Just 55pc of mothers breastfeed newborns

Oh The Humanity

pickarooney wrote: »

How dare you deny me the right not to have a mortgage and a new car?!

(am I doing it right?)

So, so far the reasons stack up as such:
- Irish nipples are abnormally prone to bleeding/dissolving
- oul wans would look at yeh
- your jugs go floppy
- have to to to work the day after the birth
- DON'T YOU DARE OPPRESS ME!

Any more gems?

Your head turns into a turnip at night.

Davidius

I was always of the view that the baby's nutrition was more important than the horror of saggy tits.

tallaght01

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

The Law? Where are you getting that idea from?



Eh, I think you'll find they do. They lose mass and become saggy. That's why so many women end up getting lifts/implants to restore what breatfeeding damaged.

Just to address this. You were talking about rights being superceded by the child etc.
Also, in relation to the breast issue, all the evidence points to women achieving their normal shape back after breastfeeding. There's a transient change in breast mass for some.

But in the majority of cases, breast feeding leads to a better figure.

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

Listen women inflict it on themselves without realising what they are getting themselves into. Its a horror show. We all know that. Half the torture comes from the realisation that what they pictured as blissfull fulfillment is 1% of it. The rest is meaningless drudgery, repetition, draining, miserable, painful, annoying never ending, soul destroying purgatory!



.

I think that's a very one sided slant to the argument. I've been at so many deliveries I couldn't even count them. And in almost all cases the women regard it as a positive experience.

bronte wrote: »

The day I'd let someone tell me what to do with my own goddamn tits.
If you want to breastfeed , fine.
If someone expresses a desire not to, kindly piss off and allow them to get on with their lives.
I'm adopted and was bottle fed, I was still an a-student.
These breast-feeding pushers are as bad as the natural birth brigade.
It's all a matter of personal choice.

I don't think anyone is "telling you what to do with your breasts". Advocating breast feeding for all the multitude of reasons that it's better is not a crime. Lots of people feel strongly that babies should be give the best start in life. You can't argue that because you are "an A student", whatever that is, that breastfeeding doesn't affect brain development, because it does.

So, let's not paint breastfeeding as some kind of torture propagated against us by the meddling classes. It's best for kids by a long shot. It can be difficult. If it's too difficult, then fair enough.

But the anti-breast feeding hysteria here fascinates me.

Pye

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Breast feeding is not always easy or practical for new mothers (eg lots of babies just won't suck) so it's not always an option.

Whilst it's true that it can be very problematic for the few, 55% is a bit much. As for not sucking, I doubt mothers are even trying to get them to suck. Most of what I hear is mothers putting the child straight to bottle.

As for 'wrecking your tits' it actually keeps them plump and full in most cases. I think they look pretty damn good. Of course, they'll shrink afterwards but only back to what they were.

Oh The Humanity

Davidius wrote: »

I was always of the view that the baby's nutrition was more important than the horror of saggy tits.

Incorrect! Why vandalise your tits unnecessarily.

If men had a situation where their testicles would end up down around their knees just to increase a babies nutrition a smidge.....I'd say ....erm......testicle feeding rates would drop though the floor, much like your tits do after a sprog has gnawed on em.

Oh The Humanity

tallaght01 wrote: »

Just to address this. You were talking about rights being superceded by the child etc.
Also, in relation to the breast issue, all the evidence points to women achieving their normal shape back after breastfeeding. There's a transient change in breast mass for some.

Right, I wasn't talking about legal rights, just normal household rights, like who gets to hold the remote and stuff like that.

tallaght01 wrote: »

But in the majority of cases, breast feeding leads to a better figure.

A better figure for La Leche League!

tallaght01 wrote: »

I think that's a very one sided slant to the argument. I've been at so many deliveries I couldn't even count them. And in almost all cases the women regard it as a positive experience.

I wasn't talking about deliveries. I was talking about rearing em, bringing them up, raising them. Not childbirth.

tallaght01 wrote: »

I don't think anyone is "telling you what to do with your breasts". Advocating breast feeding for all the multitude of reasons that it's better is not a crime. Lots of people feel strongly that babies should be give the best start in life. You can't argue that because you are "an A student", whatever that is, that breastfeeding doesn't affect brain development, because it does.

But so what. The baby will still be good enough. Sure I was breast fed and am as as mad as a box of frogs so what does that prove.

tallaght01 wrote: »

So, let's not paint breastfeeding as some kind of torture propagated against us by the meddling classes. It's best for kids by a long shot. It can be difficult. If it's too difficult, then fair enough.

But the anti-breast feeding hysteria here fascinates me.

Yes, but its fun to be hysterical

Little Acorn

I don't have any kids,so don't know for certain what I would choose.
What I am certain about,is that NO woman should be made feel like a bad mother over how she decides to feed HER baby.
She could still be an excellent mother,and it's really nobody's business.

