastfeeding. The same guys who would drool all over a girl in bikini are disgusted that she might feed her baby in front of them. The mentality is like "breasts for sex good, breasts for there intended purpose bad."
Breastfeeding isn't magic, but its definantly better and IMO easier. Of course I have two beautiful breastfed children 14 mos apart. So who says you won't get pregnant? And I was exclusivly breastfeeding when it happened.

 

I am not sure why mums tend to go for he bottle here as I have seen plenty that have and felt the disapproval of people whilst breastfeeding...I think it is something to do with accepting that the female human body is meant for more than just visual pleasure but I don't really know. Most people who manage to get decent education about childrearing seem to breastfeed but there are certainly plenty of mums out there that I see not....

 

Hardly anyone nurses where I live either. It's rare really. People seem to think you're odd if you do. *shakes head*

 

well, it's not that she doesn't breastfeed. she a great endorsement for breastfeeding. what shocks me is how often the people i know nearly set up altars and burn candles for the whole concept of breastfeeding. jesus, it's just a natural process, it is not akin to dipping your child in the river styx! your child will not end up immortal and will not necessarily become einstein. it just betters the odds. i swear, the next time my baby gets a sniffle and someone says "but you're breastfeeding, aren't you?" like it's impossible for a baby to get a little sick, i'm going to scream.

 

LOL that is crazy
Ah well, better that than everyone being prudish and giving their babies crappy formula.

My brother & I were both BFed till we were 11 months old and are about as healthy as the average person all things considered. So yeah good call, but by no means a magical exilr of life.

Course I'll BF my own kids, just can't see the sense of screwing around mixing up formula when you can get better stuff on tap for free (see who says being lazy and cheap doesn't have upsides ).

That and the rubber bottle teats gross me out, would never put them in my own mouth (even as a baby myself) so am not going to force it on my offspring.

 

I never thought of it - but i dont see that many women nursing - even when i have my nephew who is 4 months and have a bottle (with mummy milk in) and go into the baby room there isnt anyone feeding in there - when i have kids i will breastfeed anywhere. Even my friends a few of them did for a few weeks than gave up - bottled milk isnt as good for babies as wel know - but some woemn CANT feed so thats not their fault - it pisses me off when they dont even try though

 

No, human milk isn't magic. It's nature, the best nature can offer and infant or small child.

Yes, of course bf babies can get sick (although of course, they are better protected, LESS illness doesn't mean NO illness) bf mamas can start menstruating (although, they are less likely to as early as ff moms, but a few womyn do get periods back very soon after birth, and once you have menstruated, consider yourself fertile)

I think the thing is that the difference between being breastfed and being artificially fed are SO dramatic that some people do ascribe "magical" properties to human milk. Of course, if BF was the norm, we wouldn't see this.

Also, moms who are just beginning to breastfeed, are often proud of themselves (and rightly so) and have usually started reading about the differences between human milk and artificial milk, so they get REALLY excited. You know how when you first started having sex, how that was ALL you could think about and talk about and you wanted to let everyone know just how wonderful it was? Kind of the same thing with a newer BF mom.

In Lactation, we are trying to use different language to describe the differences. Instead of saying "Breastfed babies are smarter." Proper language woule be "Human milk allows a child to reach her full intellectual potential, which is often 3 to 15 IQ points higher than children who are not given human milk."

Also, many people do NOT see the benefits of breastfeeding because they simply can't or don't breastfeed exclusively or for a long period of time. Fr'insnance, a baby who has has NOTHING given by mouth but human milk wil have Bifidus and Acidophilus as the main bacteria in his gut. Even a single feeding of artificial milk, or early solids, and the bacterial profile in the gut changes to E. Coli. There is an interesting article by an LC I know called "Just one bottle" which talks about avoiding artificial milk in the early days (or at all) and tells how differences can occur.

There are essencially three types of baby feedling,

Exclusive breastfeeding. Meaning the baby gets nothing but humain milk until the middle of the first year, when solids are introduced.

Mixed feeding, Meaning the baby gets a combination of human milk and artificial. And although human milk is still the BEST for this baby, many of this infant's health profile details will usually be closer to a formula fed infant than an exclusively breastfed infant. AND when people see these babies as "Breastfed" and they are not significantly different than FF babies, the thought goes "Well, this baby is no different, thus breastfeeding makes no difference in the health of the baby. That said, it is, of course, perferable to total forumla feeding. There ARE differences and benefits to this baby, but they are more subtle than the differences between a totally bf baby and a totally ff baby.

