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History Professor Shuts Down People Arguing That Mothers Should Just Breastfeed Like In The Pre-Formula Days, Paints A Gruesome Picture Of What It Was Really Like
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History Professor Shuts Down People Arguing That Mothers Should Just Breastfeed Like In The Pre-Formula Days, Paints A Gruesome Picture Of What It Was Really Like

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Earlier this year, a severe infant formula shortage hit the United States. This is a frightening situation for parents to find themselves in, as many babies rely on formula as a supplement to breastmilk or as their primary source of nutrients. Some people do not see the severity of the shortage and assume that formula is not a necessity when babies can just breastfeed like they did “back in the day”. To debunk this myth that all babies in the past were breastfed, historian of infant feeding Dr. Carla Cevasco went on Twitter and explained the importance of access to formula. Below you can read her informative thread, as well as some of the responses it has received from concerned readers. Then if you’re interested in hearing from a mom currently struggling with this frightening shortage, you can check out this Bored Panda piece next.

Over the past few months, the United States has been dealing with a severe shortage of baby formula

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Some people don’t understand the importance of formula and assume babies can just go back to breastfeeding like they did in the past

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So historian Carla Cevasco went on Twitter to dispel the misconception that all babies used to rely on breastmilk

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Carla emphasized that there have been many reasons why babies in the past could not get all their needs met through simple breastfeeding

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She went on to explain that a lack of access to formula means the health of many babies will be jeopardized

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This frightening infant formula shortage was sparked by several factors. The first problem was a recall of multiple brands of formula, after the Food and Drug Administration found traces of a harmful bacteria in a Michigan Abbott Nutrition plant. The plant, which produces 40% of the baby formula sold in the US, was shut down in February 2022. However, this plant alone did not cause the shortage. The pandemic has had an impact on infant formula supply as well, with supply and demand levels fluctuating constantly over the past two years. At the beginning of the pandemic, many parents began to stockpile formula, causing shortages. When the stores restocked, however, purchase levels decreased because everyone was working through what they had purchased early on. “This oscillation made planning for production extremely difficult,” says Lyman Stone, the director of research at the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence. “It was complicated to get an idea of the actual market size.”

The last factor exacerbating this infant formula crisis is America’s regulatory and trade policy. The Food and Drug Administration in the US has extremely strict guidelines and labeling requirements that prohibit most European brands of baby formula from being sold in America, mainly due to technicalities. One study even found that many of those European products are just as healthy, if not healthier, than American brands, but getting them into the country can be incredibly challenging. While some politicians in the US want to rely less on imports and increase production within the country, this shortage is a perfect example of how vulnerable that makes the country.

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When it comes to the health of our children, the government should do everything in their power to make sure kids are safe and protected. This frightening formula crisis is a result of several unfortunate factors, but that doesn’t make it any easier for parents in the US to handle. Hopefully, the supply of formula will be increased as soon as possible, and parents will never have to worry about where their babies’ meals are coming from  again. Let us know how you feel about this situation in the comments, and if you have any suggestions for where parents can access formula, feel free to share.

Readers have responded to Carla’s thread with more examples of the importance of formula

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matthewdaniel_1 avatar
Matthew Daniel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Often the problem seems to be old white men. Stop telling women how their body does or should work. Stop telling women that others should decide their reproductive rights. Stop telling women that their pain for whatever reason will only last 10 minutes so you don't need pain relief. As one woman on Quora said "A vasectomy only takes 10 minutes, so surely men don't need anaesthesia". Stop telling women to breastfeed and then demonising them for feeding in public. Stop telling women that breast is best. We all know and agree with that, you aren't educating them. There are reasons why someone might not be breastfeeding. None of them are your business unless it's because you don't provide parental leave like a civilised person or country.

pauljellema avatar
Poeha
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A Dutch guy said it didn't matter that America had a milk shortage, cause women should just breastfeed. I said: If you give bottle milk and all of a sudden there is no bottle milk anymore, you can't start producing milk anymore. So stupid. It was no problem for my wife, so others have to do it too. We call em breast feed maffia.

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galhazut avatar
Plenty Pineapples
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my first baby was born, term baby, healthy baby, he latched on beautifully. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop crying. I will forever be grateful to the midwife who realised that I had no milk. If she hadn't, he would have starved. I was an exhausted new mum and didn't think to check. I was attached to the pump pretty much for a week after he was born, day and night, every 3 hours, trying to get my milk to come in. Rather than enjoying my beautiful new baby I felt guilty for not being able to "feed him properly". Obviously we ended up giving him formula but that wasn't without problems. Not every formula is suitable for every baby and often you to try a few different brands. But there was no one to advise as the government wants to promote breastfeeding (I live in Australia where healthcare is universal, I got a free lactation consultant at the hospital and a visit by a midwife after going home). Without formula, my babies would have starved to death.

delphinum4 avatar
Zophra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here. No milk. Lots of post-partum anxiety and an unfortunate "positive" feedback loop.

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gabrielle2k7 avatar
Gg
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of women aren't able to. Mind your business. The end.

amanda_33 avatar
Amanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While formula wasn’t a thing hundreds of years ago, the infant death rate due to lack of nutrition was. Now that science has come so far, that death rate has DRASTICALLY dropped. Don’t expect the uneducated to know this though.

amytaylor_1 avatar
Amy Taylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is probably the BEST explanation ever. I went through every single roadblock breastfeeding...I also ended up with a double mastitis and got really sick. Before I had kids, I thought breastfeeding was simply just deciding to do it and it worked. Boy, was I wrong, lol! I'm really over sanctimommies telling other women how to feed their babies. If it hadn't been for formula, my baby would've starved to death.

britjap avatar
PandaGoPanda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was born, premature, to a seriously-ill mother in the days before modern baby formula was in use. I was raised on diluted Carnation evaporated milk in accordance with the doctor's recommendation. Might not have been as good as breastmilk, but it was certainly an adequate substitute.

colleenstewart avatar
Momma Stu the Clownfish
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

After having my third child, a lactation consultant came into the room and lectured me that “breast was best”. I’d had a bilateral mastectomy two years prior. When I told her this, and to read my chart before spouting off, she then proceeded to continue to lecture me on how breast is always best, and I should have considered my “limitations as a mother”. Just stop with the lectures and propaganda. Fed is fed.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, that was totally uncalled for. What a b*tch!! I would have slapped that idiot into the middle of next week.

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anxietyriddenwife avatar
AnxietyRiddenMom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just said to my husband yesterday that I bet the WIC office is having a heyday with this formula shortage, making new mother's feel like c**p for not breastfeeding. When my daughter was born, I had a WIC appointment and my little sister went with me. She was 17 or 18 I think. Anyways, here I am, a new mom, filled with hormones and emotions of the chart, and they are acting like I'm committing murder for not breastfeeding. My sister had enough when I started crying. I was lucky she was there as back then I was very timid and would have likely let them bully me for much longer than they had already without saying anything but crying. My daughter went nearly 24 hours with nothing to eat after delivery because I was trying so hard to breastfeed and they wouldn't even offer any alternative. My husband finally went off on the nurses and said bring my daughter a f'n bottle right now. I was physically unable to do it. I was made to feel like a terrible mother because I couldn't do it.

jaspercool avatar
Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a pretty similar experience. I'm sorry you went through it. Not one single nurse or lactation expert told me it was ok to bottle feed and just use formula. They kept bringing my son back in for me to try to feed him and he couldn't latch. Struggled for an entire month. I'm incredibly grateful to WIC for providing supplemental formula or my kiddo wouldn't have made it but I'm so tired of how much we pressure and force pregnant women and moms into things. I felt like cattle.

