Breastfeeding: Pro or Con? **Update Post #1**

[Robinrs]

My friend is having a real hard time with breastfeeding. She is frustrated and I cannot help her. I tried for a few days and had to stop because my son was jaundiced and they told me they needed to measure more accurately.

I've heard EVERY argument known to parenthood, what are your feelings? And with your feelings, what are the long term results?

Not a debate, just personal experience.


**UPDATE:*** I got an email at 1am from my friend who told me it's FINALLY working. The milk is coming in good and the baby is latching and happy! I'm so happy for here, she really wanted it to work and it finally is. Thanks for all of your wisdom and thoughts. It's a debate that will go on as long as women have children, I guess.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

If you have no problems being able to breastfeed, I don't understand why you wouldn't.

I can understand how women having trouble doing it with it may feel jealous or ostracized.

That is all I can say based on my experiences with my two children.

 

[acejka]

My feelings are to each her own.

I plan on breastfeeding in the privacy of my home, pumping to bring with when I am out and the kid needs to eat. If the kids really needs to eat I when I am out I will find a nice restroom with a mothers lounge on it and use that, but I personally would not be comfortable feeding in public unless very well covered. Just the person I am.

If it doesn't work out, oh well not everything goes as planned and I am not going to loose my marbles over it... I will pick some formula and go on with life.

 

[Planogirl]

It's up to the Mom and only the Mom. It's no one else's business IMO and no one should ever feel guilty or be harassed for whatever they do.

 

[MichelleVW]

Personally never had any desire to try it. My girls were healthy, we bonded just fine and I don't regret my decision for a minute.

 

[taylor3297]

If the breast feeding is not going well, there is nothing wrong with switching to formula. It is more important that the baby is getting the proper nutrition whether from breast milk or formula.

Having a baby is stressful enough. She doesn't need to add the stress of the breast feeding not working out.

 

[Mimi1965]

I went to LaLeche league meetings BEFORE my baby came-to get tips from breastfeeding Moms. Your friend could still try to find a meeting-they occur in most towns and cities.


My breast fed kids did not go to the doctor as much as my friends babies who were bottle fed-that plus its FREE were two BIG pluses

 

[Robinrs]

I went to LaLeche league meetings BEFORE my baby came-to get tips from breastfeeding Moms. Your friend could still try to find a meeting-they occur in most towns and cities.


My breast fed kids did not go to the doctor as much as my friends babies who were bottle fed-that plus its FREE were two BIG pluses

I hear this a lot and I'm curious about this. This has not been my personal experience at all so I wonder if this is across the board.

 

[java]

Honestly I tried it out of laziness- The thought of warming a bottle in the middle of the night- wasn't very appealing to me. My son was a premie and he did just fine. I had a bumpy few days but then it went fine. I have breastfed all 4 of my kids. And well into their first year. It was cheaper and easier for me. But I was comfortable breastfeeding anyplace.

But that worked for me. I don't push it on anyone. My kids didn't get the ear infections that my friend's children were getting- is that because of breastfeeding or just good genes

Stressed mommy=stressed baby. If she is miserable doing it then she shouldn't be doing it. Encourage her with the words that the first few days of breastfeeding being the most important and she's already been through that. So good job to her and if it's not her thing- then time to find a solution.

Hope things improve for her. Sounds like she's having a tough time right now.

 

[MariDisney]

I didn't vote in the poll. I am very pro, but it didn't work for me. My daughter needed a NICU stay and had some issues at birth that precluded us from breastfeeding.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Very very pro, most women can be successful with support, and the benefits for the baby are fabulous. With that said, nothing is better for a baby than a happy confident mom.

 

[locolala]

I'm currently breastfeeding (well, not right now but you know what I mean) my 3 month old DD and to be honest.. I don't like it much. I can't explain why, I just don't really enjoy it like some people seem to. I'm slowly weaning her to formula. She does just fine with formula, doesn't get an upset stomach or anything. It's not right for everyone, if the mom doesn't like it or doesn't want to.. that's her business.

 

[Planogirl]

I hear this a lot and I'm curious about this. This has not been my personal experience at all so I wonder if this is across the board.

