Ash and MB -
I don’t care weather you breastfeed or bottle feed…your business…and I’m not sure if you even have kids…but I really feel you need to educate yourselves on breastmilk and breastfeeding a little more before you write anything else – some of what you’re writing is so inaccurate it’s insane.

Breastmilk is as good as formula? Huh? Not being able to afford a pump? If you can afford to buy formula, you can afford to buy a pump. Do you know how much formula is? It’s pretty darn expensive. Once you buy a pump, breastmilk is free, and the fact is breastmilk IS best for a baby. Well known fact. If you get formula advertisements at a hospital when you have a baby, THEY even claim in their pamphlets that “breast is best”. Increase in rickets due to breastfeeding? Breastmilk doesn’t have everything a baby nutritionally needs? What?

Also, I’ve breastfed 4 babies and no Dr., lactation consultant, or pediatrician has ever told me “Breastfeed your baby or Else”.

Really, some of these statements are almost laughable. Like I said in my previous post, breastfeeding your baby is a personal choice, and I would never judge people who formula feed. It just urks me when people who have no experience breastfeeding act like they know it all.

So Ash, it sounds like we are in agreement

MB-

I think a big issue is that many (if not most) women in our country don’t have the best diet and probably don’t get all the nutrients they need. Therefore, by breastfeeding, their babies could be suffering because of their deficiencies. The majority of doctors don’t test babies to see if their levels of vitamin D are up to par which is the problem.

I just think it’s an overgeneralization to say that breastfeeding is always the best choice for the health of a child when there’s a possibility that it might not be (due to allergies, illness, etc.). I think mothers should be receiving advice that’s more well-rounded rather than just hearing “You should breastfeed your baby or else!”

Um, Sarah, it was a generalization, so just calm down. My point was that I, luckily and thank God, have not had and have no health problems, am not sick and haven’t been seriously ill, work out 5-6 days a wk, eat healthy and am in great shape. Considering a large population of American’s are now entering obesity and have health problems, I was generalizing that I’m probably healthier than most, and that not being breastfed really didn’t matter to my overall health, and that while I do understand that breastfeeding is better for baby, if you don’t breastfeed it won’t mean that your child will be unhealthy and that it’s every woman’s choice whether to breast feed or not.

Ash brought up a point, but I would like to correct something. The article was saying there was a correlation between breastfeeding and rickets. The authors also allowed that there could be other causes, such as drinking too much juice and soda or spending too much time in front of the TV and not outside. So breastfeeding isn’t *necessarily* the cause of an increase in rickets.

That said, it seems to me that breastmilk is as good as what mothers put into their bodies. If mothers are eating right and getting enough vitamins, then it does seem like breastmilk is healthier overall. But if a mother isn’t, then yes, health problems could be caused.

The important thing to remember is that every child and every family is different. Sometimes it’s just not possible to breastfeed, and sometimes a mother just isn’t comfortable with the idea. Why force something a mother is clearly uncomfortable with? I would think that it would then make the child uncomfortable as well, and that just seems like a poor situation. Also, if a mother works she may not be able to afford a pump once she comes back to work (WIC has a program for those if anyone is interested and eligible btw) or may not work in a pumping friendly environment.

While I do plan to try to breastfeed, I just think it’s important to acknowledge that whether you do or you don’t, it doesn’t mean you are a bad or a good mother.

N.S., I know that you said it is ‘just your opinion’, but I take offense (as I’m sure many others do) to the comment of being a young mother hindering our choices. I am 20.5 with a 6 month old, my husband is 22, and he is in grad school a year away from his masters and I am almost done with school, as well. I am a touring vocalist and I still have time for everything I did before, without having to rely on a babysitter. Being young has nothing to do with it– it’s a person’s maturity. I’m sure you’ve met some 40 year olds with the maturity level of a 15 year old, right? She sounds like she is doing a wonderful job. Focus on maturity, not age.

Ditto Sarah and Elle. Breastfed babies aren’t necessarily healthier, regardless of what WHO or anyone else says. Did anyone read the article that was recently posted here on CBB? There has been an increase in cases of rickets because babies who are breastfed tend to be deficient in vitamin D. That’s a serious problem. Sure, you can supplement with vitamin drops but to assume that breast milk has EVERYTHING that a baby needs is false.

Also, my mother only breastfed my sister and I for a few weeks. We turned out fine by most people’s standards and haven’t had any serious health problems yet *knock on wood*. I think breastfeeding is a good thing and I’ll definitely try it out when I have kids, but I’m honestly getting turned off by all the pro-breastfeeding advocates that are so judgemental. Each mother has to make her own choice based on what she is comfortable with. Babies who are formula fed generally end up just as healthy as babies who are breastfed so it’s not the end of the world.

Wow…I cannot believe how crazed people get when talking about breastfeeding. I started out nursing my son until he was about 3 months old and unfortunately I had a physical reason that didn’t allow me to continue. My son is more healthy than most other kids we know and has always been in the 95-98 percentile. So to say that unless you breastfeed your child until they are 2 or however old that they are going to be less healthy than a child who is breastfed that long is insane! Many people are predisposed to certain things no matter how healthy they try to be due to genetics. I know plenty of kids that were breastfed until they were over 1 and they aren’t any more healthy than the children who weren’t.

PS – Don’t nail Charlotte to the cross because of the choices she made with her daughter. She is her mother and knows what works best for them.

Taylor- you can personally guarantee that you are healthier than the majority of people on this site-really? That’s quite a statement. I guess that means you know the health status of all the people on this site since you KNOW you are healthier than we are. I think you need to learn to express your opinions w/o making such ridiculous statements because while you are entitled to your opinion, statements such as this one make you sound silly.

I firmly believe breastfeeding is healthier for babies in most situations. I breastfed my two kids well past the first year. However not everyone can or wants to breastfeed and that’s fine. Let people decide for themselves what is right for them and their children.

I would’t judge a woman who wants to breastfeed their child until 5 years old…, just like I wouldn’t judge a woman who wants to stop at 6 weeks. Everyone is different and breastfeeding is a very personal thing between a mother and her child. It’s not for everyone and everyone has their reasons for doing/not doing it. I personally breastfed all my kids until they were ready to wean on their own – 15months, 13 months, 14 months, and currently breastfeeding another. I was pregnant again when all of them weaned so I am a firm believer in the fact that the milk takes on a different taste when I’m pregnant. I also don’t think there’s ANYTHING wrong with a toddler breastfeeding. It takes a loving relationship between a mother and child to do that, and what’s wrong with that? To each his own!!