Benefits of bf exadurated?

[OmarsMum]

exactly. I was so overweight growing up. Look up breastfed baby and you would not expect to find me. I have asthma & eczema which were really bad growing up. I was sooo bad at sport! I am pretty smart but not in an exceptional way. If the only information you were given about me and hubby was whether we were bf/ff then you would 100% choose to ff!

I forgot about eczema! I didn't grow out of it until I was 17. I was also so bad at sport, I can't ride a bike, I can't run & I can't jump I have no balance

 

[Bunnikins]

I think maybe a little exaggerated, although having now done both.. I dunno about any health benefits, but i can say that breast milk smells and tastes so much nicer. I think maybe in countries with more poverty etc, breast is definitely best, especially when water is contaminated and milk is likely to be too expensive.. but in countries such as the UK and US, formula is so good, contains lots of vitamins, and water quality is fine. Thinking worldwide, however, breastfeeding is undoubtedly the best way of feeding.

Ive started giving my baby girl formula and i hate to admit, she seems much happier after drinking a bottle of it. I dunno if its cos my boob milk doesnt fill her tummy as much, but she certainly seems quite content although she does need burping a lot more!

Also.. i felt EXACTLY the same as you in that i really didnt want to BF.. the thought of it made me feel soooo uncomfortable and there was no way i could do it in public. I had bought all my bottles, steriliser, formula etc...I was all set up for FF and I felt bullied by the NHS for pushing BF on me all throughout pregnancy.... then baby was born, my hormones kicked in, suddenly i found myself breastfeeding, and did exclusively till now where im having to give it up due to work. I literally got home from hospital and had to order all the breast stuff from amazon on next day delivery (pump, cover, pillow etc)! So warning... the same may happen to you, hormones can completely change your thinking!

 

[Saphira]

Coming from my experience with it - exclusively formula feeding my daughter since she was 3 weeks old - she's become quite the independent 10 month old! So insecure, definitely not! She's always on the move, exploring, playing.. cuddling's for babies is her mentality - too much to explore! Since she decided one day at around 6 months that she likes being on her tummy she soon started crawling and is all over the place now well on her way to walking! As for health - she has a very dry skin condition that we thought could be provoked by formula but has turned out to be completely weather and scent-related. What I mean by this is when it's cold and the air is dry her skin worsens. She gets dry patches on her elbows and knees and her face gets dry in general. The products we use (laundry detergent, cream, shampoo/body wash) need to be completely free of any scent. A lotion has been prescribed to her and has worked magic. This skin condition was gone in the spring/summer but is making a return with recent chilliness so we're on top of it. That's all health-wise with her. She's never once been sick other than the sniffles last month, if I can even count that as being sick. I went through half a year of guilt for not being able to breastfeed, thinking I'd set my child up for the wrong start, that she was doomed to be sickly and less healthy than breastfed babies, and surely detached from me. But, I have a happy and healthy little girl who loves her Mama and Papi and hasn't at all been damaged emotionally or physically by being formula fed.
So, a bit of a novel there but I wanted to share my personal experience because I'd hate for anyone to let pressure turn into guilt. Your baby will be just fine.

 

[Ktothema]

exactly. I was so overweight growing up. Look up breastfed baby and you would not expect to find me. I have asthma & eczema which were really bad growing up. I was sooo bad at sport! I am pretty smart but not in an exceptional way. If the only information you were given about me and hubby was whether we were bf/ff then you would 100% choose to ff!

I forgot about eczema! I didn't grow out of it until I was 17. I was also so bad at sport, I can't ride a bike, I can't run & I can't jump I have no balance

Both me and my sister were ffed. I have asthma, am rubbish at sport, balance sucks but am very academically clever. My sister is perfectly healthy, great at sports but not quite as book smart as me. My dd is the brightest little thing, hitting all her milestones just out the same time as a friend's dd (exclusively bfed, 2 months older). I'm sure it's just baby specific. And like others have said surely their diet after weaning is far more important.