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teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1st I'd like to say that I breastfed my 1st child, but I was extremely ill in the hospital for more than a week due to an emergency cesarean, that the doctor caused to be emergent. Her meconiun bowel was left inside my uterus and I had a horrible infection. They even cut her within a 1mm of her eye when they were taking her out of me. I was so ill that I couldn't hold her to feed her. The nurses would do it and fuss at me when I asked if they could give her formula because I couldn't stay awake. They made my husband breastfeed her from me while I was out of it as well. I felt like a cow, or a machine I was completely detached from it as my temperature was almost 105 F. It was a horrible way to be introduced to breastfeeding and motherhood. I was fine after I finally got home and breastfed her for two years, but decided to use formula for my other two children. She would never take a bottle for any reason. She refused to have any other nipple in her mouth. Cont. Below.

teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know from my grandma that did foster care and adopted my mother and aunt, that in the 50's they used Carnation Milk in the can, watered it down, and added Karo Syrup to help with any possible constipation, due to the richness of the milk. That was a pretty typical alternative to breast milk back then.

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emory_ce avatar
Carol Emory
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was producing enough milk, my son just didn't take to breastfeeding. I tried pumps, but could not get enough to satisfy him. We moved to formula until he had digestive issues with them. Finally, we started giving him whole cows milk with vitamin supplements and added rice cereal to the mix. When he reached the point where he had enough teeth, we took him off bottle feeding completely and fed him baby food. He preferred it. You do what works for your child. It's not about follow tradition or doing what is natural. It's about keeping the kid alive.

dpopknight avatar
Diane Knight
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only check with a doctor, as not all 'methods' are healthy, My sister did other 'stuff' , made her son allergic to many other things, and because babies need a certain amount of 'fats' for brain development, caused some damage. Her doctor told her to get him back on formula to prevent more alergic reactions to common items in his environment. (laundry soap, cereals, juices). If not a doctor or have knowledge of nutrition stay with 'traditional' lanes. I was given cows milk too early, myself, and had an intolerance to milk growing up. Sickly kid, til 3rd grade. 'Keeping the kid alive' but impaired? In the mid-80s, it was revealed that fats were needed in a baby/toddler's diet to promote good brain health. Leave some decisions with those who know more , some children's futures depend on it. Brain damage/impairment can not be reversed.

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stampfreak avatar
Suz66
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate people who judge like that! I heard a caller on a radio talk store rave on about how all women should breast feed..blah, blah. Then she said if you can't you should buy breast milk from lactating women. The very next caller said his wife's milk never came in. They tried to buy breast milk. There's such a demand, it costs around $400 for a pretty small amount. Who can afford that!

singschae avatar
Sally R
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am a Certified Nurse Midwife. 38 years ago, before I started my career, I gave birth to my eldest. I was told that everybody can breast-feed. I tried for nine days to convince a pediatrician to bring my baby in to be checked because something didn't seem right. I finally brought him in and found that he had lost over 2 pounds since birth. I immediately put him on formula, still trying to breast-feed, but with little success. He thrived. It wasn't until after my first mammogram that I discovered I had very little glandular tissue in my breasts, thus my baby would have starved if I had persisted. Since that time, after over 30 years of practice, I have encouraged women to breast-feed, but I've never shamed them for formula feeding. I encouraged them to do whatever was comfortable for their family and their mental health. If this meant bottlefeeding, so be it.

soulrider13 avatar
Heather W
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was lucky. My daughter latched perfectly, I had plenty of milk, and we didn't introduce formula until she was 9 months old when I had to get a job. Her cousin, on the other hand, never managed to latch properly and his Mom felt like a failure. Cue long conversations telling her she was not a failure, it happens, and it's fine if he had to have formula because pumping was too painful for her. Took a lot to get her to finally believe it.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a great thing to do for your relative, this is what all women should be doing for each other! Sending big hugs to you & her <3

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jennygalbraith avatar
Jenny Galbraith
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let me guess: the majority of those saying, "Just breastfeed, it's no big deal," are 1. Men OR 2. Women who have never been pregnant.

amandak27 avatar
Red Hair Blue Soul
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son was allergic to milk when he was born. Without formula he would have died. It is infuriating that people assume that all babies and all mothers can get by with breastfeeding.

moxiemallahan avatar
Moxie Mallahan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my mother had me, she could not breastfeed simply because her breasts produced no milk. At all. She had no other choice but to use formula.

censorshipsucks5 avatar
censor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Baby formula is a great step forward in equality for women. If a woman is forced to be a milk cow she has to wake up and feed the baby, or sit and pump just like a milk cow to stock up the fridge so her partner can feed the baby. Whereas with formula, everyone can contribute. We discovered that not only does this save her sanity, but also babies do NOT need it warmed up. Just make a few bottles of formula and keep them in the fridge. If you want them warmed up, microwave for 10 seconds. Works just fine, have two happy healthy kids who managed just fine. Me and the wife took turns looking after baby at night, and she got some sleep.

educationdiary avatar
Education diary
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nice post. Keep posting this type of post. http://educationdiary.in/

jasminherde avatar
Jess-a-men
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When somebody goes "Well, if (insert important object/service here) is so important, how did people live without it?" the answer tends to be "Many of them didn't."

maliyiljoanna1013 avatar
Jodagoatisagoat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I drank formula for 2 1/2 years because I had so many allergies. While my brother and cousin were eating food, I was still in formula.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw a news video just a couple of days ago where they interviewed a mom & her daughter. The daughter, who is around 8-9 years old, has a rare digestive condition & will literally die without formula. They are justifiably terrified.

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kim_lorton avatar
Kim Lorton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that maternal and baby care and feeding is still an issue in 2022, tells me that equality for women overall, is p**s poor. There is no equality for women. Men still want the final say over what a woman can do with her body, their babies and their entire lives. I think, women should close up shop downstairs and that is every woman. No sex, nothing! Any attempt to try and request or have sex should be a crime. No woman can be forced to have sex. See what men do, have to do, to survive without women. Without sex, without anything women do to live and take care of it all. Men would just go back to killing each other. Making war, and making a worse mess of the world. Men especially the ones making and supporting these archaic laws about women, need to re read the bible and see what it really says about a woman's' position in this world. Because they certainly do not do what the bible says they should do for their women! Men have forced women to do their bidding all over .

jaspercool avatar
Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son couldn't latch and my breast milk supply was low. He would've died without formula. I was solo parenting a newborn and trying to hand pump to keep up a supply and the lactation experts I saw were so focused on importance of my son eventually latching on that they told me to avoid bottles and syringe feed him for a month. He cried every time I had to reload the syringe. I wish just one of them had told me it was ok to bottle feed. Do what is best for your baby and especially for yourself. Breastfeeding is a good thing but it's not as important as your baby being fed and you being able to survive. I wish I could go back and stand up for myself.

