Thursday, April 8, 2010
Oh shit, Lauren's weighing in on the whole breastfeeding issue.
My blog is far from controversial. Yeah, I curse and I'm kind of a bad ass but when I post my opinion on something I always get so much kickback that it pisses me off and totally turns me off writing how I really feel about [insert hot button topic here].
Fuck that. Not anymore.
There was a study that came out this week that states that breastfeeding SAVES LIVES. Almost 1,000 babies per year die from diseases and SIDS that could have been prevented if the child was breastfeeding.
This isn't in some third world country. THIS IS IN THE UNITED STATES.
This isn't a formula-guilt post. This is a BREASTFEEDING IS BEST FOR BABIES post.
Women choose not to breastfeed for all sorts of reasons but please don't tell me that you CAN'T breastfeed.
This isn't a formula-guilt post. This is a BREASTFEEDING IS BEST FOR BABIES post.
Women choose not to breastfeed for all sorts of reasons but please don't tell me that you CAN'T breastfeed.
Because that's not true. Your body is made for breastfeeding. And when I say breastfeed I'm referring to breast milk. I know that some women choose to exclusively pump so don't think that I mean that directly from the breast is best. It was the easiest for my daughter and me but I know that some babies are vicious assholes towards their mother's nipples.
What is my point?
If you choose not to breastfeed that is totally up to you but don't get all up in arms when a study comes out with even more evidence proving that breast milk is best for babies. It isn't an attack on you as a parent. It's just a fucking study. If there was definite proof that God doesn't exist would you regret believing? Probably not.
It's all about choices.
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25 comments:
Very well said!
hollah
You're very poorly informed. Some women actually CAN'T breastfeed. How about for those women who's milk doesn't come in? Or for those who have had a breast reduction surgery and their milk glands have been cut and again, cannot produce milk?
The reason you catch shit for talking about this stuff is because you force your opinion on others without even considering there may be another way that's fine. Yes, breast msy be best. BUT to say that everyone CAN breastfeed is just ignorant.
Wow, your Troll is an Ass that has a point. When Abby had her surgery they told her she might not be able to breast feed. But you are right all women are born able to breastfeed.
I really appreciate everyone's comments but please don't think that you will be attacked if you use your name or Blogger login. I would like to know who is actually leaving the comment. Anonymous comments make you look like a coward.
Yes, if you have surgery on your breasts to alter them in some way it could cause complications.
And yes, all women are born to breastfeed. Some women are set up for failure at the hospital and receive no support. They are led to believe that it's easy and if it doesn't happen right away that it never will. And that's sad.
You could not be more wrong. You should probably stick to no weighing in on the big issues because you have an awful way of expressing yourself. Unless you truly do think EVERY woman can breastfeed, in which case you're sadly misinformed. You're saying you don't judge people who CHOOSE to formula feed, but that women who try to BF and can't are liars? As a breastfeeding mother, I'm appalled. Its people like who who give us a bad name and make people who are not successfull at breastfeeding feel unworthy.
Oh Lauren, You. Go. Girl!
(and for these people who say you're misinformed, just send 'em over to my blog, or any other real research) and they'll know you're not.
Kendra Fucking Wilkinson (hellooo Implants!!!) breastfed her baby.
Not saying it's never ever ever EVAH impossible, but most of the time, MOST OF THE TIME, it's shitty information and a huge lack of support.
I definitely think many women choose not to breastfeed and then get defensive about it.
However, I am one of those women who physically could not breastfeed. My milk never came in despite having one huge boob starting about 7 months into my pregnancy (and it's still bigger!)
I attempted to breastfeed (exclusively) for two weeks and then began supplementing for two weeks before I finally gave up.
When I wasn't breastfeeding, I was hooked up to a pump and taking supplements -- yet I never produced more than an ounce or two each day.
I encourage you not to paint all formula-feeding moms with the same brush. Breast may be best, but formula kept my daughter alive. So formula FTW.
I am someone who is very passionate about breastfeeding and know how great it is for a baby. My child never had one drop of formula and I attribute her lack of illness that she had while breastfeeding to it.
While I think breastfeeding is amazing, the truth is it IS very taxing and difficult in the beginning. Many women have the misconception that it comes naturally with no work and when it doesn't, they give up. I think that you need to remember that YOU supplemented with formula...and that you pumped and gave a bottle. You actually supplemented with formula a lot...and blogged about it.
Here is the truth: MOST women are able to breastfeed and MOST (meaning over 50%) try to breastfeed in the hospital. For whatever reason, some don't continue. But not every single woman is able to breastfeed. My husband's mother was unable to because of supply...she never ever got milk in. She tried for over 2 weeks before her children were below birth weight for too long. Back in the old days, there were wet nurses to take over if the mother was unable to breastfeed OR the baby would die.
