breastfeeding!

[tracymort]

Why don't more women do it? It is completely beyond me why people bottlefeed (unless they have a really good reason e.g. HIV +ve). Don't people realise it is soooo much better than formula? Where I live I have yet to meet another bfing mum, am I the only one?

[WendyW]

It maybe completely beyond you why some women don't breastfeed .. but there are many individual reasons and let us not forget that it is up to the women concerned. Not all women can and not all women want to. Their choice!!

[andy hughes]

I guess WendyW has more or less summed up the argument. Yes it is biologically preferable for a mum to breast feed, but some women are unable so to do - my wife was ubale to breat feed our youngest daughter because of DVT prevention drugs used during pregnancy including Wharfrin which would have poisoned her milk. But that is by no menas the only reason, some perfectly healthy mums simply don't take to the process, they find it painful, or they simply don't enjoy the sensation, and as Wendy says, it has to be the choice of the individual, and no-one should adopt the moral high ground on this issue.

[5029]

Can a breastfeeding mother go for a night out without her baby? If the baby needs fed every couple of hours it is much handier to leave the bottle with the babysitter

[tracymort]

Andy's situtation i understand and i would for mums on other drugs such as immunosuppressants, but 5029's response is what horrifies me! Surely your childs health is worth giving up a social life for a year or so is worth it!! Anyway, you can express and i personally would give it in a cup. Formula has killed children (in march a baby contracted meningitis from contaminated formual)so i wouldn't risk giving my baby formula unless i really had to! Some women find it painful, but that's normally down to latching probs which can be resolved easily with the correct advice, people give up so easily! I just get upset by people who don't realise how good it is or don't try for selfish reasons! I don't want to offend anyone, i just wich breastfeedin was the norm, and bottlefeeding only used as a last resort.

[tracymort]

ps spelling mistakes are due to breastfeeding whilst typing!

[tracymort]

that's how often they are meant to be fed!! u feed when they are hungry, which is most of the time! It's only a short space of time they are like this, babies get more efficient at feeding as they get older. So what a messy house for a couple of months, big deal! they only have little stomachs and because breastmilk is specifically designed for baby it's easily digestible that's why they need milk so often. Also the sucking stimulates more milk production. They never warn u about that. I am pretty much constantly feeding (so he sleeps 10 hrs at night) u can get on with things! if you get a good sling. I can even take my 3 yr old to the loo, clean his teeth and put him to bed whilst feeding! I'm not putting anyone down abou bottle feeding, i think better info should be given about bfing!

[DavidUK]

I totally agree with tracyh. It puzzles me why some mothers are not willing to overcome some of the difficulties of breastfeeding so that they can provide their babies with the best start in life. Having said that, Mothers who genuinely can't do it shouldn't be made to feel guilty (unless it's just for convenience - like wanting a night out!). My wife deserves a medal for how she persevered with breast feeding our second child even whilst suffering from a short bout of mastitis, which was very painful. Of course, it doesn't help in this country where some people seem to be embarrassed by the sight of a woman breast feeding. I've even heard it described as disgusting - which is a really warped view in my opinion. Well done tracyh - you may be the only one in your area but you're right and your child will benefit.

[coemgen]

Breastfeeding may have been a great experience for you traceyh, it certainly wasn't for me. I breastfed my two youngest babies and I stuck it for 3 months each child. In that time I got woken up every 2 hours every night. I was a physical wreck with my second youngest I was advised to stop by the health visitor as my son wasn't putting on enough weight even though he suckled on me for over 30 minutes a time.With the youngest I just didn't have the stamina to look after the other kids and be woken up every 2 hours for a feed all through the night. At least when I put him on the bottle I got to sleep for at least 4 hours at a time, we were all much happier I can tell you. It depends on the baby, if you have a really hungry one, you just may not be able to satisfy it yourself. Don't be too hard on mum's that don't breastfeed, it might be the natural way to feed your child, but it doesn't mean it's the best.

[5029]

So in having a baby you won't let it out of your sight for more than two hours for a year? Will you truthfully never have a night out/day out without your baby until it is weaned? I think it is the mothers right to choose, and these days the old fashioned notion the baby never leaving your sight/ you never leaving the house without it is not one many young mothers are kean on. When expressing, you still don't get as much milk as when breast or bottle feeding

[tracymort]

heard of expressing!! anyway i have been out! i live practically opposite a pub and sometimes go to the quiz night when dillon has gone to bed. he sleeps 10 hrs but if he did wake my partner would ring me to come home and feed! i wouldn't want a day out without him, i'd miss him too much and wouldn't enjoy myself anyway! I am his world and while he is small i will be there for him so he is secure and happy.

[sarahjr]

I have read the answers to the issues on breastfeeding with much interest. It is still touches a nerve with me and my children are well past breastfeeding now! I fed both my children myself, one till he was 6months and the other for 8 months. The eldest fed every 2 hours, sometimes for as long as 1hour and a half at a time, and would then feed again not longer after. It was extremely hard work at the time & very tiring but I have two very healthy children. (Touch wood!!) Many friends who have bottlefed, either through choice or because of problems, now have children who have had many health issues, such as asthma or general ill health. Is this because they were bottlefed? I dont know for sure, but my children have had the benefit of good antibodies and milk produced specifically for them. Even if it is for the health of the little 'uns it was certainly worth all those long and sleepless nights.