Watch Your Language - Breast Isn't Best!

imenid37 · Jul 21, 2005

I truly believe a lot of it is education. I have had moms who deliver preemies decide they will pump to offer their babies the protection of breast milk, even though they planned on bottlefeeding.

fergus51 · Jul 21, 2005

I wanted to address a couple of points.
1. Milk/Formula is the only food a child receives for many months, so it is that much more important that it is as healthy as possible. Having McDonald's once a month isn't bad for you, but eating nothing but burgers and fries for a month is bad for you.
2. References made to admits for ineffective BF - What about the number of NICU babies getting NEC? NEC is almost exclusively found in formula fed infants, and it is just as, if not more life-threatening, because to fix it, you can't pump and finger feed, or use a supplemental nursing system, surgery is involved too often.

1: formula isn't an equivalent to MacDonalds. It's a healthy food. It isn't the healthIEST, but it isn't crap either.

2. Of course we encourage bf in the NICU because of NEC and for a variety of other reasons (I have seen bf babies get it too, but it lowers the risk). That still doesn't change the fact that a formula fed infant is better off than one who does non-nutritive sucking at the breast for days at home without supplimentation ("because breastfeeding babies don't need supplementation") so that he winds up at risk for mental retardation because his bili is so high. I wasn't using that example to discourage breastfeeding. Breast feeding is ideal. I was just using it to demonstrate that both feeding methods have advantages and disadvantages so parents can make that decision for themselves without health care workers guilt tripping them. The most important thing is FEEDING.

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 21, 2005

I only mentioned junk food because someone else said "well, what about those people who feed their child fast food when they get older"

Yes, bottom line is feed the baby, but most moms, myself included are not given info about alternative feeding methods to help get a difficult baby on the breast and we don't give moms enough support post-partum. It's much easier for people to say "You tried, just go ahead and switch, there's no real difference."

Well, there is a difference and we do no one favors when we pretend there isn't.

julieK · Jul 21, 2005

THANK YOU for saying this. First off, I think hospitals need to stop handing out formula in the gift packages they give out to new moms. It is well-documented in the research data that this undermines breastfeeding efforts. This violates medical ethics in my opinion. I remember when I left the hospital with my son, the nurse tried to push it on me. Her final argument, "What if there's an emergency??!?!" cracked me up. Um, if there's no electricity or running water, I will surely rely on my breasts to work far more than a panicked trip to the grocery store for water bottles!!!!

Maybe she meant it another way. For example, what if something happens to YOU? If you are in a car accident or die, your baby still needs to eat, and it would be a lot less for everyone else to worry about if you already have the necessary supplies in the house rather than having to run out to the store for formula, bottles, etc. For this reason, I'm keeping all my formula until my baby turns one. Then I'll give it away.

-Julie in NYC

gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 21, 2005

?????? huh ??????? :uhoh21:

Even WHO recognizes that formula feeding is the WORST thing to do in the case of a disaster. (contamination of water supplies and risk of infant death from cholera and other disease is high in 3rd world countries - more so in a disaster sitation) Most mothers who breastfeed here in the US do pump a little and put in the freezer in case of a "situation". No need to keep formula on hand. Besides those cans expire!

Kitty-cat · Jul 21, 2005

I completely agree allamericangirl! As a new first time mom of a preemie I wanted to breast feed but ended up not being able to. On hearing this one of the nurses in the doctor's office at his first check up told me that "breast fed babies have higher IQ's" I spent a couple years feeling such guilt when he started preschool and kindergarten because he did have a some difficulties in school and I thought it was my fault!

No doubt we will probably not have a meeting of the minds here.
I feel to breast-feed or not to do so, is a matter of choice with neither choice being wrong. The important thing is that a baby be fed and loved.
I do feel, however, that too much is made of the breast feeding issue from both sides , and it is an issue that makes new mothers feel guiltly, no matter which option they choose. There is enough for them to worry about without making a big deal out of breast-feeding, especially if it is not working out. Instructions on how to bf dont necessarily get food into the babys mouth.
No more said ... have a good day ... :) .

