Breastfeed or else

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jun 13, 2006

I read that article and I agree that formula should have a warning label on it. Some people really have no clue it is inferior and does pose risks compared to breastmilk.

I have one child who was on formula and one who was breastfed btw.

It doesn't take away the choice for the mother whether she wants to formula feed or breastfeed.

labcat01, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

I just don't think women need another reason to feel guilty about choosing not to breastfeed. I was never breastfed and I don't think i'm any worse for the wear. I breastfed my baby for 12 months and was completely unprepared for how hard it was. I would never try to guilt anyone into breastfeeding.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

Don't get me wrong. Most of the time, breast feeding is best, but it doesn't always work out, or mom may need the sanity involved with letting someone else feed the baby every once in a while without having to plan ahead and pump. Or there may be a medical reason why Mom can't - or shouldn't breastfeed. Why should baby formula come with a warning? Its not like the formula feeding parents are putting kool aid or coca cola in the bottle for baby.

Everyone knows that "breast is best". When the 3 little O'Myacins were born, I got the message from the nurses, but my decision to bottle feed was supported - especially after I explained that I was post chemo and radiation (to the chest and mantle = not so many tears, saliva or breast milk) and I wanted to start up on anti depressants right after delivery to avoid the crushing PPD I had with O'Myacin #1! My children are healthy, intelligent and well adjusted. They had plenty of bonding and love as infants during feeding time with mom AND dad. Its not like we propped the bottle in the crib and fed them like hamsters!! :lol2:

I know that breastfeeding is a difficult thing to do, and it wasn't for me. My hat is off to any woman who does it and sticks with it, but not to those who want to make bottle feedering parents (and subsequently children) feel inferior. There are enough issues to have conflict and debate over, I'd rather see time and money spent on helping abused children, children who don't have the basics of food, shelter and clothing - rather than having a "may be harmful" label stuck on a formula can.

Blee

Josh L.Ac. · Jun 13, 2006

Yeah, it obviously doesn't work to tell parents to "not smoke when your kids are in the car" or "serve your children nutritious food instead of McDonald's", so why would attempting to them to breastfeed for the benefit of the child work?

Sure breastfeeding can be difficult, especially for some. But so is getting up and going to the gym five days a week. So is avoiding all the convenience foods for more nutritious food. It is hard to take care of ourselves all the time...

...but this is about taking care of your child. If that doesn't inspire a little extra effort, then nothing probably will...like recommendations to not smoke around your kids, exercise regularly to set a good example...

Sigh.

Actually the first step is education. Many people, especially back home in the mid-west, don't realize that there is a difference. Once you educate them and discuss their rebuttals, then the ball is in their court.

Sadly, one of the most effective things to say is that "it's cheaper then formula and it will help you lose the pregnancy weight".

Edit: this obviously wouldn't include those women that cannot breastfeed for medical reasons.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

double post. Sorry!

KyPinkRN · Jun 13, 2006

I believe this is just another "cause" scienctists and polititians take up to intimidate people. I was not a breast fed baby, and I tried very hard to breastfeed my own daugther without sucess. My daughter is perfectly healthy as am I. I believe that you can skew research to make it appear any way you want it. If formula was that much of a risk to your baby --say like smoking when you are pregnant is-- this wouldn't be a debate because there would be no market for formula. There are many factors that come together to lead to obesity or many infections. The research in this article indicates that socioeconomics has an affect on the mothers decision to breastfeed. People of lower socioeconomic status have different lifestyles than higher status people. This research doesn't discuss that most lower class people live in the city where there are higher rates of asthma and infection due to dirtier environments, and that these people tend to eat more fast food and junk food than higher class people, and that children are more often neglected... I could go on. What I am saying that it isn't fair to blame all these things on whether or not you breastfeed your child. While I will admit that breastfeeding does have its benefits, its not the miracle cure that science would have us believe. Some of it is enviromental and some is just genetics...

mandana · Jun 13, 2006

I just don't think women need another reason to feel guilty about choosing not to breastfeed. I was never breastfed and I don't think i'm any worse for the wear. I breastfed my baby for 12 months and was completely unprepared for how hard it was. I would never try to guilt anyone into breastfeeding.