lilyp_orticio avatar
Lily P. Orticio
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most policymakers/legislators are MEN. They have no clue about the importance of baby formula. They think it's ok to just breastfeed.

marcoconti avatar
Marco Conti
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My daughter, now over 30, was allergic to breastmilk. Specifically her mother's. When I hear from these breastfeeding fanatics, I'd like to transport them back in time to our innumerable sleepless nights until her pediatrician figured it out.

praecordia avatar
Alma Muminovic
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am due Aug 3rd and I plan to breastfeed for as long as possible, ideally 8 months at least. Now with that being said we shall see what happens. I don’t like to not have a backup plan in case my main one goes to s**t and my backup plan is formula. The fact that there is a shortage it alarming. I did read in the news that Biden was importing 27.4 million cases of formula from Australia tho. So hopefully that happens.

pass_nad avatar
Nadine Debard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm currently breastfeeding my 9 months old son, fortunately I had enough milk (I even donated a few litres). It wasn't easy for some reasons (c-section, premature baby, not latching/fed with stomach tube, pumping 6 times per 24h night and day...) but that was my plan and I did everything to keep it. Now he's a happy healthy baby. Even if would be perfectly good to use formula, I wish you could experience the wonderful moments mothers share with their child while breastfeeding. I wish you well. Take care!

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cassiewilliams avatar
Cassie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The important thing is to meet the child's needs. I had four kids and breastfed all of them, but one of them didn't thrive on breast milk so needed formula to supplement. There were people in my life who judged me for using formula, but how is that reasonable when the alternative is to starve the child. Do what's best for yourself and your child, period, and that includes your mental health. Choosing formula doesn't have to be just about physical health needs. Both mom and baby will be healthier for the choice that doesn't have a negative impact on mom's mental health.

dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was almost beyond understanding when some guy on Twitter asked “why don’t more women breastfeed…something…. Problem solved” in response to the formula shortage. It’s like they have no idea about how anything works except what is most important to them. And they feel a need to say stupid s**t in social media.

rchargel avatar
RafCo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being a parent is hard as f**k. Being a new parent is harder. Being a new mother has a lot of added pressure and judgement from both strangers and close friends and family. My kids were all breast fed, but that took A LOT of work from my wife, who is a stay at home mother. But to be clear, she needed a lot of support for all of our kids. Different kids had different issues. We had a midwife and a lactation consultant, each flipping time. It was through a combination of luck, shear will, and very expensive support system that this was possible. Do not pretend to judge women who are unable or unwilling to go through that. Just feed the baby, and don't forget self care. This formula shortage is life threatening.

sarahb_4 avatar
Sarah B
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Formula or breast milk, it's irrelevant. But... I didn't grow a child using my own body, then feed the child using milk from my own body, to then be referred to as a 'birthday parent'... we are MOTHERS

saihoekstra avatar
Sanne H.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s quite rare, but a birthing parent can be a (trans) father nowadays.

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Lucky2BAlive
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I simply could not breastfeed. I didn’t reject my child, my child did not reject me. Additionally he was tiny and needed some extra help formula provided. While neither my child. Nor my body reject, society (including some “friends”) demonized me. Made me feel like less of a woman. Maybe if we lived in a better world, where everyone at least started life with full potential, it would be different. But we don’t. PS - at 27 (God I’m old) my son is leading an exciting life, filled with potential. And we had to get his first six month of premade formula and teeny diapers from the hospital and pediatrician. So - hold YOUR head high, you created, carried and delivered human being. It’s the only real embodiment of a miracle and hope left in this world.

smkelly711 avatar
Tiredofpayingforothers
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The real question is why are we having all these shortages now? Chip shortages, formula shortages, gas shortages, and so on. All these shortages started a couple years ago with the toilet paper. Are these created shortages to drive up the prices? My guess us they are.

jaspercool avatar
Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is absolutely price gouging going on but the formula shortage is due to the entire US market being controlled by 4 companies and one of those companies having a factory shut down by the FDA several months ago. Gas prices are an issue because of the war against Ukraine. Chip issues are because of limited suppliers and the fact that there are industries like the car industry refuse to upgrade their production to assimilate new more readily available chip technology. The initial shutdown and quarantine put the production of chips behind.

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Lara M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Predatory formula advertising is a thing, though, and we shouldn't whitewash it away. Make women dependent on formula and make millions selling it to them. This trick was done in many countries. Now that babies are literally starving because of a predatory formula company that can't even make its own product right, we are supposed to be singing the praises of formula?

pass_nad avatar
Nadine Debard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think there are 2 different issues here, and it's more about praising choice than praising formula itself. The evil compagnies selling formula made thousands of babies die by making poor third-countries young mothers dependant of formula (and then they couldn't afford the formula and many babies died). This is fact. But because they act like c**p doesn't mean nobody should use formula. Women should be free to choose. I am pro-breastfeeding, but I would never judge other people, for I know how hard it is and how much work and sometimes pain it represents, even if you have everything; milk production, free advice and follow-up, time, etc.

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James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife bottle fed our son. She tried breast feeding but for whatever reason it didn't work out. possibly our son couldn't latch. We had to use formula and that was that.

shelley-cole avatar
Mooooomooooo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also formula fed twice BECAUSE I WANTED TO. Both children are exceptionally bright and both were very chill and happy babies who slept well.

trashpanda_1 avatar
Raccoon panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some just don’t have very developed milk glands. Some end up in hospital, separated from babies for a few days, and can no longer lactate until the next pregnancy. Some are really sensitive and experience pain or internal injuries of some sort, like a milk clot. Sometimes our endowments turn out to be a pair of duds. Life is not fair. Don’t be nasty to women when life happens. It doesn’t help at all. And our bodies were made more for us to inhabit, not for you to goggle and grope. Our wombs are not yours, either. Unless you want us to claim ownership of your jingle bells, as well, and grab your bum for no reason at all. I’m not a fan of double standards.

mcam108 avatar
msminnie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have one child and I am proud of the fact that he never had an ounce of formula. THAT SAID, I worked and pumped. I worked in a small hospital and the room I pumped in was the lactation consultant's office. She was often in the room when I was so I overheard a lot of phone conversations. She spent most of her time reassuring women that they weren't failures, that they were doing the best they could and not everyone is able to completely feed their child by breastfeeding. I never had any problems nursing- i produced more than enough for my child but I learned that wasn't necessarily the norm. I learned how very fortunate I was to never have any problems the entire 15 months I breastfed. I was very fortunate to get the education I did from that lactation consultant because it actually never occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to nurse. Fed is best, always.