If was really extremely dangerous not to breastfeed,then formula wouldn't be sold and all mother's would want to breastfeed.
I don't think women who choose to bottlefeed believe they are being selfish,because they probably know lot's of people who were bottlefed and are just fine,or else were bottlefed themselves.

I was bottlefed and very rarely get sick. I can't even remember how many years it is since I had a cold.
All my friends bar 1 fella,were all bottlefed and have very good health.
I think there are many people in my situation,who would therefore find little reason to find anything wrong with bottlefeeding.
(Hence the high percentage of bottle feeding)

The thing that does interest me about breastfeeding though is colostrum,and the way it passes on immunity.

A few things I'd like to know just out of interest,if anybody knows:

How long does colostrum last?
eg. Could you breastfeed for just a few weeks,and pass on all the benefits of it?

Can you express pump colostrum?

How many weeks/months do you have to be breastfeeding before it changes the appearance of your breasts for the worst, and would expressing milk do the same?

These are just a few things I wonder about. ^^

I think both breastfeeding mothers and bottlefeeding mothers should be let carry on rearing their child,without anyone preaching to either groups about what they should do.

Pye

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

Incorrect! Why vandalise your tits unnecessarily.

Or your fanny?

Time too, can't be waiting for it to just come out when it's ready. Set a date and scalpel at the ready. We can choose it's birthday. Sunday evening I reckon!

bronte

tallaght01 wrote: »

I don't think anyone is "telling you what to do with your breasts". Advocating breast feeding for all the multitude of reasons that it's better is not a crime.

Advocating it isn't. Shoving it down peoples throats is.

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

If men had a situation where their testicles would end up down around their knees just to increase a babies nutrition a smidge.....I'd say ....erm......testicle feeding rates would drop though the floor, much like your tits do after a sprog has gnawed on em.

I do wonder if male opinion would be different if a part of their anatomy were subjected to similar woes.

Oh The Humanity

Pye wrote: »

Or your fanny?

Time too, can't be waiting for it to just come out when it's ready. Set a date and scalpel at the ready. We can choose it's birthday. Sunday evening I reckon!

Sundays no good, I like to be good and drunk of a Sunday.

Tuesday mornings better. We can whip it out then with a few litres of the yella as well.

Jobs a good'un.

Oh The Humanity

Little Acorn wrote: »

A few things I'd like to know just out of interest,if anybody knows:

How long does colostrum last?

4 or 5 days I think

Little Acorn wrote: »

eg. Could you breastfeed for just a few weeks,and pass on all the benefits of it?

Some people just do the colostrum but you can continue if it goes well for you.

Little Acorn wrote: »

Can you express pump colostrum?

Doubt it, its quite thick and mucosy by all accounts! Anyway its only for a few days so no point.

Little Acorn wrote: »

How many weeks/months do you have to be breastfeeding before it changes the appearance of your breasts for the worst, and would expressing milk do the same?

Any prolonged period where your breasts are stretched will do them no good. When breastfeeding your breasts get bigger and the longer you feed the longer they stay that way. It not the breastfeeding, its the stopping that does the harm. The Breastapo would have you believe they magically ping back into their previous size and shape but Im afraid this is pie in the sky. There is a lot of extra skin, so the existing tissue is accommodated by a larger baggier skin bag. Which has lost some elasticity. This is ptosis and breast surgeons see it all the time.

Little Acorn wrote: »

I think both breastfeeding mothers and bottlefeeding mothers should be let carry on rearing their child,without anyone preaching to either groups about what they should do.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaamen!

Little Acorn

Thanks for the info Oh The Humanity.

neuro-praxis

Actually - isn't it true that the maxim "breast is best" is observational and there is actually no scientific evidence that proves that children who are fed on the bottle are handicapped in any way? (I could be wrong here, but what little I've read seems to back this up.) I've read articles in newspapers and magazines to the contrary but they've never cited any studies that I've seen.

However I remember reading a study a while back on the subject because my own mother suffered terribly with breastfeeding along with two other women in my family (they all had mastitis which affects up to 30% of breastfeeding women, however not all of them develop very severe symptoms, like abscesses, but my mam did) , and so I am nervous of it myself. The report was commissioned by an Australian midwifery group and the results basically stated that children who were fed formula were at no higher risk of developing illnesses or allergies than breast-fed children.

However there are studies that state that there are non-nutrient advantages to preterm or underweight babies having breastmilk as it helps an underdeveloped immune system. In the case of having an early or underweight baby I would do everything I could to give them breastmilk, whether it was my own or not.

Anyway bottom line for me is becoming a parent is hard, and all parents want to do the best by their children, and passing judgment on them for whether or not they breastfeed only feeds this culture of guilt and pressure to be Supermums who can manage everything without a breeze.

Do what works for your own family and to hell with everyone else.