I am tired of people judging OTHERS parenting decisions. What it comes down to is this: these aren't your children or your family. Those 900 deaths are a general estimate. Some breastfeeding babies STILL die from SIDS. I guess you could call those parents who don't use a fan in the child's room, because it reduces the chance of SIDS, bad parents. NO PARENT WANTS TO MAKE THEIR CHILD SICK AND DIE. I think this...stick to your family...do whats best for them. Spank, don't spank. Breastfeed, don't breastfeed. Co-sleep, don't co-sleep. Cry it out, don't cry it out...these decisions don't make you a bad parent. But you judging others makes YOU a bad person.
You are awesome and I love this brassy post. I had a difficult time breastfeeding my 1st born and after 2 months (last 3 weeks passing thrush back & forth) I gave up. I did NOT have much support though. My 2nd baby was a rockstar nurser from the start. She was in th NICU for the first 24 hrs, but I made sure they didn't give her a bottle or formula & pumped while we were separated. She latched on & didn't let go for almost 20 months! I was determined, but I also had support. Support is VITAL!!!! Keep singing your own song, Lauren.
Yay opinionated Lauren! Gotta say what you feel, who cares about douches.
I agree with the lack of support and information for sure. Hospitals do not seem very interested in allowing you to breastfeed. When I had Babe I said NO FORMULA, they gave him formula. They said 'oh but we gave it to him in a cup'. Hmmm I don't recall NO FORMULA unless of course it's in a cup. Then they said because of me being a bit overweight and my boobs being so large it wouldn't be possible. I tried and tried and tried when we got home and pumped and pumped but eventually I wasn't getting enough to sustain him. He wouldn't take the boob ever no matter how much I tried. I was there ready willing and able but it didn't happen. I feel like that if the hospital had been more supportive and helpful and listened to me we could have done it. I'm prepared for battle when I have baby #2. :]
Lauren - I have been reading your blog for awhile but have never commented. Here is yet another perspective for you to consider...
After puberty my left tata was an A cup and my right tata was closer to a C cup. I decided to get a boob job in my early 20's to fix this. After I had my son, I was NOT able to breastfeed. My milk never came in. I was never engorged - I never made colustrum. I felt nothing. I had all the support in the world - the nurses, doctors, my mom etc. I took a breast feeding class during the last month of my pregnancy. I met with 3 lactation consultants while in the hospital and the weeks after. I took the supplements. I drank more water than I care to remember. I pumped every 2 hours for weeks... and NOTHING. I knew it was going to be hard and I prepared myself for that. Apparently what I did not prepare myself for was people like you.
Was I not able to breastfeed because of the surgery OR was my body not made to breastfeed because of the original defect? What I am telling you is that I could NOT breastfeed.
Just something to consider before you make your next bold statement about breastfeeding.
Terri from Austin, Texas
(I don't want to be anonymous but I don't know how to use Blogger... this is my first comment ever.)
I completely agree Breast is best but it is a choice. I know girls who hated breast feeding because it hurt and they just couldn't get the baby to latch or what not. I personally breast fed for 15 months and would have gone longer if Damien didn't decide he didn't want it anymore. He did the same thing with his binky just took it out one day and never touched it again. 20 mins after Damien was born the nurse held him on my boob, which was bigger then his whole body, and he latched on with no problems. I was lucky because he was a great feeder no pain never bit.
I fully embraced breastfeeding and it worked well for us for the length of time we did it. I did however patiently wait for my boobs to grow as everyone promised which NEVER happened. LOL.
Lauren, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I know you're a big advocate of breastfeeding, and I agree that it's best for baby, but there are in fact numerous women out there that cannot breastfeed. I know a few. They didn't produce. At all. Weeks and weeks of trying and nothing. Their body was NOT made for it.
On a personal note, I breastfed for the 5 days I was in the hospital after a c-section, then developed a massive infection at my incision site. I was put on 2 different heavy antibiotics along with various other medications and was told not to breastfeed. This wasn't really a choice. It was necessary so I didn't pass on possible lethal doses of meds onto my child through breastmilk.
I don't even know what to say after reading all the comments. i am very much pro-breastfeeding, even though at one time the thought completely grossed me out and i didn't think i would do it. I am so glad i nursed both my babies for a full year. I see that some women physically can't and that sucks (pun?) for them. I get mad when people are too damned lazy to do it, though. People like a certain family member of mine who is at home all day every day collecting unemployment and WIC and other assistance, paid for by the taxpayers. And she doesn't breastfeed because she's too lazy or whatever. For goodness sake, nurse your kids instead of making the rest of us pay for their friggin' formula!
Great post! I look forward to breastfeeding when I have a baby.
Way to get your voice out there!
Women who cannot physically breastfeed and were born that way are the EXCEPTION, not the rule.
I would think that it is common sense that there is always an exception to the rule. I understand that when someone says "all" they really mean "all, except for those few who are part of the exception."
Formula feeding is like c-sections. WHO says that the c-section rate should be 15% or less. That means that up to 15% of women can't give birth for one reason or another- so less than 15% of women were born unable to vaginally birth their children.
But the c-section rate in the US is 32%- much, much too high. So we speak out against unnecessary c-sections. When we do this, we're not attacking the woman who had necessary c-sections. We're attacking the system which caused unnecessary c-sections.