Then the third is of course, Artificially fed. This includes children who are totally formula fed, as well as those who are "token breastfed" meaning the mom may give an occasional breastfeed, but the amount of forumla outweighs human milk feeding greatly. These babies,(token breastfed)
although having a slight advantage, usually have intellecutal and immunological profiles similar to a totally formual fed infant. Here's where the problems come in, MANY researches (especially, if the study is funded by the forumla conglomerates) will use THESE babies as "Breastfed" in their studies, and "Prove" that there is no difference between human milk fed and artificially fed babies.

No, human milk isn't magic, but neither is real food over "protein shakes" or things like Ensure. (Basically, formula for adults.) But, in comparison a diet of real food APPEARS magic when compared to an artificial diet. Doesn't it?

(OH MY GOD. SHE'S BACK!) LOL!

 

Hi

How have you been, we've missed you terribly

Wonderfully informative post as always.
Am so grateful my mother exclusivley breastfed my brother and I. Well I think it was pretty exclusive, don't distinctly remember of course. Know I didn't like bottles and mum still has contempt for formula.
It's always struck me as really odd and nonsensical that people would do something so unnatural as formula feeding as a matter of course.

 

i was so annoyed when an on-call doctor told me i couldn't breastfeed my baby in the hospital because they thought my breastmilk might be contributing to her jaundice. for 2 full days she only got formula. i pumped all my milk and froze it for when i could give it to her again. you know what? she came out with a perfect latch on, and after giving her a bottle she's had latch on problems. i'm so fucking annoyed. she eats just fine, she's the chubbiest breastfed baby i've ever seen, but i think she developed an insecure nature form all that time that i wasn't allowed to cuddle her because she was supposed to be under the lamps and was being fed through a bottle. i get kinda sick just thinking about it.

 

I'm sorry you and your baby had to go through that. It is hard, if not impossible to advocate when you are in a vulnerable position like having just given birth. And many docs will try to scare moms with the "well if the jaundice gets too bad, the baby will be brain damaged." ect.

I am glad you two were able to get breastfeeding back on track, despite the difficulties which you had no control over. You can make up for the insecurities, you know, lots of hugging and holding and baby wearing. I've worked with many babies who have been through just this thing, it'll get better. You are a good mama. Just keep her close by and spoil her rotten.

How old is your baby now, KC?

Thank you, Sage, sweetie, I missed y'all, too.

 

Myna and Maggie, my birth was rather traumatic for both of us. I couldn't nurse him for several hours due to him breathing meconium and needing breathing treatents etc. The whole four days after he was born he screamed mercilessly. In the hospital (we got out as soon as we could after trying to birth at home) on the second night I believe, the nurse came in and said he was showing signs of dehydration ad hunger. I had been trying to breastfeed him, but he was having latch problems. So under the pressure, (basically, they were saying he had a medical need for the formula) we caved and fed him some soy based formula. This continued at home, probably confusing the poor chap to no end. At four days old our midwife came to help me figure out why he couldn't latch. He knew what he was doing he just couldn't seem to make it happen. She opened his mouth and promptly diagnosed him as tongue tied! TWO hospital lactation consultants didn't catch it! None of them looked in his mouth at all! Next day the Ped clipped the frenulum and by the middle of that night he was nursing like a champ! We've been fighting a nasty thrush infection and I wonder if that didn't have something to do with the giving of formula and his stomach bacteria getting wonky?

 

oh yeah. i got that brain damage thing. the bitch of it is, it wasn't my regula doctor, is was this asshole i'd never seen before. as soon as my doc came back, she was like "oh yeah! of COURSE you can breastfeed! why'd you stop?" she ripped him a new asshole.

she's 2 months now. she's wonderful, but can't sleep more than a minute or two alone. it makes it hard to go potty at bedtime and such.

 

When I had Virginia, she was quite a bit jaundice. Thank god that no one told me I had to formula feed. They put her under the lights, yes, but the still left her with me most of the time so I could breastfeed.

 

yeah, i still have a grievance to file. her eye protectors fell off.