Davidius

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

Incorrect! Why vandalise your tits unnecessarily.

Did you just say my opinion was wrong?

Joey the lips

I think the brestfeeding will increase now that we are in a recession. SMA 7 euro, When did that happen?

Oh The Humanity

Davidius wrote: »

Did you just say my opinion was wrong?

This is some kind of trap isn't it?

You cant fool me! I WAS BREASTFED!

stovelid

Joey the lips wrote: »

SMA 7 euro, When did that happen?

When people started heading across the border to buy it in nuclear bunker storage amounts.

TequilaMockingBird

Troll? Hope so.

stovelid

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Troll? Hope so.

Me?

TequilaMockingBird

No. The OP, s/he is talking a load of tosh.

Dudess

Jeez, there seems to be a lot of highly judgemental assumptions here that a mother wouldn't breastfeed purely because of selfish reasons.
Most mothers want to do the very best for their babies but sometimes breastfeeding is too painful and difficult and physically damaging (I'm not talking about the more cosmetic stuff like how it affects the pertness of her boobs, moreso the bleeding and cracked nipples - how unpleasant is that?) - and even upsetting. So they eventually give in, but not for the lack of trying.

Just because some of the women here/partners or wives of some of the men here sailed through it, doesn't mean all women do. Unfair to impose that on other women and make them feel like sh1t mothers.

nlgbbbblth

Oh The Humanity wrote: »

Most people want to give it a shot.

Most?

Try around half or less.

Ten women in my building have had babies in the last four years.
Number of breastfeeders = one.
Number that tried to breastfeed = two

My wife was determined to breast feed and successfully did so with our two children. The first took a bit of time to work out but she persevered and it sorted itself after a little while. She got loads of support from La Leche League.

Lots of women don't bother - they prefer the 'easy' route.
Fine if someone tries and it doesn't work out (and not everybody will be successful in breastfeeding), but saying "f*ck it, I won't bother" is a cop-out.

It's a mindset. The dollybirds and Heat / Hello / The Sun / XFactor guzzlers tend not to go for it.

If that offends anybody, then tough titty.

foxy06

I'm due no.3 and this will be my second attempt at breastfeeding. The first time was one of the most traumatic times of my life. I tried for a week and the child was starving, nipples were bleeding and there was blood in his nappy from my boobs when trying to feed him. Every single nurse that walked in the ward had a different method of getting him to feed. All were pro breast but none were pro getting mother to not have a nervous breakdown! In the end I just could take it no more.

Dudess

I would definitely try my best to breastfeed, but I must admit the thought of it does make me squirm. They're darn sensitive.

metaoblivia

I think mothers should feed their babies as they see fit. I find this debate very interesting because I've had surgery on my breasts that involved cutting open my nipples (it was not cosmetic, it was a medical issue). If I ever have children, there's a good chance I'll end up being a mother who bottle feeds as opposed to breast feeding. Breast feeding is a wonderful, natural thing, but the physical pain some women can experience (cracking, bleeding) can be excruciating. I don't think women should have to suffer through that if they don't want to. I don't think it makes them any less devoted and I wouldn't dismiss it as "the easy way out."
Another point I haven't seen yet is the issue of premature babies. My mother couldn't breast feed my brother because he was born 6 weeks early and had to stay in the intensive care unit for weeks. By the time he was released, she was all dried up.

Quality

The way people are going on about the pain is a bit ridiculous.. Its like breaking in a pair of new shoes, it might hurt for the first few goes but then when they are broken in things are comfortable..

Its not excruciating... Its pain with a purpose...

Quality

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

It's a mindset. The dollybirds and Heat / Hello / The Sun / XFactor guzzlers tend not to go for it.

If that offends anybody, then tough titty.

Yeah that offends me, I breast feed, It doesnt make me ugly!!:eek:


Its not all hippys you know..

metaoblivia

Quality wrote: »

The way people are going on about the pain is a bit ridiculous.. Its like breaking in a pair of new shoes, it might hurt for the first few goes but then when they are broken in things are comfortable..

Its not excruciating... Its pain with a purpose...

Your pain threshold may be different from someone else's. Different people have different bodies.

Quality

metaoblivia wrote: »

Your pain threshold may be different from someone else's. Different people have different bodies.

Sorry, I dont mean to come across as insensitive, I know exactly what cracked and blistered nipples can feel like, believe me..

But my point is that it is a teething problem.

I would not like every woman to think that she is automatically going to crack or blister every time she feeds her baby. It is very short term,

Some women do not even experience these set backs.

Quackles

I know this is after hours, and I shouldn't take things seriously, but the judgmental nature of this thread bothers the hell out of me. I tried to breastfeed my kids, not one of you will ever know how difficult it was to make the decision to quit. The guilt I felt was terrible, and reading this kind of tosh brings it all back. I hope the wrong people don't read through this, it's post natal depression in thread form.