In the same way, when we talk about breast is best or formula increases risks of death from SIDS, we're attacking the culture, the SYSTEM which causes women to give up on breastfeeding or think they cannot when they really can.
wow!! Love your post so true!!
This your blog therefore you can post as you wish free speech baby !! The pleasure of having a blog is just that.
There ARE exceptions and perhaps I should have stated that. I figured that it didn't need to be said to be understood but I was mistaken. Obviously if you have to be put on toxic medication that is an exception.
I understand what you meant was that we *should* be able to breastfeed, biologically. I am not sure how long you feel we *should*. I have almost made it to 6 months and I have now officially given up because my boobs just won't produce enough to sustain my baby anymore (he needs 32+ oz a day, I have never produced more than 20 even early on - I produce around 10 now).
And also I want to throw that effin' pump right into the middle of the Dallas Tollway and watch it get smashed into tiny bits after months of mangling my poor nipples.
I really did plan to breastfeed for a year, I had no idea my boobs couldn't do it. I am taking all the supplements doing the massage, etc (I wrote a post about it), I actually got help from no less than 3 lactation consultants, and it just isn't working anymore. After I wrote that post, my mom told me she had the same issues with us. We genetically have boobs that don't do much, apparently.
All that to say, I understand both sides - wanting to breastfeed, not being able to do it...I hate using formula but I have to do it now. Maybe I can try again with the next child and maybe it will work better next time.
But it does hurt my feelings and makes my guilt worse when people tell me that my body should be able to do it, when I have tried so much and I feel so guilty for not being able to :-(
J- You WERE able to do it! You breastfed for almost six months- that's a success! Don't put yourself down for doing your best.
Here here chickie!!! And isn't a blog supposed to be for your own opinions?? And it's hardly YOUR opinion that breast is best...pretty sure that's a world wide party line! But if you don't frikkin like it or agree, don't read it! At the very least, you don't need to get so stinking nasty with comments, makes the other point of view wind up being disregarded when the women giving it spout off a bunch of trash talk! For the ignorance being spewed, they have apparently missed that you are simply pointing out the well known fact that breast IS best....of course there will be the odd exception to this, & women who have valid medical reasons, but I know you are speaking to those, that I too come across, who simply whine & complain & make a selfish choice for selfish reasons with crappy excuses to cover for it. If you're so "Tired Of her Rants", stop reading....I love your rants LOL!
:-D
Haha! There are a lot of very defensive comments in here!
I formula fed my daughter. I regret it, but I am not defensive about it. I made milk. My boobies worked correctly but my mind did not. And my hospital did not. They told me in the hospital that since she was a big baby, she needed formula, and dumbass first time uninformed ("It comes naturally, it'll be easy!") mom that I was, I believed them and supplemented literally from the first day. Guess how long breastfeeding lasted? A month.
The bottom line is that this study is saying that breastfeeding saves lives. Period. That is not anyone getting preachy or judgy. It's just trufax.
I formula fed one of my kids (the dumb one! Just kidding...) and I don't feel defensive over your post. I feel ripped off that my hospital didn't offer appropriate information and support to facilitate breastfeeding.
So instead of swooping in here undercover and calling Lauren judgmental or whatthefuckever, divert your energy. Quit being defensive- whether you did or you didn't breastfeed your kid- and support the cause of making hospitals more boob-friendly.
All women probably "can" breastfeed but not all babies can is the point I think should be made here. With my first son he just could not get latched on and the nurses in the hospital could not understand. The lactation consultant came in and looked at him and said "I think his frenulum is kind of tight, you should ask the pediatrician about it affecting his latch". So I asked the in hospital pediatrician because my regular one doesn't do hospital rounds. This woman pediatrician puts a glove on and sticks her finger in my baby's mouth and tells me he has a strong suck, its not a problem. I tried for 8 weeks to get him to latch on, pumping and cup feeding. After lots of tears, spilled breast milk and resistance to formula I had no choice but to give up. With out my baby latching on pumping just wasn't enough to maintain a sufficient milk supply to feed him, I started having nothing but blood come from my nipples from broken blood vessels in my ducts. Pregnant with my second child I said "ok, I'm going to make this work this time no matter what I have to do." I read all kinds of literature on the subject and miraculously I found a book that had a picture of a tongue-tied baby and listed this as a reason for difficulty latching on. It looked exactly like my baby's tongue! When my second was born he latched on fine but I just didn't feel that he was compressing the nipple enough, not hearing enough swallowing. I checked his tongue at birth and thought it was fine but after careful re-examination, his frenulum was a bit tight. I made an appt. with my pediatrian immediately and had an in office procedure done to correct it. He and the nurse held open his mouth and quickly snipped that little piece of tissue. It bled a little but my baby wasn't bothered by any pain. Now he is a breastfeeding champ! If I had known to do this with my first son I have no doubt that I could have breastfed him. Sometimes a baby can have a problem latching on, most of the time it can be corrected but sometimes we have to result to formula even though we REALLY wanted to breastfeed. Lauren, I'm not attacking you or anyone else here. I just thought my experience could be helpful here. I don't think anyone can argue that breast is best, the milk is designed specially for your baby.
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