Silly FF myths you need to avoid ;)

[aliss]

I have NEVER seen a legitimate medical/lactation source which has stated, "If you breastfeed, X will not happen to you or your baby". The advice simply states that multiple studies have indicated that risk factors may be reduced if one breastfeeds.

I personally cannot understand why bottle-feeding mothers choose to dismiss legitimate medical research because it suggests that breastfeeding would have reduced certain risks. Can't understand. Is it insecurity? Is it "stick your head in the sand" syndrome? Is it "well, it didn't happen to me so it must be false?". No.

Nothing from a legitimate medical/lactation source has said bottle-feeding mothers can't bond, or that your child WILL be ill, or that breastfed babies don't get ill, etc. Do some laymen say this? Yes. And that opinion is just as valid as bottle-feeding mothers who spout ignorance on the other end of the spectrum.

And yes, I bottle-fed my first son. Not just your regular formula either, that corn syrup solids soy Enfamil which is probably the worst product out there. So, am I happy about that? No. Did I make the only choice I felt I had? Yes. That doesn't negate that it wasn't an ideal situation and that there are risk factors surrounding it. If people don't want to acknowledge frequent medical studies, that's fine, but to write it off as bullshit because you don't agree? Sorry, how is THAT going to help encourage the breastfeeding support that so many of us did not receive when we needed it?

If an antenatal class presents incorrect statements then a complaint should be made.

 

[cissyhope]

Yep thats sums it up ^^^

 

[Liesje]

I would like to know exactly how much breastmilk is needed to reduce/prevent/avoid, etc.

 

[Arisa]

without being judgemental,just having a little fun with 'statistics' while trying to make myself feel better.the following is a link to countrywise breastfeeding rates and countrywise IQ .
https://www.childinfo.org/breastfeeding_countrydata.php
https://www.rlynn.co.uk/pages/article_intelligence/t4.asp
what caught my eye was Guinea in particular.Go figure.

wow new zealand and england both have scores of 100

 

[x Michelle x]

Ariasa, do you mean the UK which includes Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
The UK isn't just England

 

[babygirlFTM12]

My lo has horrible reflux so we stopped bf'ing at 6 weeks. it was a rough choice but we were into the ped's office at least once a week and could not figure out what was wrong.......cue hypoallergenic formula and she is totally fine

me on the other hand plagued by terrible guilt and also PPD made me a very unhappy mom for the past few weeks

also pretty much everyone in my age generation in our family was ff and none of us are obese, stupid or sickly. it is really offensive rhetoric

 

[Arisa]

Ariasa, do you mean the UK which includes Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
The UK isn't just England

well yes, but it was my understanding that great Britain in particular was a lot more pro breast than the other British isles and as a new zealander with an english family, husband and parents I know it was unheard of for my family to formula feed, none of us children were or my mother or their mothers mothers however I was weaned at five months due to mum having a severe infection which required surgery so i was put on cows milk LOL which would be frowned upon today and i was the healthiest of all three of us girls who were breast fed, mum breastfed my middle sister the longest and she had the most health problems, i know its not to say its related to BFFing but she was and has always been more sensitive in terms of health.

anyway, way off track, so yeah NZ is very pro breastfeeding its almost compulsory the way my pregnant friends talk about it like its not even an option to formula feed unless baby has a severe allergy, disability or mother cannot for whatever reason. I would rather FF my baby than risk all the medications I am on, some of them very sedating pass through my milk, also in all honesty I do not handle pain and stress very well and I know breastfeeding is painful to start with and my mental health could not even comprehend being the sole feeder, it would destroy me, i would be in a psych unit, i am so thankful for Formula as my husband and parents even friends can help feed baby when i have bad days PND wise and just cannot cope

 

[patch2006uk]

The bonding one is massively blown out of proportion. As I understand it, the 'bonding' triggered by BFing mostly during the first feed. The hormone rush of letdown, combined with the skin to skin, and the smell of LO, all make a bonding cocktail which FF moms and babies miss out on. FWIW, I had to express and cup feed as LO wouldn't latch, so I missed out on this initial bonding too.

It doesn't mean that FF moms and babies never bond. It simply means that in those first hours, BFing moms get a hit of oxytocin which can speed up the bonding process. Perhaps longterm, if a formula fed baby is bottle propped and left in a bouncer, then they may have less of a strong bond, but as long as you hold and cuddle your LO, you'll bond strongly however they're fed.