Thank you! I have one breastfed and one bottle fed child. They are both wonderful kids. For some people, breast feeding is NOT an option and I am sick to death of hearing about just how inferior formula is. We all know that "breast is best", but formula is an acceptable alternative and new mothers have more then enough on their plates without feeling inferior because they can't breastfeed their new babies.

There was a breastfeeding initiative in my town recently. They were running this commercial showing a mother breastfeeding her child in the front seat of a car - unrestrained. I was livid. A child can live if it's been bottlefed - the odds are stacked against the child if it's unrestrained in a vehicle. And I won't even get started on immunizations.

Amanda

TazziRN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

Oh good.....another way to make people like me feel guiltier. I had my first child at 41 and even though I was determined from the beginning to breastfeed, it just wasn't to be. My baby was actually raised on formula with breast milk supplements rather than the other way around. To this day it crushes me to think about it. This article does not help.

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

I agree...the info is out there, and is told to you certainly when before you are out of the hospital from giving birth!

Some people shouldn't breastfeed sadly, people on routine medications they need, drug or alcohol abusers, and other conditions that put a mother or baby at risk. NOW we should make them feel like less of a mom or an abusive mom...like scolding a smoker??? PLEASE!

I have had friends that could not breastfeed due to physiology and routine meds. Yes, they felt a bit guilty and always felt that they had to explain to other mothers why they didn't. Personally, I don't find the reason for explanation is necessary...but my friends didn't want to go to baby showers or what not because they knew the topic would arise...and they felt ashamed!

On top of that...what about PPD? Want to hitch another knot of dispair on them?

It is a choice, and each woman is different...and unless those companies can print out the rational reasons..ALL the rational reasons one shouldn't or can't breastfeed then I find that to be giving out medical advice without a license!

JVanRN · Jun 13, 2006

Well it's nice to see all that support for breastfeeding...now I would like to see someone lobbying for better maternity leave and child care incentives so that it would be a little easier to support breastfeeding.

I know that it is still possible to work full time and breastfeed with the use of pumps. I'm a NICU nurse, this is stuff I teach to new moms all the time, and hopefully this is what I plan to do. But the need to return to work full time so soon after the baby is born is one of the top reasons I hear for new moms giving up breastfeeding.

As for the warning label...I'm "meh" on the subject. I don't think new moms need another reason to feel guilty about choices they made. Formula is inferior but it's not the equivalent of feeding your kid gasoline.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2006

Yeah, it obviously doesn't work to tell parents to "not smoke when your kids are in the car" or "serve your children nutritious food instead of McDonald's", so why would attempting to them to breastfeed for the benefit of the child work?
Sure breastfeeding can be difficult, especially for some. But so is getting up and going to the gym five days a week. So is avoiding all the convenience foods for more nutritious food. It is hard to take care of ourselves all the time...
...but this is about taking care of your child. If that doesn't inspire a little extra effort, then nothing probably will...like recommendations to not smoke around your kids, exercise regularly to set a good example...
Sigh.
Actually the first step is education. Many people, especially back home in the mid-west, don't realize that there is a difference. Once you educate them and discuss their rebuttals, then the ball is in their court.
Sadly, one of the most effective things to say is that "it's cheaper then formula and it will help you lose the pregnancy weight".
Edit: this obviously wouldn't include those women that cannot breastfeed for medical reasons.

See, it's stuff like this that really bugs me.

To me, it's implying that women who don't breastfeed aren't taking the best care of their children. Oh, unless they have a medical reason, that is.

So it was fine for my mother not to breastfeed my brother because he was adopted? And it's fine for me not to breastfeed because I have medical reasons not to?

But any other woman who chooses not to breastfeed for non-medical reasons - it's NOT okay for her to make that decision? She's somehow not going the distance to care for her child?

We all get that breastmilk is best.

But I'm so tired of people assuming that women who don't breastfeed are lazy or that they're somehow not caring for their babies as much as they should.

I shouldn't post here. This is such a sensitive topic for me.