I think my professor is making up stuff.......not sure what to do.

holisticallyminded · Jun 3, 2009

So I'm seeing a few posts here from offended, bottle-feeding mommies. And yes, this IS what this is about. Teacher's got an ax to grind. And to be honest, I'm not really sure why anybody's offended. The infant is the patient we need to advocate for most. I'm hearing all about how some women chose not to breastfeed and they shouldn't be crucified over it, etc, etc. I'm sure there is a very small percentage of women who "can't" breastfeed (micropreemies, cleft lip and palate, mom is on some horride medication that CAN'T be substituted, etc), though this just isn't something we should focus on. This isn't something that should be taught. Not breastfeeding is not normal. Yes, that's right, it's not normal. It should only occur in an exceptional situation. And mom should have nothing to feel guilty about in that situation. Formula feeding absolutely causes health issues (though 90% of all allergies is a bit on the extreme side). This is risk vs benefit. If mom/child have health conditions, formula-feeding may be more beneficial than the risk of not formula-feeding.

As for allergies, breastfeeding has been linked to a reduction in allergies and as we know, allergies are caused by a faulty immune reaction. Infant's immune systems are not well-developed and mom provides the antibodies they need to cope with their environment through breastmilk. No antibodies in formula. And when the breastfeeding stops, so do the helpful antigens. Cow's milk is made for baby cows.

What your teacher should be talking about in the allergy debate is vaccination. Yes, there is evidence linking vaccines to allergies and chronic health conditions. And guess when we introduce vaccines? A breastfeeding mom would be passing passive antibodies off to her offspring for as long as the child is nursing. Evolutionarily, this makes tons of sense. This is why children are supposed to breastfeed for several years (doesn't mean we all do this because it isn't widely accepted in our culture). Baby gets some protection from anything mom has been exposed to (whether she actually contracted a disease or was vaccinated for it). Email me; I'm be HAPPY to send you some great info!

Teacher sounds frustrating but somebody has to advocate for the next generation and it isn't going to be the pharmaceutical companies making the formula. As we see here, they've already convinced many that formula is just fine.

Oh, and I used to work in pediatric nutrition.

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 4, 2009

So I'm seeing a few posts here from offended, bottle-feeding mommies. And yes, this IS what this is about. Teacher's got an ax to grind. And to be honest, I'm not really sure why anybody's offended. The infant is the patient we need to advocate for most. I'm hearing all about how some women chose not to breastfeed and they shouldn't be crucified over it, etc, etc. I'm sure there is a very small percentage of women who "can't" breastfeed (micropreemies, cleft lip and palate, mom is on some horride medication that CAN'T be substituted, etc), though this just isn't something we should focus on. This isn't something that should be taught. Not breastfeeding is not normal. Yes, that's right, it's not normal. It should only occur in an exceptional situation. And mom should have nothing to feel guilty about in that situation. Formula feeding absolutely causes health issues (though 90% of all allergies is a bit on the extreme side). This is risk vs benefit. If mom/child have health conditions, formula-feeding may be more beneficial than the risk of not formula-feeding.
As for allergies, breastfeeding has been linked to a reduction in allergies and as we know, allergies are caused by a faulty immune reaction. Infant's immune systems are not well-developed and mom provides the antibodies they need to cope with their environment through breastmilk. No antibodies in formula. And when the breastfeeding stops, so do the helpful antigens. Cow's milk is made for baby cows.
What your teacher should be talking about in the allergy debate is vaccination. Yes, there is evidence linking vaccines to allergies and chronic health conditions. And guess when we introduce vaccines? A breastfeeding mom would be passing passive antibodies off to her offspring for as long as the child is nursing. Evolutionarily, this makes tons of sense. This is why children are supposed to breastfeed for several years (doesn't mean we all do this because it isn't widely accepted in our culture). Baby gets some protection from anything mom has been exposed to (whether she actually contracted a disease or was vaccinated for it). Email me; I'm be HAPPY to send you some great info!
Teacher sounds frustrating but somebody has to advocate for the next generation and it isn't going to be the pharmaceutical companies making the formula. As we see here, they've already convinced many that formula is just fine.
Oh, and I used to work in pediatric nutrition.

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

Music in My Heart · Jun 4, 2009

And worst of all: when the student is kicked out of the program altogether because it's a cohort model and classes are only offered once every year or two...

talaxandra · Jun 4, 2009

For all of you defending the lecturer's position on breat feeding:

- providing demonstrably false information is counter-productive if the aim is to convince women to breast feed because when they discover that (for example) 90% of allergies are not due to formula feeding they may dismiss other claims about breast feeding benefits, as well as distrusting other information from the same source;

- though she is certainly at liberty to provide her opinion it is not her role to present that as fact;

- the OP gave that as an example of the kind of misinformation being provided. Her issue was more with the pattern of behaviour, of which this was one example, rather than initiating a debate about breast vs formula feeding. To whit:

FYI, my professor's latest statement: "Poor women don't usually drink because they can't afford to."

Advice that students are unlikely to benefit from taking on academics is helpful. Advice that gathering information and getting other student on board is helpful. Debating the merits or intentions of this unknown lecturer, who is unquestionably presenting misinformation to at least one class of nursing students, some of whom will believe her because she's in a position of authority, is not helpful.