My son is healthy and wasn't breastfed. My brother and I weren't either and we're healthy. I don't think that there are any absolutes but the statistics do say that BF is best of course.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I breastfed all three of my children. Although, on #3 I needed to supplement with formula - he was a BIG EATER!

As far as I'm concerned, breastfeed or not, it's a personal choice and whatever one you make, it's the best one for you and your baby.

 

[Magpie]

I'm sorry they made you stop just because your son was jaundiced! They actually support breastfeeding through jaundice in our hospital - they even have a room with a sunlamp for the mother and baby to nurse under.

In any case, since you asked about pros and cons, here's what I experienced:

Breastfeeding Pros:

Healthier.
Natural.
More convenient (no bottles, no prep).
Can be done anywhere, any time. In bed, in the middle of the night, standing in line at the bank... whenever!
Less gear to carry around - all I had to do was stuff a diaper in the back of my pocket and baby and I were good to go.
When you get the hang of it, it actually feels great. I mean, like really, really great. There's nothing quite like it. I still sometimes dream about nursing.
It's something only you can give your baby, no one else.
People smile when they see you nursing your baby.
You lose those pregnancy pounds faster.
You've got the perfect excuse to put your feet up - "You'll have to vacuum the rug, honey! I'm nursing the baby!"
A sick baby will usually keep on nursing, if only for comfort, and breastmilk is easier to digest and keep down than formula. So there's less worry about dehydration.


Breastfeeding Cons:

It can be tricky to learn. My first baby was tough. My second? A breeze!
*Sometimes* it can hurt. Pain can be caused by mastitis (infection in the milk duct), or thrush (a fungal infection). In the first day it can sometimes cause cramping as your uterus retracts. If you're not doing it right, you can get chapped or bleeding nipples - ouch!
Babies sometimes bite - but you can train them not to really easily. For mine, all it took was popping a finger into the mouth and pressing down firmly on their sensitive gums. They let go right away! Sometimes they cried, but they didn't try to bite again.
You can't easily hand the baby off to someone else for more than a couple hours. Expressing milk is even harder to learn than breastfeeding and tends to result in reduced milk production anyway.
I've heard some people can be nasty about it, but I actually never ran into any of them.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

I am very pro breastfeeding, but it is not easy. It took a while for it to "take" for us, and at the beginning it hurt like heck. No way around it. But, it helped me get back into shape faster and my kids that did it are healthier than the one that didn't. That is not long term data, just my experience with it.

 

[dzorn]

Have her see a lactation consultant. The health benefits are wonderful for baby and mother.

It does take work to get established, but once you get it down pat it is a breeze.

Denise in MI

 

[MichelleVW]

Breastfeeding Pros:

You lose those pregnancy pounds faster.


.

Not from what I've seen. I didn't breastfeed and I lost the weight quickly, and I know many people that breastfed and they all had problems losing the weight. I still think that's something pro breast feeders tell you to push you to their side.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I BF my daughter for a year but I was fortunate to have a baby who immediately caught on to BFing.

The only issues I had were with the lactation "specialists." I was young when I had my daughter and it seemed like they got very pissed off at me when I had no problems. I guess teenagers are not suppose to know how to do it without help . They made me feel horrible for not needing their advise.

I will admit though, my main reason for BF was not because of the health benefits, it was because of the cost. I didn't want to dish out the $$$$ for formula

 

[DISdreamin']

Tried and tried with the help of lactation consultants with both kids, never worked. For DS, we just couldn't get the hang of it - tried for weeks and weeks! Tried LLL, tried everything we could think of. And with DD, she had a short frenulum (sp?) that worked against us, and didn't end up nursing her either.

At some point, having a happy mom is more important than where the food comes from (bbs or bottle) or what form it takes (b-milk versus formula). With a baby, you have so many things to worry about, who needs one more? You give it your best try and learn to let it go if it doesn't work out despite your best efforts!

As far as this comment made by Magpie: "Expressing milk is even harder to learn than breastfeeding and tends to result in reduced milk production anyway." This might be true for you, but you definitely can't say that this is true for everyone. This is one of those YMMV things.