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SillyPandaBunny
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

With the right medication and a good pump, men can lactate too so maybe the guys who think all the moms should just start breastfeeding should just start doing it themselves and shut up

irafr2409 avatar
Irena Furman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Birthing parent" is a MOTHER. A women. No men can give birth. It does not matter, what type of surgical procedure the women went through, she still has to have females reproductive organs.

janice_parks_100 avatar
Janice Parks
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve known two babies born tongue-tied. Its also a serious detriment to any kind of feeding. Without surgery it was likelier they could have starved. Thank God they were born before the GOP decides to close ALL the hospitals.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum couldn't breastfed one of my brothers coz he was allergic to her milk and needed a specialised formula. I struggled to breastfeed my daughter, it turned out I wasn't producing enough milk. I tried breastfeeding my son once, it hurt too much from having breast reductions so he went straight onto formula. I only had one nurse try to push for me to continue but I stood firm on my decision.

zselyke_szekely avatar
UpupaEpops
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same s**t with food allergies. People love saying that it's a modern thing, that back in the day there were no food allergies, etc. There were. They just simply died.

jessieglodowski avatar
jglod
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone please inform Joy Behar of her ignorance. "Just breastfeed" she says

joeedwards avatar
Joe Edwards
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come on, now how the heel would a woman know any of this? LOL jk

annettev avatar
Annette V
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need to bring back wet nursing. Over producing mothers like myself can easily feed 3-4 babies.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is where milk banks are good, but even those have extremely limited supplies available & some have even closed. And not every place in the U.S. has a milk bank for newborns & infants.

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Deborah Rubin
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't realize that formula was developed so close to the time I was born. My mom told me she tried to breastfeed, but it didn't work out. I probably would have died without formula.

rs_adahl1971 avatar
rs_adahl1971
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My baby lived because of formula. He was 9 weeks early and my breast milk wasn't fortified enough for him, plus he had 3feeding tube in because he did even know how to suck. So they took my milk and mixed it with formula. Now he's 6 ft. 2 inches, 220 lbs and is 23.

brendaspagnola avatar
Brenda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tried and tried to breastfeed my first. Right side produced nothing, left side very little. I had no choice but to use formula; little guy was starving! Didn't even try the 2nd time. Turns out I got a blocked milk duct on the left. 25 years later it was breast cancer. This was why I couldn't breastfeed! Those ducts were blocked back then and trying made it worse. I'm fine now, almost 3 years after treatment. But when DIL felt bad about not being able to breastfeed, at least I was able to support her

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Alessandra McIntosh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a mom that chose to formula feed both of my children, from day one, simply because I didn't want to breastfeed. I knew I didn't want to breastfeed from before I got pregnant, so I did a lot of research to make sure my decision was going to be ok. A lot of the marketing around "breast is best" is just that; marketing. If you actually read the studies, breastmilk vs formula doesn't make much difference, other than in antibodies/immunity, which they get while in the womb too. Your child's IQ isn't effected (intelligence has so many factors to it to begin with), you'll still be as bonded with them as you would be if you breastfeed (not to mention, your partner can help feed and also bond...while you sleep), and post-partum depression/anxiety may or may not happen either way. When they're older, you can't tell who was formula or breast fed, because they can all thrive.

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KimB
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was never able to carry a pregnancy to term but I remember quite well when my breasts got sore in the first trimester...I can only imagine how it would feel to lactate (physical discomfort). I give all you ladies/gents all the credit in the world for getting thru it. I don't feel like I can really say anything else on this one given my lack of personal experience. I can only hope that this shortage gets sorted out quickly and those narrow minded thinkers realize the goal is happy healthy babies no matter what they're thriving on boob or bottle. (Ps both of my step children were formula fed due to their mother needing to go back on her medications immediately following her deliveries. Both are very healthy ages 26 and 27 now.)

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Pezor Zass
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. Or, in some cases breastmilk a bad option; my grandmother lost her first baby because she had an internal infection that she passed to the baby. The nurses told her to breastfeed anyway and it died. She never got over it.

elaineelder avatar
Elaine Elder
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I breastfed my 1st child 14 months. Second projectile vomited, every time I fed her, then she would scream for an hour. I would try feeding her through the crying, after another hour I would get enough I'm her that she would fall asleep. But she only slept for about an hour and wake up screaming. We took her to pediatrician, he told me it was impossible for baby to be allergic to breast milk. I started pumping and it was torture. I had enough milk for two or three babies, because she was throwing up half of what I was producing. But the pump just would not work for me efficienly. I would spend an hour of work to get half what we needed to be able to add rice cereal to it. Once she had some of the mixture, i could then breastfeed. Honestly, that was for me to slowly wean her from breast .ilk because stopping the massive amount of milk i was producing was not something that can be stopped cold turkey. We had to go through several formulas to find one she could halfway keep down. And we had to add rice cereal to keep it down. By 4 months she was off breast milk completely. We changed pediatricians at 6 weeks and found out the valve at connection between esophagus and stomach was not formed completely. So basically she woke up with acid reflux. NOT COLIC, like original pediatrician told us. I would meet my husband at door when he came home from work with a screaming baby. Then I'd go sit in shower crying until I drained a 50 gallon hot water heater. I felt like a failure until we found out the problem wasn't me doing it wrong. It was a great relief. People need to learn to mind their own business. Just because they have an opinion doesn't mean they have the right to impose it on others.

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SillyPandaBunny
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I breastfed for a year. I was privileged to have the time, energy and a body that let me do this. Even though I so wanted to experience this and was successful, it was still hard. It was my choice though and had I chosen to bottle feed instead, that would have also been the right choice.

homarid69 avatar
Andrew
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am a man, so I have absolutely ZERO say if a woman breast feeds or feeds their child formula. Less starving/ill babies is all that matters. This is a complete sh*te situation we have gotten ourselves in. I work over the road and my coworker/trainer was stopping at every store to try and find formula for his grandkids. It is a sad situation.

jennyih avatar
Peta Hurley-Hill
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I fed my first two till 2 and nearly 2 ,no problems at all. My next two had a severe lactose allergy.I couldn't feed them as I would make them sick or worse...Yet I was still made to feel like I had failed them .One of those babies is now feeding her own 1 yr old very successfully but I was the first to tell her if she couldn't that was totally ok ,there are alternatives .There always has to be available alternatives ,no matter what the reason.

kkermes avatar
Kim Kermes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother was unable to breastfeed because of nipple design, which I inherited. My older brother almost died from an extreme ntolerance to cow's milk based formula. Luckily, soy formula had just become available when I was born, and much more available and less costly when my sister was born.

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The Cute Cat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a well spoken fact. Many people always think that people in the past has no problem. While the fact is our current life is way better..

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Catherine Graffham
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum was extremely sick after haemorrhaging when my sister and I were born, and therefore her body didn’t produce milk properly, even if she hadn’t been exhausted from almost dying. The amount she could produce was not enough for one baby, let alone twins. Luckily, though she felt guilty in the hospital while recovering that she wasn’t feeding us ‘properly’, when she got out, she had a really good midwife/home nurse who encouraged her and my dad to use formula. We grew up to be happy healthy and normal babies, just like our older brother who was breastfed. So fed is definitely best, whatever your reasons for using formula

lsaizul avatar
Lsai Aeon
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First, I was body shamed my entire life, even today, no way was I going to show anyone my body to breastfeed. Second, my milk didn't come in properly, and living in the US there was no help. Third, my son didn't latch properly, I have long floppy bewbs with my nips turning under to "hide" between bewbs and stomach. Forth, turns out my son had a stomach issue at birth and needed soy-based milk/formula. He's 14 now, a smidge over 5'7", 225 pounds. He did fine on fomula

fenixrising1972 avatar
fenixrising1972
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People like this ignore the fact that most people who don't breastfeed just don't feel like it, because they're stupid. So they feed their kids some man-made concoction of chemicals because they're too selfish, lazy, and immature to do the best thing for their kids.

dizzied avatar
Dizzie D
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no such thing as a 'birthing parent'. Females give birth, females breast feed and females are 'Mothers'. Society over the years and history has taken so much from women and stamped on their rights. Let's not take those rights away. I will be damned if I will put up with being called a 'birthing person' or 'birth parent'. I am a MOTHER. Apart from her saying that PC claptrap, she makes a valid point about formula.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think she used birthing parent because they are the ones that usually develop breastmilk. An adoptive or foster parent don't.

