Breast feeding, pros and cons

nadnad

thanks sam for answering, your circumstances were stressful its understandable cos bf can be emotionally and physically very draining and if i hadnt had my OH i dont know if i could have stuck at it. I'm wondering more about the mums who have a good support network, good circumstances, etc. I have a friend who wouldnt do it simply cos she didnt want to be the only one getting up in the night, it just seemed a little selfish to me not to try as she had loads of family around to help her during the day and she would have been able to catch up on sleep.

thatgirlsam

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart wrote: »

Hum....that child should have started solids at six months, yes? What's your point here? Nobody here is advocating exclusive - ie no solids or formula - breastfeeding until the age of one year. And it doesn't make you look anti-breastfeeding as much as it makes you look severely lacking in knowledge about breastfeeding, to not know what "exclusive" refers to.

of course i know what exclusive breastfeeding means..
and there have been people on this thread who have stated that formula milk is harmful, as harmful as smoking over your baby.. so i presume they exclusively bf until weaning??

im not sure what age hv's advise weaning these days, around 8 months i think?

the point i was making is that not all breastmilk is superior..
i know someone who has an appalling diet, drinks 4 pints of cider then bf's her baby..

we should consider every angle here.

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart

A good support network is essential for BFing, agreed. Back in cave-days of yore, women would have lived in small societies and would have been very involved with each other, helping out etc. We just don't have this a lot of the time; society is structured very differently.

Ever wondered why when women live in the same house find that their periods get into sync? Nature wants them to get pregnant at the same time so that they are able to breastfeed each other's babies, in case one mum dies/falls ill (very common back then) or mum simply needs a break. Again, this kind of thing would be really taboo in today's society, but it does make sense.

thatgirlsam

nadnad wrote: »

thanks sam for answering, your circumstances were stressful its understandable cos bf can be emotionally and physically very draining and if i hadnt had my OH i dont know if i could have stuck at it. I'm wondering more about the mums who have a good support network, good circumstances, etc. I have a friend who wouldnt do it simply cos she didnt want to be the only one getting up in the night, it just seemed a little selfish to me not to try as she had loads of family around to help her during the day and she would have been able to catch up on sleep.

im not sure why, but the choice is theirs and who are we to judge?

clairehi

I think its a class issue personally, as with many things. Leaving aside those with genuine medical reasons, middle class mothers are much more likely to b/f than working class.

<stands well back>

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart

thatgirlsam wrote: »

of course i know what exclusive breastfeeding means..
and there have been people on this thread who have stated that formula milk is harmful, as harmful as smoking over your baby.. so i presume they exclusively bf until weaning??

im not sure what age hv's advise weaning these days, around 8 months i think?

the point i was making is that not all breastmilk is superior..
i know someone who has an appalling diet, drinks 4 pints of cider then bf's her baby..

we should consider every angle here.

Weaning is from around six months onwards.

And I don't think anyone would suggest you drink four pints of cider and then breastfeed. Ditto eating a very restricted diet (although mum's diet would have to be unusually restricted for the quality of her milk to suffer. Mums who eat a lot of junk food will still produce milk superior to formula - baby takes what they need first, so mum is going to feel pants, but the milk will be fine).

If you'd like to make your point about not all breastmilk being superior, perhaps you could pick a study that isn't a) based on babies way above the age for exclusive breastfeeding (milk alone won't be enough at one year, regardless of diet) and b) not in Polish?

Edited to add that yes, many women exclusively BF until solids, then continue with solids. Exclusively feeding until one is not common practise.

surreysaver

nadnad wrote: »

i'm aware they choose not to, that much is obvious, but my question was WHY? as a man who has never had to make the choice i would imagine you will have difficulty answeing this question.

I think as a man I understand more about letting mothers have a choice than bf hippies. A man who trys to force his partner to or not to breastfeed will not succeed. A man realises the importance of allowing the mother to choose. Yes, it is about the baby, but it is also about the mother's body too. No one can force her to do something with her body she does not want to do. Or cannot do. You just have to support her with whatever decision she makes. I think as long as the mother has listened to and considered the father's point of view, whereever a difference of opinion still exists then it is the mother's perogative to make the final decision.

nadnad

thatgirlsam wrote: »

of course i know what exclusive breastfeeding means..
and there have been people on this thread who have stated that formula milk is harmful, as harmful as smoking over your baby.. so i presume they exclusively bf until weaning??

im not sure what age hv's advise weaning these days, around 8 months i think?

the point i was making is that not all breastmilk is superior..
i know someone who has an appalling diet, drinks 4 pints of cider then bf's her baby..

we should consider every angle here.

i've been told on numerous occasions by my doctor, health visitor, mid wife that it doesnt matter what you eat as very little of this actually gets passed to baby. following is a quote from kellymom.com (bf guidance site)

"There are NO foods that a mother should avoid simply because she is breastfeeding. It is generally recommended that you eat whatever you like, whenever you like, in the amounts that you like and continue to do this unless you notice an obvious reaction in your baby to a particular food. There is no such thing as a "L[SIZE=-1]IST OF[/SIZE] F[SIZE=-1]OODS[/SIZE] T[SIZE=-1]HAT[/SIZE] B[SIZE=-1]REASTFEEDING[/SIZE] M[SIZE=-1]OTHERS[/SIZE] S[SIZE=-1]HOULD[/SIZE] N[SIZE=-1]OT[/SIZE] E[SIZE=-1]AT[/SIZE]" because most nursing moms can eat anything they want, and because the babies who are sensitive to certain foods are each unique - what bothers one may not bother another. If you have a family history of allergies, you might want to avoid certain foods (for example, peanuts or dairy), but again, this would be different for every child."

surreysaver

nadnad wrote: »

I get the distinct impression that there are people here who have a chip on their shoulder about BF because they know it is the best thing to do but they havent done it.

No. The people here have a chip on their shoulder about those who look down upon those who don't bf. Or critisise those who don't. They do not have a chip about people who breastfeed.

thatgirlsam

http://www.babycenter.in/baby/breastfeeding/breastfeedingdiet/

there is not a list on food you should not eat, but there are some you may like to avoid..
like i said - personal choice..
this is what i beleive in