 

[jenniferttc1]

I don't believe they do honestly. Its all backed up by research. Formula is a great option, but I believe everything they say about breastmilk is true. I loved the bond and I just don't feel it when I give him a bottle. We recently had to switch due to being in school and stress and baby refusing to nurse causing my supply to decrease to almost nothing. My son never gets sick, only had a small cold once during a cold front. One thing I don't like is he never got rashes before, but now he gets diaper rashes so easy.
Breastmilk also helped his pimples and blocked tear ducts.

 

[rory83coyotes]

I pumped for my 1st dd and stopped at 4 months. It may have been by chance but after she quit getting breast milk she then developed horrible asthma and had to go on daily breathing treatments and steroids. She was also sick a lot. I like to think it was from not having the breast milk any more but there is no way to be certain. That being said I am perfectly happy to be combi feeding my current baby. She gets the benefits of both. It is a personal decision and one that you have to be comfortable with. I would say give it a try for say a week. If you don't like it then you don't have to stick with it. If you like it then it can save you a ton of money and the like. But if you don't want to try then it is up to you.

 

[Ktothema]

I'm not getting at pps btw with this post, it's something I meant to mention with my last post.

Asthma is another area where the benefits are being exaggerated. Some research has suggested a link but many others have suggested none. There is no scientifically clear link yet it's something ive heard mentioned a lot. I don't doubt there are very real benefits to breastmilk. I really don't. But all this bad science that gets bandied around irks me. There's very little research that is done independently out there, the people who commission it usually have some kind of agenda.

So yes, the benefits are exaggerated but it doesn't make breastmilk or formula bad. Just take everything on either side with a pinch of salt.

 

[Eala]

There is some interesting research out there. A recent study looked at how gut bacteria grows differently when exposed to breastmilk as opposed to cow's milk or formula. It was an interesting study, and the researchers had a really nice take on it - along the lines of "If we could work out why this happens, then we could make formula better by replicating the effect." Which is what I think research into breastmilk *should* be doing, rather than tired studies, beating the dead horse of trying to show (again) how breastfeeding is infinitely superior.

I could type up a huge post about the very dubious research which supposedly "supports" this idea that breastfeeding is The One True Way Which All Mothers Should Follow", the science of "risk", research methodology etc... However, I've got a baby who I want to spend time with, so instead I shall refer you on to a couple of posts by the amazing Polly Palumbo, who writes the fantastic blog "Momma Data". And dizz already mentioned the Fearless Formula Feeder, who has also done great blogs on this subject (and a book, in fact!) and is well worth a look at if you've never been over that way.

https://www.mommadata.com/2012/10/tossing-formula-out-along-with-facts.html
https://www.mommadata.com/2012/10/fact-checking-breastfeeding-media-other.html
https://www.fearlessformulafeeder.com/

 

[CeeDee]

I think the benefits are antibodies, oxytocin and cost. Breastmilk has also been great for other uses (clearing rashes and such). You make your own decision and do what you want to do, don’t let anyone pressure you. I’m sure you’ve researched both sides and you know what’s best. Your baby may react differently to BM or formula, so don't go by others experiences. Everyone has an opinion (or research) on what has worked for them, but they are really want is information to support their choice.

As someone stated they have a longer time eating solids than milk, so I think the real choice is what you feed them after the first year.

 

[Super G]

Can't see why the benefits of breastfeeding would be exaggerated? Why would that happen? Who does that benefit, just don't see the point.

It's not like anyone stands to make profits by talking up the benefits of breastfeeding. Although there was some interesting recent research by UNICEF UK that suggests if more women were supported to breastfeed the NHS could save 40 million pounds.
https://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/o...stfeeding-nhs-savings-unicef&cat=lifeandstyle

 

[minnieoxox]

Can't see why the benefits of breastfeeding would be exaggerated? Why would that happen? Who does that benefit, just don't see the point.