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Barri Ann Lyons
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All very well written and valid. The use of "f*****g" ruined your esteem. Sad

fenixrising1972 avatar
fenixrising1972
Community Member
1 year ago

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People like this ignore the fact that most people don't breastfeed just because they don't feel like it. They feed their kids some man-made concoction of chemicals because they're too selfish, lazy, and immature to do the best thing for their kids. Or, they have kids they can't afford to stay home and raise, even though their jobs barely cover child care. Or they have kids and then pay someone else to raise them because they want a career and their own needs are more important than their kids. People are just assholes.

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Adrian
Community Member
1 year ago

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I feel Carla is not telling the whole truth. Sure there were, and always will be, some babies unable to take milk from their mother. In times past this would often be solved by the availability of a "wet nurse". These days many women would resort to infant formula. However the point is that far too many women adopt the use of infant formula for convenience sake. This has led to the demand for such large quantities that other companies are jumping on the band-wagon to make a quick dollar driving out the specialist makers and driving down quality.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WTF, Formula is FAR from convenient. It's much easier and cheaper to breast feed. Buying breastmilk from a milk bank is even more expensive than formula and not as easy to get hold of.

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Matthew Daniel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Often the problem seems to be old white men. Stop telling women how their body does or should work. Stop telling women that others should decide their reproductive rights. Stop telling women that their pain for whatever reason will only last 10 minutes so you don't need pain relief. As one woman on Quora said "A vasectomy only takes 10 minutes, so surely men don't need anaesthesia". Stop telling women to breastfeed and then demonising them for feeding in public. Stop telling women that breast is best. We all know and agree with that, you aren't educating them. There are reasons why someone might not be breastfeeding. None of them are your business unless it's because you don't provide parental leave like a civilised person or country.

pauljellema avatar
Poeha
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A Dutch guy said it didn't matter that America had a milk shortage, cause women should just breastfeed. I said: If you give bottle milk and all of a sudden there is no bottle milk anymore, you can't start producing milk anymore. So stupid. It was no problem for my wife, so others have to do it too. We call em breast feed maffia.

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Plenty Pineapples
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my first baby was born, term baby, healthy baby, he latched on beautifully. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop crying. I will forever be grateful to the midwife who realised that I had no milk. If she hadn't, he would have starved. I was an exhausted new mum and didn't think to check. I was attached to the pump pretty much for a week after he was born, day and night, every 3 hours, trying to get my milk to come in. Rather than enjoying my beautiful new baby I felt guilty for not being able to "feed him properly". Obviously we ended up giving him formula but that wasn't without problems. Not every formula is suitable for every baby and often you to try a few different brands. But there was no one to advise as the government wants to promote breastfeeding (I live in Australia where healthcare is universal, I got a free lactation consultant at the hospital and a visit by a midwife after going home). Without formula, my babies would have starved to death.

delphinum4 avatar
Zophra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here. No milk. Lots of post-partum anxiety and an unfortunate "positive" feedback loop.

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gabrielle2k7 avatar
Gg
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of women aren't able to. Mind your business. The end.

amanda_33 avatar
Amanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While formula wasn’t a thing hundreds of years ago, the infant death rate due to lack of nutrition was. Now that science has come so far, that death rate has DRASTICALLY dropped. Don’t expect the uneducated to know this though.

amytaylor_1 avatar
Amy Taylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is probably the BEST explanation ever. I went through every single roadblock breastfeeding...I also ended up with a double mastitis and got really sick. Before I had kids, I thought breastfeeding was simply just deciding to do it and it worked. Boy, was I wrong, lol! I'm really over sanctimommies telling other women how to feed their babies. If it hadn't been for formula, my baby would've starved to death.

britjap avatar
PandaGoPanda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was born, premature, to a seriously-ill mother in the days before modern baby formula was in use. I was raised on diluted Carnation evaporated milk in accordance with the doctor's recommendation. Might not have been as good as breastmilk, but it was certainly an adequate substitute.

colleenstewart avatar
Momma Stu the Clownfish
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

After having my third child, a lactation consultant came into the room and lectured me that “breast was best”. I’d had a bilateral mastectomy two years prior. When I told her this, and to read my chart before spouting off, she then proceeded to continue to lecture me on how breast is always best, and I should have considered my “limitations as a mother”. Just stop with the lectures and propaganda. Fed is fed.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, that was totally uncalled for. What a b*tch!! I would have slapped that idiot into the middle of next week.

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AnxietyRiddenMom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just said to my husband yesterday that I bet the WIC office is having a heyday with this formula shortage, making new mother's feel like c**p for not breastfeeding. When my daughter was born, I had a WIC appointment and my little sister went with me. She was 17 or 18 I think. Anyways, here I am, a new mom, filled with hormones and emotions of the chart, and they are acting like I'm committing murder for not breastfeeding. My sister had enough when I started crying. I was lucky she was there as back then I was very timid and would have likely let them bully me for much longer than they had already without saying anything but crying. My daughter went nearly 24 hours with nothing to eat after delivery because I was trying so hard to breastfeed and they wouldn't even offer any alternative. My husband finally went off on the nurses and said bring my daughter a f'n bottle right now. I was physically unable to do it. I was made to feel like a terrible mother because I couldn't do it.

jaspercool avatar
Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a pretty similar experience. I'm sorry you went through it. Not one single nurse or lactation expert told me it was ok to bottle feed and just use formula. They kept bringing my son back in for me to try to feed him and he couldn't latch. Struggled for an entire month. I'm incredibly grateful to WIC for providing supplemental formula or my kiddo wouldn't have made it but I'm so tired of how much we pressure and force pregnant women and moms into things. I felt like cattle.

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Cold Contagious
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1st I'd like to say that I breastfed my 1st child, but I was extremely ill in the hospital for more than a week due to an emergency cesarean, that the doctor caused to be emergent. Her meconiun bowel was left inside my uterus and I had a horrible infection. They even cut her within a 1mm of her eye when they were taking her out of me. I was so ill that I couldn't hold her to feed her. The nurses would do it and fuss at me when I asked if they could give her formula because I couldn't stay awake. They made my husband breastfeed her from me while I was out of it as well. I felt like a cow, or a machine I was completely detached from it as my temperature was almost 105 F. It was a horrible way to be introduced to breastfeeding and motherhood. I was fine after I finally got home and breastfed her for two years, but decided to use formula for my other two children. She would never take a bottle for any reason. She refused to have any other nipple in her mouth. Cont. Below.

teresacline avatar
Cold Contagious
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know from my grandma that did foster care and adopted my mother and aunt, that in the 50's they used Carnation Milk in the can, watered it down, and added Karo Syrup to help with any possible constipation, due to the richness of the milk. That was a pretty typical alternative to breast milk back then.

