There so many problems that can be caused by using formula, unless you need to use it, why not give your baby the best start in life.
2006-09-27 23:01:04 · 54 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
My question is not a judgement - but merely asking why is there no support for women that want to breastfeed.
2006-09-28 08:04:12 · update #1
Thank you for all of your amazing answers - I wasnt trying to infer that breast was best, perhaps I phrased my question incorrectly or didnt give enough detail.
The job you do is great, and it doesn't matter what people choose. Its what is best for baby & Mum
It just saddens me when I get Mums saying they couldnt be bothered or that they didnt want to ruin their breasts. Or Mums that really wanted to, but the support system just was not there.
I feel having a baby means they are the most important thing in the world and we can only do our best to ensure their health and survival.
My 1st baby was prem and for the first couple of weeks was on breast and formula, after that just breast. When he was a year old I put him onto formula, within a few weeks he was covered in eczema. He is three now and our constant daily battle is keeping his eczema at bay. Thank goodness for Probiotics, the battle is not won, but at least we have more good days.
Breast is not best-its natural
2006-09-28 08:39:14 · update #2
I am a breastfeeding councillor, and we are a group of mums who help mums that have problems/questions about breastfeeding - and who ASK us about it.
I think it is important that people make an informed choice about breast/formula feeding.
We give people the information, but tell them that it is up to them what they want to do. If they want us to help them more, fine. If they decided that they've had enough, we encourage them that they have done their best.
A lot of people here seem to have had problems with people hounding them for not breastfeeding. But I come across a lot of people who have the opposite situation - people are always telling them their milk is not good enough or they don't have enough etc. (even though the baby is gaining weight and is healthy!).
I think that a lot of times people who are convinced that they cannot breastfeed, if they had the right sort of help, would find that they could (if they want to of course). This is from personal experience with mothers who found that something small, like a change in feeding position or just non-judgmental encouragement, made a difference in what decision they made.
But when you come down to it, it is the mother's right to decide, and no one should try to push her around.
Everyone does what they can with the information they have at that time. I know I did - I had different experiences with my different children, because I knew different things about feeding.
What I get irritated about is when health professionals actually give wrong information to mothers with questions - it's not that they are a bad doctor , but maybe they are just not up to date on breastfeeding ( for example the lady who was told her breastmilk was giving her baby jaundice and that she should stop - that's old advice), and mothers suffer needlessly. Either from being made to feel guilty for things that are not their fault, or because of being given wrong advice.
2006-09-28 12:25:20 · answer #1 · answered by Rose 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Convenience, and also because in a lot of places it's still frowned on to breastfeed in public. Some malls etc. have a place for women to go so they can have some privacy but if you're out for the day there isn't always a place. And westerners still see this as hanging your breast out for all to see, tho it isn't really. (and yes, I'm a westerner too.) I just think it should be seen as natural; if you wear a loose top and kind of slip the baby under it, where's the problem? If you have day care at work, I don't see why a nursing mother shouldn't be entitled to a "nursing break" as much as smokers are entitled to their cig breaks! Breastfeeding is necessary and doesn't cause lung cancer! Nobody's ever been made ill from "secondary breastmilk," now have they? LOL
2006-09-28 02:14:19 · answer #2 · answered by anna 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Would you prefer the mothers to starve their babies?
I just had my little guy a week ago, I was wanting more than anything to breastfeed him. However, no matter how hard I tried he had a lot of trouble trying to latch on because my nipples are inverted. Sometimes he was able to latch on.....an hour after he was fussing because of being hungry and that just isn't fair to him to make him wait an hour to finally get latched on before he eats. Therefore, I went to formula.
You should do a little research though, because formula doesn't cause problems to babies. Yes, breastmilk IS the best source, but formula has everything the baby needs. So, while breastmilk may be the most beneficial, it doesn't make formula a "bad" choice.
It's the mothers choice whether or not they want to breastfeed, not yours or anyone else's on here. Whatever the mother chooses they don't deserve to be looked down upon just because she didn't choose the breastmilk!
You should worry more about the babies and children out there that aren't getting taken care of and less about how mothers choose to feed their babies, because at least they're being fed and taken care of!
2006-09-28 03:07:59 · answer #3 · answered by Chriscia 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I like many of the other answerers on this question get soooo pi**sed off when you are made to feel like a bad mother if you can't or don't breastfeed. I started to breastfeed my son and when it didn't work out I was made to feel like a complete failure by all the health professionals around me. I did not need that pressure as I was a first time mum, had gone through a difficult birth and the last thing I needed to hear was that I wasn't good enough as a parent. I switched to formula and my son was immediately happier and so was I. When I had my daughter, again I was happy to start with the breast, but again it didn't work out. But this time I knew that when I switched to formula we would both be much happier and no way was I going to feel guilty about it this time. And I didn't. My children are both healthy and happy. I do not, and will not feel guilty about not breastfeeding them. It was my choice, no-one elses. I applaud women who are able to breastfeed, but I couldn't and that's that. I am not a bad parent because of it and no-one has the right to tell me that I am.
