Vindicated, baby!

[wickedgillie]

Mothers Got Wrong Advice for 40 Years

Here's hoping the medical establishment in the US follows suit!

(thanks to forbiddenplutofor sharing the article!)

Comments

[magista]

Interesting. And yet my two nephews, both breast-fed exclusively for 6 months, are off the top of the growth charts. One in height, and the other in height and weight.

But ridiculously active, both of them, so I have no worries for them.

I, on the other hand, was a formula baby, and now I shall blame it all on my mother... :D

[wickedgillie]

I do think genetics play a huge role as well, and I know as a species, we're in general getting taller, and no doubt that will be addressed by a later generation of growth charts.

But so often I hear stories about doctors pushing supplementation for small, breastfed babies whose parents are also both tiny, never mind that the children are happy, healthy, and meeting or exceeding their milestones, simply because they were being viewed against a formula feeding growth chart.

[ingridmatthews]

It *baffles* me that people think breast-fed children are undernourished. I mean, the laws of nature make sure THIS CAN NOT BE SO, this can NEVER BE SO -- unless the mother or baby are ill.

Also, the premie babies I've seen that were breast-fed? They turned from matchsticks into MEATBALLS in around six weeks, so I don't know what these people are talking about.

I think we need to make serious distinctions between nourishment and weight, because, yes, during the Middle Ages, it was a good sign if Baby was fat, it would probably survive another year, but come on ... haven't we evolve a little since then?

We also need to calm new mothers down. Anxiety is the single most detrimental factor when it comes to breast-feeding failure or success and doctors do *not* help in this regard, at all.

[wickedgillie]

I do think anxiety, PPD, and poor information from the medical community seriously contribute to a lack of breastfeeding, not just in our society, but globally. That, and the fact that we've lost that shared wisdom of women-folk surrounding us that can help the new mother along. I am constantly amazed in my role as a breastfeeding peer mentor to see women filling out their applications and how many of them answered "no" to "Have you ever seen anyone breastfeed?"

I am truly thankful to LJ for providing support, not just to me, but to so many other mamas who were completely new to breastfeeding and were getting poor advice from doctors who, surprise surprise, get tons of kickbacks from formula companies.

[ingridmatthews]

That, and the fact that we've lost that shared wisdom of women-folk surrounding us that can help the new mother along.

There's also a generation of women that are anti-breatfeeding, especially in the U.S. who actively discourage their daughters from it. Usual excuses range from "the baby is starving" to, "that's disgusting" as well as the insane sexualization of the breast that exists over here.

I don't know where we got lost after a million years of evolution, but ...

[wickedgillie]

My grandmother sabotaged my mother that way; my mom (always extremely thin, and whom only gained 12 lbs during her pregnancy with me) was told by her mother not to breastfeed me because "the baby will starve to death." Nevermind that I had the birthweight of a preemie (4 lbs 15 oz) when born, or that I ended up with a slew of formula-related health problems, allergies, severe ear infections (I have partial hearing loss in one ear because of this), pneumonia, and in and out of the hospital until about age 3; my grandmother still feels vindicated simply because I didn't die