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Carol Emory
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was producing enough milk, my son just didn't take to breastfeeding. I tried pumps, but could not get enough to satisfy him. We moved to formula until he had digestive issues with them. Finally, we started giving him whole cows milk with vitamin supplements and added rice cereal to the mix. When he reached the point where he had enough teeth, we took him off bottle feeding completely and fed him baby food. He preferred it. You do what works for your child. It's not about follow tradition or doing what is natural. It's about keeping the kid alive.

dpopknight avatar
Diane Knight
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only check with a doctor, as not all 'methods' are healthy, My sister did other 'stuff' , made her son allergic to many other things, and because babies need a certain amount of 'fats' for brain development, caused some damage. Her doctor told her to get him back on formula to prevent more alergic reactions to common items in his environment. (laundry soap, cereals, juices). If not a doctor or have knowledge of nutrition stay with 'traditional' lanes. I was given cows milk too early, myself, and had an intolerance to milk growing up. Sickly kid, til 3rd grade. 'Keeping the kid alive' but impaired? In the mid-80s, it was revealed that fats were needed in a baby/toddler's diet to promote good brain health. Leave some decisions with those who know more , some children's futures depend on it. Brain damage/impairment can not be reversed.

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Suz66
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate people who judge like that! I heard a caller on a radio talk store rave on about how all women should breast feed..blah, blah. Then she said if you can't you should buy breast milk from lactating women. The very next caller said his wife's milk never came in. They tried to buy breast milk. There's such a demand, it costs around $400 for a pretty small amount. Who can afford that!

singschae avatar
Sally R
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am a Certified Nurse Midwife. 38 years ago, before I started my career, I gave birth to my eldest. I was told that everybody can breast-feed. I tried for nine days to convince a pediatrician to bring my baby in to be checked because something didn't seem right. I finally brought him in and found that he had lost over 2 pounds since birth. I immediately put him on formula, still trying to breast-feed, but with little success. He thrived. It wasn't until after my first mammogram that I discovered I had very little glandular tissue in my breasts, thus my baby would have starved if I had persisted. Since that time, after over 30 years of practice, I have encouraged women to breast-feed, but I've never shamed them for formula feeding. I encouraged them to do whatever was comfortable for their family and their mental health. If this meant bottlefeeding, so be it.

soulrider13 avatar
Heather W
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was lucky. My daughter latched perfectly, I had plenty of milk, and we didn't introduce formula until she was 9 months old when I had to get a job. Her cousin, on the other hand, never managed to latch properly and his Mom felt like a failure. Cue long conversations telling her she was not a failure, it happens, and it's fine if he had to have formula because pumping was too painful for her. Took a lot to get her to finally believe it.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a great thing to do for your relative, this is what all women should be doing for each other! Sending big hugs to you & her <3

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Jenny Galbraith
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let me guess: the majority of those saying, "Just breastfeed, it's no big deal," are 1. Men OR 2. Women who have never been pregnant.

amandak27 avatar
Red Hair Blue Soul
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son was allergic to milk when he was born. Without formula he would have died. It is infuriating that people assume that all babies and all mothers can get by with breastfeeding.

moxiemallahan avatar
Moxie Mallahan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my mother had me, she could not breastfeed simply because her breasts produced no milk. At all. She had no other choice but to use formula.

censorshipsucks5 avatar
censor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Baby formula is a great step forward in equality for women. If a woman is forced to be a milk cow she has to wake up and feed the baby, or sit and pump just like a milk cow to stock up the fridge so her partner can feed the baby. Whereas with formula, everyone can contribute. We discovered that not only does this save her sanity, but also babies do NOT need it warmed up. Just make a few bottles of formula and keep them in the fridge. If you want them warmed up, microwave for 10 seconds. Works just fine, have two happy healthy kids who managed just fine. Me and the wife took turns looking after baby at night, and she got some sleep.

educationdiary avatar
Education diary
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nice post. Keep posting this type of post. http://educationdiary.in/

jasminherde avatar
Jess-a-men
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When somebody goes "Well, if (insert important object/service here) is so important, how did people live without it?" the answer tends to be "Many of them didn't."

maliyiljoanna1013 avatar
Jodagoatisagoat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I drank formula for 2 1/2 years because I had so many allergies. While my brother and cousin were eating food, I was still in formula.

mriche avatar
Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw a news video just a couple of days ago where they interviewed a mom & her daughter. The daughter, who is around 8-9 years old, has a rare digestive condition & will literally die without formula. They are justifiably terrified.

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Kim Lorton
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that maternal and baby care and feeding is still an issue in 2022, tells me that equality for women overall, is p**s poor. There is no equality for women. Men still want the final say over what a woman can do with her body, their babies and their entire lives. I think, women should close up shop downstairs and that is every woman. No sex, nothing! Any attempt to try and request or have sex should be a crime. No woman can be forced to have sex. See what men do, have to do, to survive without women. Without sex, without anything women do to live and take care of it all. Men would just go back to killing each other. Making war, and making a worse mess of the world. Men especially the ones making and supporting these archaic laws about women, need to re read the bible and see what it really says about a woman's' position in this world. Because they certainly do not do what the bible says they should do for their women! Men have forced women to do their bidding all over .

jaspercool avatar
Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My son couldn't latch and my breast milk supply was low. He would've died without formula. I was solo parenting a newborn and trying to hand pump to keep up a supply and the lactation experts I saw were so focused on importance of my son eventually latching on that they told me to avoid bottles and syringe feed him for a month. He cried every time I had to reload the syringe. I wish just one of them had told me it was ok to bottle feed. Do what is best for your baby and especially for yourself. Breastfeeding is a good thing but it's not as important as your baby being fed and you being able to survive. I wish I could go back and stand up for myself.

lilyp_orticio avatar
Lily P. Orticio
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most policymakers/legislators are MEN. They have no clue about the importance of baby formula. They think it's ok to just breastfeed.

marcoconti avatar
Marco Conti
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My daughter, now over 30, was allergic to breastmilk. Specifically her mother's. When I hear from these breastfeeding fanatics, I'd like to transport them back in time to our innumerable sleepless nights until her pediatrician figured it out.

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Alma Muminovic
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am due Aug 3rd and I plan to breastfeed for as long as possible, ideally 8 months at least. Now with that being said we shall see what happens. I don’t like to not have a backup plan in case my main one goes to s**t and my backup plan is formula. The fact that there is a shortage it alarming. I did read in the news that Biden was importing 27.4 million cases of formula from Australia tho. So hopefully that happens.

pass_nad avatar
Nadine Debard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm currently breastfeeding my 9 months old son, fortunately I had enough milk (I even donated a few litres). It wasn't easy for some reasons (c-section, premature baby, not latching/fed with stomach tube, pumping 6 times per 24h night and day...) but that was my plan and I did everything to keep it. Now he's a happy healthy baby. Even if would be perfectly good to use formula, I wish you could experience the wonderful moments mothers share with their child while breastfeeding. I wish you well. Take care!