I don't know why. But midwives are forever telling me that breast milk reduces the chances of this and that, but by how much? I'm not saying there aren't benefits as I know there are. But how big are these benefits? BF reduces risk of asthma but the research I've seen shows it's by very little. Not by the huge amounts I feel like I've been made to believe! Maybe it's just the way I've had it put to me, I feel a huge amount of pressure to breast feed as if formula is bad for my baby and I don't think it is. :/

 

[Saphira]

About asthma - isn't it mainly due to genetics whether or not someone's more likely to develop asthma? That's what I always thought. For example, asthma seems to run in my stepsister's family. Her aunt has it very terribly, her cousin has it and my stepsister nearly died from it from a terrible asthma attack at 2. Her parents were unaware she had it although she had clear signs that could point to it, like eczema. My family has no history of asthma in it and both my sister and I were formula fed and don't have it. My stepsister was breastfed for 6 months. I'm just wondering if anyone knows more about this as I'm curious.

 

[minnieoxox]

About asthma - isn't it mainly due to genetics whether or not someone's more likely to develop asthma? That's what I always thought. For example, asthma seems to run in my stepsister's family. Her aunt has it very terribly, her cousin has it and my stepsister nearly died from it from a terrible asthma attack at 2. Her parents were unaware she had it although she had clear signs that could point to it, like eczema. My family has no history of asthma in it and both my sister and I were formula fed and don't have it. My stepsister was breastfed for 6 months. I'm just wondering if anyone knows more about this as I'm curious.

I think it is heredity...
I have it, my brother had it but grew out of it, my dad has it, his sister has it (he has 2 other sisters and a brother who don't) and my dad's mum has it, not sure about her parents. But ALL of us where exclusively bf and still have/had asthma.
However I know plenty of people who don't have it and where not bf.
There is a chance my baby will have asthma, but if she has it it will be in her genes from me and imo bf will not make the slightest bit of difference, no matter what the midwives and my mum like to tell me! (hopefully she will get those genes from her daddy and not have anything wrong with her!)

But I also know someone who has a baby with asthma when no-one else in their family does, who was bf. BUT she smoked when she was pregnant and he was premature so maybe it has something more to do with that!!

 

[HellBunny]

Some people exaggerate it (eg. If you breastfeed your child won't get this that and another) which obviously isn't true. BF does reduce the risks of certain things though as alot of us know.

 

[Nicoleoleole]

I don't think the benefits are exaggerated. I breastfed my first for 28 months, my second for 2. First never had formula and never been sick, yet my second has been sick twice.

I'm researching and putting probiotics in his formula now, just trying to get some kind of help that he could have gotten with my breastmilk.

That being said, I'm incredibly happy formula exists, or my son would've starved, but it doesn't have the same benefits that breastmilk has...

 

[bubbles123]

Current research seems to suggest asthma and eczema are hereditary and also gender based. If dad has/had it than the son is likely to get it too more than the daughter. My OH had asthma and my son had terrible eczema from birth. I haven't got either and neither has my daughter so far. If its in your genes then method of feeding is unlikely to change it although it might possibly help with the symptoms x

 

[Saphira]

Current research seems to suggest asthma and eczema are hereditary and also gender based. If dad has/had it than the son is likely to get it too more than the daughter. My OH had asthma and my son had terrible eczema from birth. I haven't got either and neither has my daughter so far. If its in your genes then method of feeding is unlikely to change it although it might possibly help with the symptoms x

Interesting - it is her dad's side of the family which has the history of asthma in it. I've also read that babies born via c-section have a slightly higher chance of developing asthma but I'm not sure how solid that research is, I'd have to look more into it. In the end there's always something done, often without much control, that can slightly increase this or that in life but we'd all be paranoid if we took small percentage increases/decreases overly seriously.

 

[vintage67]

My baby will turn one next Monday. He has never had a cold.
My 8 year old has rarely been sick. He has taken an antibiotic 3 times in 8 years; one eyedrop and 2 times for strep throat picked up at school.


Do I credit formula with this?
Of course not.
Was it the dribbles of breastmilk they got from me?
Doubt it.

I think both of them have been lucky to inherit my husband's strong genes for rarely ever getting ill. I have known him for 14 years and he rarely EVER gets sick. When he gets a minor cold it's very minor. He had a very healthy childhood.

Why is that?
Well, his mother smoked and drank alcohol during her pregnancy. He was fed formula.

Is that why he's so healthy?

Of course not.

His father rarely ever got sick and still doesn't.

What has kept his father so healthy?