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 21, 2005

It's not that BF or FF babies have higher or lower IQs....it's just that if you had two absolutely identical babies and everything was the same about them, except one was nursed and one was FF, the one that was nursed would be smarter. But it isn't a comparison to other children.

onehusbandsevenkids · Jul 21, 2005

Tobacco is a carcinogenic. Formula is not.
QUOTE]
Actually, there is a whole 'nother camp who believes that it just may be.
Is there conclusive, without a doubt evidence that forumla is not causing or a part of any adverse problems? Would the big $$ formula companies let it be known if there were?

onehusbandsevenkids · Jul 21, 2005

I only mentioned junk food because someone else said "well, what about those people who feed their child fast food when they get older"
Yes, bottom line is feed the baby, but most moms, myself included are not given info about alternative feeding methods to help get a difficult baby on the breast and we don't give moms enough support post-partum. It's much easier for people to say "You tried, just go ahead and switch, there's no real difference."
Well, there is a difference and we do no one favors when we pretend there isn't.

I totally agree. 100%.

camay1221_RN · Jul 21, 2005

I think it's sad so many women are pressured into one way of feeding and made to feel inadequate if they can't breastfeed. It's to the point where we had a mother of triplets who had a breast reduction wanting to solely breastfeed her babies in tears because she was told that may not be a possibility......
I'm pro breastfeeding, but in the end the most important thing is that the baby eats and does well. If that's with formula then so be it.

AMEN!!!

Deaconess · Jul 21, 2005

Interesting points.
When do the advantages of breastfeeding get outweighed by the difficulty some mothers have? A small percentage spend weeks in tears, sleepless, with a fussy baby and stressed because they feel an obligation to breastfeed. Bonding is interrupted, baby is hungry sometimes losing weight. When should they give the baby a bottle?

This is where a lactation consultant really came in handy for my first baby. To build up my milk supply I pumped after feedings and then fed my baby what I pumped plus formula to equal one ounce. I don't think he needed more than 2-3oz of formula total and my milk supply built up quickly.

About creating a culture where breastfeeding is the normative mode of feeding, all demographics need education on natural feeding techniques (nursing, pumping). Many of our mothers and grandmothers never breastfed, so they are poorly equipped to support their daughters. For generations we did not need lactation consultants because knowledge about techniques, inverted nipples, and how to improve milk supply passed from mother to daughter.

As I have breastfed my children at church, shopping malls, restaurants and other places in the community I have had many older women ask questions like, "How do you know they are getting enough?". I am more than happy to educate them, hoping that they will be more supportive of daughters and granddaughters who want to breastfeed. I also recommend that any first time mother who wants to breastfeed have an evaluation with a lactation consultant a few days after leaving the hospital. Many pediatrician offices now have them.

abbi77 · Jul 21, 2005

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/BF/200312-formula-report2.htm

I understand the idea of not wanting to make the bottlefeeding mom feel bad, but how many of them truly understand the risks involved with bottlefeeding? I fed my 1st of 3 daughters formula, I was young, I was uneducated on the risks that I was subjecting my child to, and NO ONE tried to tell me about them. 5 years later, when I became pregnant for the second time, I did some research...then some more...and decided to nurse. It was hard. I went through lots of problems, including my daughter's difficulty with latching on (I went for several weeks before we got that one figured out), bouts of mastitis, followed by bouts of thrush from the antibiotics to help with the mastitis. But, because I knew about these risks, I looked for the help that I needed to make it through this, and went on to successfully breastfeed not only that baby, but the next, 3 years later. We don't need to use guilt or negative reinforcement to encourage breastfeeding, let the facts speak for themselves, and once they have, empower the mom by providing her with the resources to be successful. Before formula, what did we do? If 90% of moms in this country bottlefeed, how many do so because they "can't" breastfeed? Is it that they can't, or is it that they haven't had access to the resources they need? Before formula, breastfeeding was the norm. Women saw it in their families, in public, etc. They witnessed friends' and family members with difficulties, and saw the ways around those difficulties, just like we do now with other difficulties (how many tricks do you know to help a colicky baby, remedies for a gassy baby, potty training techniques, etc?). We need to give them these things, since our society now can't.

I'll climb off my soapbox now, hope I didn't offend anyone too bad, maybe just made them think a little.

Abbi