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Cassie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The important thing is to meet the child's needs. I had four kids and breastfed all of them, but one of them didn't thrive on breast milk so needed formula to supplement. There were people in my life who judged me for using formula, but how is that reasonable when the alternative is to starve the child. Do what's best for yourself and your child, period, and that includes your mental health. Choosing formula doesn't have to be just about physical health needs. Both mom and baby will be healthier for the choice that doesn't have a negative impact on mom's mental health.

dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was almost beyond understanding when some guy on Twitter asked “why don’t more women breastfeed…something…. Problem solved” in response to the formula shortage. It’s like they have no idea about how anything works except what is most important to them. And they feel a need to say stupid s**t in social media.

rchargel avatar
RafCo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being a parent is hard as f**k. Being a new parent is harder. Being a new mother has a lot of added pressure and judgement from both strangers and close friends and family. My kids were all breast fed, but that took A LOT of work from my wife, who is a stay at home mother. But to be clear, she needed a lot of support for all of our kids. Different kids had different issues. We had a midwife and a lactation consultant, each flipping time. It was through a combination of luck, shear will, and very expensive support system that this was possible. Do not pretend to judge women who are unable or unwilling to go through that. Just feed the baby, and don't forget self care. This formula shortage is life threatening.

sarahb_4 avatar
Sarah B
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Formula or breast milk, it's irrelevant. But... I didn't grow a child using my own body, then feed the child using milk from my own body, to then be referred to as a 'birthday parent'... we are MOTHERS

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Sanne H.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s quite rare, but a birthing parent can be a (trans) father nowadays.

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Lucky2BAlive
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I simply could not breastfeed. I didn’t reject my child, my child did not reject me. Additionally he was tiny and needed some extra help formula provided. While neither my child. Nor my body reject, society (including some “friends”) demonized me. Made me feel like less of a woman. Maybe if we lived in a better world, where everyone at least started life with full potential, it would be different. But we don’t. PS - at 27 (God I’m old) my son is leading an exciting life, filled with potential. And we had to get his first six month of premade formula and teeny diapers from the hospital and pediatrician. So - hold YOUR head high, you created, carried and delivered human being. It’s the only real embodiment of a miracle and hope left in this world.

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Tiredofpayingforothers
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The real question is why are we having all these shortages now? Chip shortages, formula shortages, gas shortages, and so on. All these shortages started a couple years ago with the toilet paper. Are these created shortages to drive up the prices? My guess us they are.

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Jasper Cool
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is absolutely price gouging going on but the formula shortage is due to the entire US market being controlled by 4 companies and one of those companies having a factory shut down by the FDA several months ago. Gas prices are an issue because of the war against Ukraine. Chip issues are because of limited suppliers and the fact that there are industries like the car industry refuse to upgrade their production to assimilate new more readily available chip technology. The initial shutdown and quarantine put the production of chips behind.

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Lara M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Predatory formula advertising is a thing, though, and we shouldn't whitewash it away. Make women dependent on formula and make millions selling it to them. This trick was done in many countries. Now that babies are literally starving because of a predatory formula company that can't even make its own product right, we are supposed to be singing the praises of formula?

pass_nad avatar
Nadine Debard
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think there are 2 different issues here, and it's more about praising choice than praising formula itself. The evil compagnies selling formula made thousands of babies die by making poor third-countries young mothers dependant of formula (and then they couldn't afford the formula and many babies died). This is fact. But because they act like c**p doesn't mean nobody should use formula. Women should be free to choose. I am pro-breastfeeding, but I would never judge other people, for I know how hard it is and how much work and sometimes pain it represents, even if you have everything; milk production, free advice and follow-up, time, etc.

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James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife bottle fed our son. She tried breast feeding but for whatever reason it didn't work out. possibly our son couldn't latch. We had to use formula and that was that.

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Mooooomooooo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also formula fed twice BECAUSE I WANTED TO. Both children are exceptionally bright and both were very chill and happy babies who slept well.

trashpanda_1 avatar
Raccoon panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some just don’t have very developed milk glands. Some end up in hospital, separated from babies for a few days, and can no longer lactate until the next pregnancy. Some are really sensitive and experience pain or internal injuries of some sort, like a milk clot. Sometimes our endowments turn out to be a pair of duds. Life is not fair. Don’t be nasty to women when life happens. It doesn’t help at all. And our bodies were made more for us to inhabit, not for you to goggle and grope. Our wombs are not yours, either. Unless you want us to claim ownership of your jingle bells, as well, and grab your bum for no reason at all. I’m not a fan of double standards.

mcam108 avatar
msminnie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have one child and I am proud of the fact that he never had an ounce of formula. THAT SAID, I worked and pumped. I worked in a small hospital and the room I pumped in was the lactation consultant's office. She was often in the room when I was so I overheard a lot of phone conversations. She spent most of her time reassuring women that they weren't failures, that they were doing the best they could and not everyone is able to completely feed their child by breastfeeding. I never had any problems nursing- i produced more than enough for my child but I learned that wasn't necessarily the norm. I learned how very fortunate I was to never have any problems the entire 15 months I breastfed. I was very fortunate to get the education I did from that lactation consultant because it actually never occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to nurse. Fed is best, always.

purplezebra avatar
SillyPandaBunny
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

With the right medication and a good pump, men can lactate too so maybe the guys who think all the moms should just start breastfeeding should just start doing it themselves and shut up

irafr2409 avatar
Irena Furman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Birthing parent" is a MOTHER. A women. No men can give birth. It does not matter, what type of surgical procedure the women went through, she still has to have females reproductive organs.

janice_parks_100 avatar
Janice Parks
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve known two babies born tongue-tied. Its also a serious detriment to any kind of feeding. Without surgery it was likelier they could have starved. Thank God they were born before the GOP decides to close ALL the hospitals.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum couldn't breastfed one of my brothers coz he was allergic to her milk and needed a specialised formula. I struggled to breastfeed my daughter, it turned out I wasn't producing enough milk. I tried breastfeeding my son once, it hurt too much from having breast reductions so he went straight onto formula. I only had one nurse try to push for me to continue but I stood firm on my decision.

zselyke_szekely avatar
UpupaEpops
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same s**t with food allergies. People love saying that it's a modern thing, that back in the day there were no food allergies, etc. There were. They just simply died.

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jglod
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone please inform Joy Behar of her ignorance. "Just breastfeed" she says

joeedwards avatar
Joe Edwards
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come on, now how the heel would a woman know any of this? LOL jk

annettev avatar
Annette V
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need to bring back wet nursing. Over producing mothers like myself can easily feed 3-4 babies.

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Memere
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is where milk banks are good, but even those have extremely limited supplies available & some have even closed. And not every place in the U.S. has a milk bank for newborns & infants.

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Deborah Rubin
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't realize that formula was developed so close to the time I was born. My mom told me she tried to breastfeed, but it didn't work out. I probably would have died without formula.

rs_adahl1971 avatar
rs_adahl1971
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My baby lived because of formula. He was 9 weeks early and my breast milk wasn't fortified enough for him, plus he had 3feeding tube in because he did even know how to suck. So they took my milk and mixed it with formula. Now he's 6 ft. 2 inches, 220 lbs and is 23.

brendaspagnola avatar
Brenda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I tried and tried to breastfeed my first. Right side produced nothing, left side very little. I had no choice but to use formula; little guy was starving! Didn't even try the 2nd time. Turns out I got a blocked milk duct on the left. 25 years later it was breast cancer. This was why I couldn't breastfeed! Those ducts were blocked back then and trying made it worse. I'm fine now, almost 3 years after treatment. But when DIL felt bad about not being able to breastfeed, at least I was able to support her

alessandramcintosh avatar
Alessandra McIntosh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm a mom that chose to formula feed both of my children, from day one, simply because I didn't want to breastfeed. I knew I didn't want to breastfeed from before I got pregnant, so I did a lot of research to make sure my decision was going to be ok. A lot of the marketing around "breast is best" is just that; marketing. If you actually read the studies, breastmilk vs formula doesn't make much difference, other than in antibodies/immunity, which they get while in the womb too. Your child's IQ isn't effected (intelligence has so many factors to it to begin with), you'll still be as bonded with them as you would be if you breastfeed (not to mention, your partner can help feed and also bond...while you sleep), and post-partum depression/anxiety may or may not happen either way. When they're older, you can't tell who was formula or breast fed, because they can all thrive.

