All this drama about bf VS ff! My take on it...

[go_romanovs]

Disclaimer first.

I don't think that FF makes anybody a bad mother - NOT AT ALL!  Just uninformed, may be.. And I don't hold it agaist you.. really. I know that if you are not doing it, there's no much motivation to learn about it LOL.. and our society doesn't encourage it at all. It actually discourages it.. It's HARD to breastfeed in our society.  Besides I have plenty of formula feeding friends. Good friends too and they all know my position on it. I can disagree and still be friends.

But I still feel strongly about breastfeeding.

It's like.. if your friend was eating McD 3 times a day, 7 days a week - would you say something if you cared? Oh, she is ok.. no heart problems or obesity yet..  But at least your friend is a grown up person and is doing it to herself.. 

How about your uncle who always crosses the road on red - and he is just fine. He also walks around telling people that the whole green light thing is a big joke.  What would you say?

I guess you can call me one of those boob nazis - (except for I never say anything negative, I just try not to look and not to think about it ) but I consider breast not being the best that a mother can offer to her child. I consider breast milk a normal infant food, like we consider home made food normal. Then what does it make formula and McD and crossing on red? Are these lesser than normal?  Breast milk is a golden standard of infant food. Formula manufacturers know it, they have been trying to duplicate it for years.. decades now and didn't come even close. There are about 300 known (and new ones are being discovered every year!) ingredients to breastmilk, formulas have about 40. What are all those other ingredients for? What are the ff babies missing out on?

And think about this.. You all know the so called benefits of breastfeeding, right? If you consider breastfeeding normal and all the 'benefits' - the norm, than if you don't receive the normal food, you are getting less than normal food with all the consequences. Surely, a lot of babies are OK on formula, only because humans are highly adaptable and some babies are just blessed with good health. If your baby is doing great on formula, can you imagine, what she would've been like on normal food?

You guys.. babies die from formula all the time! Even in civilised countries. Just google that phrase, read about what UNISEF or WHO have to say about it.

Then on top of the nutritional aspect alone, we get a problem of improper jaw development from sucking on an artificial nipple.. You can read more about it on Brian Palmer's website.. We get a problems of lack of immunities, inability to adapt to babies daily needs, inability to change flavor... WHat does the lack of all this do?

No, sorry, I will never say to a mom 'good job for formula feeding your child'. I'll look the other way, I'll shut up or if I care and the mother is open I'll try to help her relactate or find donated milk.

[SmileyMoo]

Jul. 17, 2009 at 3:37 PM

agreed with you hon!

[ClaireW]

Jul. 17, 2009 at 3:50 PM

Good post!

[vintagechicken]

Jul. 17, 2009 at 3:54 PM

It is certainly an individual preference. Thank goodness we have a choice.  

[Xakana]

Jul. 17, 2009 at 5:18 PM

[go_romanovs]

Jul. 17, 2009 at 6:40 PM

I dunno... vanilla or chocolate is an individual preference. Here we talking about something that may potentially ruin a child's health. We just never know. Not much of choice, if you ask me..

The problem I have with it that an average mother, making a decision to start her baby on formula

A. thinks that breast milk is better, but formula is just as good... (I dunno how that computes, but so I've heard) and

B. she doesn't usually know how to make breastfeeding work.

So because of A. she is not even interested in figuring the B. out.

 

(Original Poster)

[go_romanovs]

Jul. 18, 2009 at 1:23 AM

Such a bad ppd is horrible! That's awful that you had to go through that. And it is really sad that you didn't have a friend to help you deal with it.

Now imagine a horrible scenario - before the car seat era, when they were just coming out some moms had an option of a car seat, but didn't get it..  their children died or got crippled because they weren't strapped in. Now.. Should we go ahead and tell the truth about car safety, showing people how a car seat  can save your child's life, at the same time risking offending all those moms who didn't strap their kids in, or do we educate parents on dangers of their kids flopping around the car?

Shouldn't it be a choice? Personal preference? After all, not all babies who flop around die. We grew up without car seats and we are ok. Car seats are expensive, I can't afford one! How about this one - 'it didn't work for me - my kid HATES the car seat and screamed the whole 10 minutes he was in it'...

But no - we go ahead and make it a LAW to have you child strapped in. If you can't afford one, you can get a free one or $20 one if you go to a class or whatever.

Now, why don't we do the same with infant feeding? Why isn't it a law that you have to nurse your child and if you can't (yes, I know, some women can't) you can have an option of donor breast milk for free if you qualify or for really cheap if you take classes or do some community service or whatever? And in this perfect world a lot of stay at home moms make a decent boost to their budget by selling their breast milk.

And sadly, I actually have an answer for that. Car seats cost money. IT's a really good money maker.. So yeay, they save lives - lets' make billions on that! We care about your child's safety!

Breast milk is free. Healthy breastfed babies are not profitable. But formula - oh yes! That's where the money is.

(Original Poster)

[blssdmumof2]

Jul. 20, 2009 at 12:39 PM

Great post! I agree with you 100%.  I have some friends who think,  and I quote, "I think that's nasty!"  WHAT???!!! They get me sooo fired up when they say things like that!  How can something so natural, that God provided, be nasty??? BF is the BEST thing to give your newborn baby!! I used to work in a Peds office and you would not believe how many babies would come in with numerous amounts of digestive problems and constipation issues and guess what...they were all FORMULA fed!!! Not saying that a BF baby can't have similar issues, but it is a LOT less common in a BF baby!!

As long as my boobies are producing it...I am giving it!!! Only the best for my babies!!

Thanks for this post!!! :)

[kyriesmommy13]

Jul. 24, 2009 at 10:26 AM

i completely agree, great post! if only every mother could realize it is every babies birthright and the best possible thing to do, and that formula is way more inferior than we are led to believe-and should only be used as a last resort!

[go_romanovs]

Jul. 24, 2009 at 9:45 PM

Thank you all so much for your nice comments!
I am really surprised this didn't turn into a 10 page heated discussion! :))

(Original Poster)

[catholicmamamia]

Aug. 1, 2009 at 4:11 PM

Very well stated, my friend. Of course it makes perfect sense to us, but.... I just cannot get past why there are those who (for all intents and purposes) simply do not care. I guess all I can do is continue to support those who are asking, or as you said: open, and pray for the rest. We (in the lactation world) see the after-effects of FF everywhere.... irritable bowel syndrome, crohn's/colitis, ulcers, heartburn, increased respiratory illnesses, heart disease, asthma cancer. Shall I go on, or am I preaching to the choir? The chants of "but I fed my child formula bottles and he/she is fine" are going to die out several years down the road when said child is diabetic, requiring braces, or has the digestive issues of a senior citizen in his/her twenties, thirties, etc.  ::sigh::

We do what we can and put the innocents in God's Hands, I suppose.