2006-09-28 02:25:30 · answer #4 · answered by Trix 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Loads of reasons. I did not make enough milk. I did breast and bottle for as long as I could and I dried up in 10 weeks. It was very frustrating and took up all of my time. I had no time to do anything else, litterally. My daughter would be attached to me for 2 hours at a time sometimes and then I would still have to make her a bottle. I am so tired of the La Leche nazis putting people down for not doing it. Formula would not be on the market if it was not good for the baby. And it is ridiculous to think that your kid wont be smart or thrive if on formula. My mother was bottle fed, I was bottle fed, my husband was bottle fed and can only imagine that formula has gotten so much better since then and we all turnd out just fine. Rant done.
2006-09-28 05:48:43 · answer #5 · answered by sooz 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I found breast feeding really hard with my daughter. I wanted to try and give her the best start in life but I am not a patient person and she was always half an hour on half an hour off and that got very tiring also the fact the my partner couldn't help as much as he wanted to. I managed it for two weeks before i moved on to formula but i would certainly again with my next child.
2006-09-28 02:21:45 · answer #6 · answered by Caz 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some woman no matter how large the breast can't produce enough milk to feed there child.I'm not saying breastfeeding is not good or the child would go hungry but formula does have every thing the child would need.I have 6 children all raised on formula and they all turned out very healthy.Formula also gives the father a chance to do his part in feeding and bonding with there child they don't feel left out.
2006-09-27 23:16:21 · answer #7 · answered by dreamweaver021557 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I guess it's just a personal choice. I tried to breastfeed but I don't produce enough so my daughter was losing weight quickly so the Dr. had me supplement and it spiraled downward from there...and now 4 formulas later she is on Alimentum because she is colicy and can't stomach other formulas. You are right, there can be lots of issues with using formula, however if it's the only option you make the best of it.
2006-09-28 01:28:09 · answer #8 · answered by totspotathome 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Personally i couldnt breastfeed (but would have) because i never produced any milk with any of my 3 children or even colostrum for that matter and no i havent had a boob job, they're both real.
Anyway, i think alot of mothers feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public as they get stared at or asked to move on from cafes/restaurants etc etc.
Also IMO young 1st time mothers arent given the information and support to actually try breast feeding, its not something we as woman know how to do straight away, it requires learning and practise and i dont think the midwives in hospitals have the time or resources to offer mothers the 1-2-1 time to encourage it.
2006-09-27 23:05:55 · answer #9 · answered by sweetfemaleattitudeuk2076 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The only think I was sure on throughout pregnancy was that I wanted to breast feed and give my son the best start in life. However, despite a good start at breast feeding, he became jaundiced and was admitted to hospital @ 5 days. The doctor (and I quote) said your milk supply obviously isn't good enough, you must introduce bottles or you'll make him ill!!!! My milk had only just come in and, in hindsight, I realise that we were only just establishing our supply and demand routine - if the hospital had been more supportive - things would have been fine. However, the introduction of bottles by the hospital on the day my milk came in disrupted my milk supply so that it dwindled to almost nothing, taught my son that there was an easier option than breasts, and destroyed any confidence I had in my bodies ability to nurse my son. I spent weeks torturing myself that I was obviously a s**t mother because I couldn't breast feed - everywhere you look it says 'breast is best' - and since my son wouldn't latch on after being introduced to bottles, that must make me a bad mother! I pumped and pumped all day everyday - stressing myself out and convinced I was a failure. The 1st months of my babies life were bligted by feelings of inadequacy that I couldn't breast feed exclusively. It still brings tears to my eyes and makes me really really angry when I think back to that doctors words of my milk making my baby ill. No - my milk wasn't inadequate - we were getting there - I needed support and encouragement - not a snotty nosed clueless jr doc who had no regard for future feeding probs that she was causing. Expressing finally got easier and my son now (@4months) has 4 x Expressed bottles and 1 x formula a day. I only express 3 xs a day now and we've got into a routine that suits us. I know he's getting the valuable breast milk antibodies - and I get the sanity that comes with not having to be tied to the pumps!!
Why must people judge and criticise. New mums need support, not extra pressure. Breast is best does not mean formula is bad. New mums must do what makes them and their babies happy. Many many formula fed babies thrive - infact my baby had a very health weight gain when formula fed - this has now reduced since oving to a more breast fed diet!
By saying you're giving baby the best start in life intimates that formula mums are not doing the best for their babies - next time you say this - imaging the extra emotional turmoil you're inflicting on mums who can't breast feed. We feel bad enough already!
2006-09-27 23:22:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