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KimB
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was never able to carry a pregnancy to term but I remember quite well when my breasts got sore in the first trimester...I can only imagine how it would feel to lactate (physical discomfort). I give all you ladies/gents all the credit in the world for getting thru it. I don't feel like I can really say anything else on this one given my lack of personal experience. I can only hope that this shortage gets sorted out quickly and those narrow minded thinkers realize the goal is happy healthy babies no matter what they're thriving on boob or bottle. (Ps both of my step children were formula fed due to their mother needing to go back on her medications immediately following her deliveries. Both are very healthy ages 26 and 27 now.)

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Pezor Zass
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. Or, in some cases breastmilk a bad option; my grandmother lost her first baby because she had an internal infection that she passed to the baby. The nurses told her to breastfeed anyway and it died. She never got over it.

elaineelder avatar
Elaine Elder
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I breastfed my 1st child 14 months. Second projectile vomited, every time I fed her, then she would scream for an hour. I would try feeding her through the crying, after another hour I would get enough I'm her that she would fall asleep. But she only slept for about an hour and wake up screaming. We took her to pediatrician, he told me it was impossible for baby to be allergic to breast milk. I started pumping and it was torture. I had enough milk for two or three babies, because she was throwing up half of what I was producing. But the pump just would not work for me efficienly. I would spend an hour of work to get half what we needed to be able to add rice cereal to it. Once she had some of the mixture, i could then breastfeed. Honestly, that was for me to slowly wean her from breast .ilk because stopping the massive amount of milk i was producing was not something that can be stopped cold turkey. We had to go through several formulas to find one she could halfway keep down. And we had to add rice cereal to keep it down. By 4 months she was off breast milk completely. We changed pediatricians at 6 weeks and found out the valve at connection between esophagus and stomach was not formed completely. So basically she woke up with acid reflux. NOT COLIC, like original pediatrician told us. I would meet my husband at door when he came home from work with a screaming baby. Then I'd go sit in shower crying until I drained a 50 gallon hot water heater. I felt like a failure until we found out the problem wasn't me doing it wrong. It was a great relief. People need to learn to mind their own business. Just because they have an opinion doesn't mean they have the right to impose it on others.

purplezebra avatar
SillyPandaBunny
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I breastfed for a year. I was privileged to have the time, energy and a body that let me do this. Even though I so wanted to experience this and was successful, it was still hard. It was my choice though and had I chosen to bottle feed instead, that would have also been the right choice.

homarid69 avatar
Andrew
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am a man, so I have absolutely ZERO say if a woman breast feeds or feeds their child formula. Less starving/ill babies is all that matters. This is a complete sh*te situation we have gotten ourselves in. I work over the road and my coworker/trainer was stopping at every store to try and find formula for his grandkids. It is a sad situation.

jennyih avatar
Peta Hurley-Hill
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I fed my first two till 2 and nearly 2 ,no problems at all. My next two had a severe lactose allergy.I couldn't feed them as I would make them sick or worse...Yet I was still made to feel like I had failed them .One of those babies is now feeding her own 1 yr old very successfully but I was the first to tell her if she couldn't that was totally ok ,there are alternatives .There always has to be available alternatives ,no matter what the reason.

kkermes avatar
Kim Kermes
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother was unable to breastfeed because of nipple design, which I inherited. My older brother almost died from an extreme ntolerance to cow's milk based formula. Luckily, soy formula had just become available when I was born, and much more available and less costly when my sister was born.

ahmadpujianto avatar
The Cute Cat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a well spoken fact. Many people always think that people in the past has no problem. While the fact is our current life is way better..

catherine-graffham avatar
Catherine Graffham
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum was extremely sick after haemorrhaging when my sister and I were born, and therefore her body didn’t produce milk properly, even if she hadn’t been exhausted from almost dying. The amount she could produce was not enough for one baby, let alone twins. Luckily, though she felt guilty in the hospital while recovering that she wasn’t feeding us ‘properly’, when she got out, she had a really good midwife/home nurse who encouraged her and my dad to use formula. We grew up to be happy healthy and normal babies, just like our older brother who was breastfed. So fed is definitely best, whatever your reasons for using formula

lsaizul avatar
Lsai Aeon
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First, I was body shamed my entire life, even today, no way was I going to show anyone my body to breastfeed. Second, my milk didn't come in properly, and living in the US there was no help. Third, my son didn't latch properly, I have long floppy bewbs with my nips turning under to "hide" between bewbs and stomach. Forth, turns out my son had a stomach issue at birth and needed soy-based milk/formula. He's 14 now, a smidge over 5'7", 225 pounds. He did fine on fomula

fenixrising1972 avatar
fenixrising1972
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People like this ignore the fact that most people who don't breastfeed just don't feel like it, because they're stupid. So they feed their kids some man-made concoction of chemicals because they're too selfish, lazy, and immature to do the best thing for their kids.

dizzied avatar
Dizzie D
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no such thing as a 'birthing parent'. Females give birth, females breast feed and females are 'Mothers'. Society over the years and history has taken so much from women and stamped on their rights. Let's not take those rights away. I will be damned if I will put up with being called a 'birthing person' or 'birth parent'. I am a MOTHER. Apart from her saying that PC claptrap, she makes a valid point about formula.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think she used birthing parent because they are the ones that usually develop breastmilk. An adoptive or foster parent don't.

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Barri Ann Lyons
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All very well written and valid. The use of "f*****g" ruined your esteem. Sad

fenixrising1972 avatar
fenixrising1972
Community Member
1 year ago

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People like this ignore the fact that most people don't breastfeed just because they don't feel like it. They feed their kids some man-made concoction of chemicals because they're too selfish, lazy, and immature to do the best thing for their kids. Or, they have kids they can't afford to stay home and raise, even though their jobs barely cover child care. Or they have kids and then pay someone else to raise them because they want a career and their own needs are more important than their kids. People are just assholes.

adrianhobbs0 avatar
Adrian
Community Member
1 year ago

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I feel Carla is not telling the whole truth. Sure there were, and always will be, some babies unable to take milk from their mother. In times past this would often be solved by the availability of a "wet nurse". These days many women would resort to infant formula. However the point is that far too many women adopt the use of infant formula for convenience sake. This has led to the demand for such large quantities that other companies are jumping on the band-wagon to make a quick dollar driving out the specialist makers and driving down quality.

james_fox1984 avatar
Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WTF, Formula is FAR from convenient. It's much easier and cheaper to breast feed. Buying breastmilk from a milk bank is even more expensive than formula and not as easy to get hold of.

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