If you (and I'm talking generally here) want to debate the merits of breast feeding and/or the perils of formula feeding, or even the statistics on poverty and alcohol consumption, you're welcome to start a thread about that elsewhere.

PDXSammy · Jun 4, 2009

i was immediately curious about your professor's fact and found this at the new york-presbyterian the university hospital of columbia and cornell website. she's partly right, but i'd be very careful to not make waves while in ns. being of advanced age, it was glaringly apparent very soon that a huge part of ns is learning to deal with politics. choose your battles and let go of the bs. ns will be a mostly wonderful memory before you know it. sometime in the future, when you're writing rn (or lpn) after your name, you'll realize how very insignificant this professor was.

:cool:

what foods most often cause food allergy?

approximately 90 percent of all food allergies are caused by the following eight foods:

milk
eggs
wheat
soy
tree nuts
fish
shellfish
peanuts

eggs, milk, and peanuts are the most common causes of food allergies in children, with wheat, soy, and tree nuts also included. peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish commonly cause the most severe reactions. nearly 3 percent of children have food allergies. although most children "outgrow" their allergies, allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish may be life-long.

[color=#2200cc]food allergies - new york presbyterian hospital

kellsc · Jun 4, 2009

I just wanted to reply with this message regarding allergies. I don't know if this helps or not.

Breast-Feeding Seems to Protect Against Some Allergies

It helps high-risk infants prone to eczema, asthma and food allergies, report suggests

By Amanda Gardner

Posted 1/7/08

MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Atopic disease -- which includes eczema, asthma and food allergies -- may be delayed or even prevented in high-risk infants if they are exclusively breast-fed for at least four months or fed infant formula without cow milk protein.

"The best prevention for atopic [allergic] disease is exclusive breast-feeding for four months," he added. "And if your infant comes from a family with significant atopic disease, then weaning from breast milk to a partially or extensively hydrolyzed [hypoallergenic] formula [without cow milk protein] may delay or prevent the onset of atopic disease, especially atopic dermatitis [eczema]."

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080107/breast-feeding-seems-to-protect-against-some-allergies.htm

SamyRN · Jun 4, 2009

KatMarie26,

I admire your principles with wanting to address this instructor's teaching what you believe is false information.

It is unfortunate that you are in the position you are in, in that she could make life miserable for you, and "adjust" grades because of your "inquiring mind", but that is reality.

My message to you is this; NEVER squelch your intuition or principles in your future career. There will always be people who could make life miserable for you for questioning their motives, facts, or statistics. However, if those questionable motives, facts, or statistics will affect your patients health or wellbeing in any way, it is your duty to call them on it, in your patients best interest.

Good luck to you in your bright future!

S

uafan69 · Jun 4, 2009

I did some research and found this information from kidshealth.com

"The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology estimates that up to 2 million, or 8%, of kids in the United States are affected by food allergies, and that eight foods account for 90% of food allergy reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and tree nuts." My advice to you is to tread lightly with this person. I have just graduated from nursing school and have first hand knowledge if you question some professors they can make your life HELL!! If you question what he is teaching do reserch to learn the correct facts. Good luck.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 4, 2009

A note from the friendly neighbourhood moderator:

Let's please keep this thread on the topic of what to do about an instructor obviously falsifying information, not the advantages of breastfeeding over bottlefeeding, which the OP was using just as an example.

Y'all are welcome to come over the OB/Gyn forum & do the breast/bottle debate over there. For now, let's keep this one about instructors making stuff up in class/clinical.

Thanks.

ExtraShotNoWhip · Jun 4, 2009

i do not know if anyone else has posted this but i found it on msn.com...

milk allergy usually first occurs when infants are given cow's milk-based formula or are exposed to cow's milk in the mother's diet through her breast milk. between 2% and 3% of babies and toddlers are affected by milk allergy.

here is the link: http://health.msn.com/kids-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100151285

:typing

CrunchyMama, ASN, RN · Jun 4, 2009

i do not know if anyone else has posted this but i found it on msn.com...
milk allergy usually first occurs when infants are given cow's milk-based formula or are exposed to cow's milk in the mother's diet through her breast milk. between 2% and 3% of babies and toddlers are affected by milk allergy.
here is the link: http://health.msn.com/kids-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100151285
:typing

all the more reason for us humans to stop drinking another mammals milk. not sure if i can trust msn.com for medical advice though. if you (you in general) looked into the ingredients between formula and breastmilk, it would make sense why allergies (among other problems) are more associated with those fed formula. also..i think some of it has to do with parents feeding solids usually earlier then those that are breastfeeding. formula fed babies are more at risk for acid reflux....so the dr. tells the parents to give a little rice cereal, despite the fact that a baby is 1 month old. or a 2 month old isn't sleeping through the night (heaven forbid), so the mom starts the baby on solids in hopes that he/she will be more full...without knowing that it could be a growth spurt. it's just crazy....america is completely uneducated about a humans basic need, feeding (meaning breastfeeding our baby/child). so with all this said....i strongly believe that not only is the problem formula itself but it's shoving a spoon in a babies mouth before they can hardly smile.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 4, 2009

Another note:

PLEASE let's not turn this into the breast/bottle debate - that is NOT what the OP was asking.

Thanks.