Well, he's been a drunk for about 55 years and a heavy cigarette smoker.

So obviously early exposure to alchohol and cigarettes reduces your risk of getting sick.

I'm kidding of course. It's such a hodge podge really. We desperately wanted to breastfeed our children but it didn't happen. I took so much care with my older son's diet especially his first 2 years of life and I'm doing the same for this baby. I follow the "feed your baby a rainbow" diet where my baby eats a food from each color family every day.

Has that been why neither has been sickly?

I have no idea.

 

[Eala]

Can't see why the benefits of breastfeeding would be exaggerated? Why would that happen? Who does that benefit, just don't see the point.

It's not like anyone stands to make profits by talking up the benefits of breastfeeding. Although there was some interesting recent research by UNICEF UK that suggests if more women were supported to breastfeed the NHS could save 40 million pounds.
https://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/o...stfeeding-nhs-savings-unicef&cat=lifeandstyle

There are a fair number of problems with that "study". Again, FFF for one has already said it (better than I could) so here's the link:

https://www.fearlessformulafeeder.com/2012/10/the-two-headed-chimera-of-infant-feeding-studies/

As for no-one making profit from BF'ing... seriously? Just off the top of my head... Boppy, Lansinoh, Ameda, Medela (or any pump manufacturer, especially in the USA where mat leave is so short), any company who makes nursing bras, or nursing tops, lactation consultants, organisations who charge for breastfeeding classes... Need I go on? Just because it's not those big, evil formula companies who are making the money from it, doesn't mean it's somehow a totally squeaky-clean, "no money involved" affair. And yes, there are plenty of women who get by without involving any of the above. But there are a heck of a lot of women who do use at least one of the things I've mentioned. The companies who make these products or provide these services sure aren't doing it out of the goodness of their collective hearts...

As for why have the benefits been exaggerated, well, I'm not sure anyone knows. The WHO and various governments around the world like to be seen to be promoting "health" in general, and perhaps seems like a fairly easy bandwagon to jump on? Make a lot of fanfare about how breast is best (as "proven" by study X, Y, or Z, quick, ignore the fact that those studies have methodological holes the size of a moon crater) and it makes it look as though the Governments are doing something positive. The fact that they then don't back up this fanfare with meaningful, genuine support, regardless of post-code, time of birth, or whatever, doesn't matter to them. They can still tick that box which says the Mum was breastfeeding when she left the hospital, and that's them happy.

I sometimes think the benefits are exaggerated through pure ignorance, or a lack of ability to understand how to translate "risk" into real terms. You get given a percentage of how much more or less likely something is to happen to a BF baby or a formula-fed baby, and people start shrieking about how terrible formula is. If the media outlets who reported these studies had any staff with scientific/research training, then they'd know that it's not as cut and dried as that. So yes, a study may show that formula fed infants are X percent more likely to get an ear infection. But out of 1000 BF babies and 1000 formula-fed babies, that might only mean that 2 BF babies will get ear infections and 3 FF babies will.

Anyway. I am rambling when there is housework to do. Seriously, read the Momma Data blogs. She explains it far better than I can.

 

[Leids]

I don't believe that the benefits professionals speak about are exaggerated. However, I do believe that some people go way too far sometimes with their opinions and end up making mothers feel uncomfortable. For me - it comes down to personal choice. What you're more comfortable with is more important, because ultimately your child will thrive and learn better if the mom is comfortable and happy. If you were to decide to breastfeed and were utterly miserable and stressed, it's very possible that baby would pick up on that which could create further issues.

Do what you feel is right for your child. Personally, I'm breastfeeding, but I feel entirely comfortable doing so. This may not be the case with my next baby. I was prepared to formula feed right off the bat with LO, because I had no idea what to expect. Everyone is different, as is every baby, if you're more comfortable formula feeding then people just need to accept that. Honestly even BF'ing mothers get bad-mouthed and are given disgusting looks and comments for how they feed their baby, so regardless of how you choose to feed your baby someone will always have something to say about it.

And as others said, yes, you may change your mind. Just stay open minded and go with the flow when it comes to your LO, it will make things much easier and much less stressful in the long run.