Hereiam_AKL t1_j8roxlp wrote
Reply to comment by leni710 in Little evidence to support health claims made on formula milk by Dodomando
Sorry if that came over the wrong way. We were struggling with our first born as well and had the baby formula ready to be used, when everything started to work out. I grew up bottle fed, not because my mother didn't have enough milk or not enough time, but because she honestly fell for all the advertising and believed that baby formula is actually better than breastfeeding. It was so deeply rooted, that she even asked us if we didn't think it was better to use formula, despite there being no need for it.
Of course the most important thing is that the baby is feeding, one way or the other. My sentence was aiming at the advertisement, and claiming false health benefits, which lead to people actually believing that breastfeeding is for parents who cannot afford formula.
lowdiver t1_j8rpi6g wrote
I nearly starved 30 years ago because my mother didn’t produce enough milk and was under such pressure to breastfeed.
Fed is best. Guilting women for not breastfeeding is what literally nearly killed me.
AbanoMex t1_j8s2kgl wrote
> Guilting women for not breastfeeding is what literally nearly killed me.
indeed, i have a 1month old girl, and my wife produced so little milk that if we were living in the wilderness, the baby would have starved, so we had to go Formula, i guess not everyone has the luck of not spending money on milk.
Littlebotweak t1_j8rpqk3 wrote
You still didn’t prove “it’s best if it comes from the breast” with this trope. I get it, you believe that, but your belief isn’t necessarily true.
There’s a cult around breastfeeding now just like there was corporate pressure to formula feed when you were a kid.
They BOTH extol health benefits that aren’t proven. They BOTH try to insist they’re best.
It’s a shitty, divisive topic, and it’s just ignorant for anyone to come along and state, as a fact, that one is better than the other for [reasons].
Just stop. You’ve got your foot basically down your throat. Consider for a moment that there isn’t a side to pick, here, so maybe you simply shouldn’t. That’s the big lesson from this “debate”. It’s that there isn’t one, just advertisers and the media trying to make people feel like they should. Don’t fall for it.
Mothers are under so much fucking scrutiny from day one. Stop adding to the pile.
Hereiam_AKL t1_j8rtwr9 wrote
Looks like you decided that I am the perfect villain... Little point in discussing then. So maybe read that article here then, it's pretty much my point. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/20/is-breast-really-best-i-looked-at-all-the-data-to-find-out
I completely agree with this part here:
Where does this leave us? In a sense, none of this argues against the claim that “breast is best”. It seems it is best in terms of infant health. Where I think we run into complexity is in how we contextualise the size of the benefits, taking into account the fact that breastfeeding is difficult and may not be practical for all.
leni710 t1_j8s8kne wrote
When you're trying to have these discussions, keep in mind some various populations of people and the fact that these are communities that have grown, thus changing the landscape in more ways than one:
-infants in foster care
-infants adopted out
-infants raised by relatives, away from the person who birthed them
-medications needing to be used that negatively impact breast milk
-transgender people giving birth who might no longer be able to breast feed
-teenagers having babies who are struggling to breast feed
-working people who can't stay on top of the breast feeding cycles
-people with post partum mental health issues who are unable to breast feed
-anxieties, depression, and the like that people have that can create adverse environments for breast feeding
-illness that makes it difficult to put baby near the sick person for breast feeding
-societal bullshit around "ahhh, boobies are public nudity and you will be charged as such"
-in general, gross ass people objectifying breast feeding
-sudden change in family dynamics, like a spouse moving out, that requires a new way of feeding infants
I could go on. But I need people to stop shaming the reality of feeding infants. The forced-birther side wanting everyone to just pop out babies is already doing more than enough harm to push people into making dangerous decisions. Infant and maternal mortality rates in the U.S., specifically for Black and Brown people, is insanely high for a "first world" country. The last thing anyone needs is some holier than thou shit around feeding infants, children, and all people. If you're mad enough at the manufacturer, tell them to make better products of formula, don't try to die on a hill of shaming vulnerable people.
Littlebotweak t1_j8rwxyr wrote
What happens is this: parents who manage to breast feed tend to gain a sick sense of superiority and go around telling everyone else it’s the best. Not because they’ve done any new studies or gained any further data - it is based completely on egoism. The fact that you did it means you’re doing everything “the best” therefore….you’re the best!! Yay! Best parent award!!!
Because they really believe it, even if it isn’t true. Then, they seek any bias to confirm that belief.
This is literally what you’re doing. And in a public forum, no less. That’s how convinced you are. 😂
Linking to the guardian isn’t gonna change that, just like it never changes anything else. 😂😂😂
Spoonloops t1_j8s8zkd wrote
I just read recently alot of the small studies suggesting breastfed babies are "smarter" and hit milestones faster are flawed and don't look at economical situations on the advantages of breast vs formula. Its shown women who breastfeed in the US tend to be higher income families who are able to stay home with their kids, homeschool, etc, while most of the formula fed kids where lower income, mom had to go back to work quickly and leave baby at a daycare, etc. Entirely different first years have different outcomes.
DormeDwayne t1_j8t1gii wrote
So basically a mother who breastfed is not allowed to express her view that breastfeeding is best? And a person who has lost weight is not allowed to express the opinion that being normal weight is healthiest? And a happily married parent is not allowed to say out loud that two-parent families are best for kids? Etc etc. Their opinion is automatically prohibited bcs it can only possibly come from a place of smugness and not that they have tried both and find one preferable or whatever? Sounds dangerously censoring…
ibbity t1_j8t2407 wrote
These people are not allowed to act like their choices are automatically, inherently superior, and that anyone who makes a different choice is wrong and bad and should be shamed. Which you and I both know good and well is a very, very common behavior.
DormeDwayne t1_j8tehtg wrote
The thing is a mom who formula-fed her baby is allowed to praise bottle-feeding… but a mother who breastfed isn’t allowed to praise breastfeeding without being accused of shaming any other option. Why is that?
FeloniousReverend t1_j8te06m wrote
No, but everything you listed is purely anecdotal unless there's some kind of real evidence to support the claims. A random mother who breastfed and never used formula claiming that 'breast is best' is absolutely meaningless. How would she know breast is best, and by what criteria is she making such a claim? Hell, how does she know her kid wouldn't be better off if they had some formula mixed in? It's not censorship, it's keeping opinions as opinions and not facts. This applies to every example you listed.
[deleted] t1_j8rvuek wrote
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