I just had a baby two weeks ago and experienced the same type of extremism, leaving me with an extremely jaundiced baby who lost more than 10% of his body weight within one day. Not only were the lactation consultants so die hard but they also provided misinformation about what a baby's real dietary needs are. When I ultimately had to supplement, I was treated as if I was a failure who had given up on my baby. It is great that life seems to have gotten better for women who want to breastfeed, but that should not come at the expense of those who cannot or do not want to breastfeed. Thank you for writing about this.

I think that pushing breastfeeding is good.  I don't think we do enough to emphasize breastfeeding in this nation which is why I am all for edgy campaign slogans. I don't want to make formula feeding parents feel bad, I want to make sure that every baby is given the chance to have what's best for them. Formula feeding parents role their eyes at this, and breastfeeders cheer on their camp, why? because it's dissonant if they accept any other position. Will a baby die from not being breastfed? Unlikely, but you have to admit that the research is clear that breastfed babies have a better start to their development.

I, too, had a problem feeding my child and had to supplement. It relieves a lot of the guilt that I had having to supplement my milk with formula. She's my new hero.

I think the research is clear that breastfed babies are more LIKELY to have a better start to their development, but not that it's cut and dry, which is my biggest frustration about the whole breat vs formula debate.  I chose to formula feed my daughter.  Why?  Because I plain and simple didn't want to breastfeed, I had absolutely no desire to do so.  She is well ahead her developemental stage in school, has never had an ear infection, has had the flu once, and has ran I think 7 fevers ever - she's 5 1/2 years old.  I was formula fed, as were many of my friends and colleages, and I've never heard one person say "I'm not as smart, or fast, or healthy or whatever because I was formula fed."  It's ludicrous.  How and what you choose to feed your child is your choice, not only are you not obligated by anything or anyone to breastfeed, you're not obligated by anything or anyone to even try.  And no one should under any circumstances be made to feel like less of a person, or less of a caring, loving mother, for that choice.

"Will a baby die from not being breastfed?  Unlikely, but..."  UNLIKELY?  How about not even a chance.  There is absolutely no chance that a baby will die because they were given formula instead of breast milk.  Statements like that are what make mothers, especially confused new mothers, so frantic and panicked and keeps this stupid debate going.

Or maybe people should consult their pediatricians instead of endless debating this topic on the internets.

I really tried to breastfeed, but my son lost more weight than my doctor wanted and the whole experience was so stressful -- worrying how much he was getting, worrying he was falling asleep while eating and not getting enough, feeling terrible when I forced him awake and he started screaming, etc etc -- that I finally decided to give up. As guilty as I felt resorting to formula, I decided having a stress-free feeding where I could bond with my son was more important.

Through all of this, lactation consultants were the least helpful people I encountered. They informed me I was "doing everything wrong, but probably not hurting him" when I called for help and flat-out contradicted my doctor's advice, telling me supplementing with formula was the worst possible thing.

Looking back, I think if the lactation consultants had been more flexible I might have stayed with it. I just needed some support -- and my family lives away -- to say, yes you're doing it right, let's just get this baby fed. This breast or nothing attitude doesn't help, in my opinion.

My lactaction consultant gave me bad advice too.  I had extremely high post partum blood pressure and was advised by the physician to stay laying down as much as possible.  The doc wanted to put me on some heavy duty meds to get the pressure down but the lac consultant suggested I try t urse my baby while I was laying down instead.  So I tried it and my poor baby had an ear infection at 5 weeks from feeding while lying down!  I was furious!  So we switched my meds and put my baby on formula after that fiasco.

cooper1178: While I'm so happy to hear that your daughter is completely healthy, sadly, babies DO die from not having been breastfed.  Formula-fed babies succumb to SIDS at twice the rate of breastfed babies.  Babies who were formula-fed are more likely to contract childhood acute leukemia than babies who were breastfed for at least six months.  And formula-fed babies are 3.8 times as likely to contract meningitis than breastfed babies during the period of time that they are breastfed.  There is even evidence that formula-fed baby girls are at an increased risk of facing breast cancer as adults.  This isn't to make anyone feel guilty, just so that mothers make an informed decision when they choose between breast and bottle and realize that there's more at stake than a couple of ear infections and a few IQ points.  (All data is from the American Academy of Pediatrics' _New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding_, 2002.)  

Consult their pediatrician?

Do you know how much pediatrician bashing goes on in La Leche League meetings?  This was one of the things that turned me off from that organization.  I am not the type to obe

I agree with Grace, in one respect - we don't want to make moms feel bad.  However, the truth about the difference between formula and breastmilk is simply not common knowledge.  And how to breastfeed, how to deal with common (and uncommon) problems are also not common knowledge.  I personally felt much more of a pressure to formula feed than to breastfeed, or at least to "supplement."

Yet I disagree with Grace in that it is unlikely that a baby will die from not being breastfed.  Simply not true according to the wealth of research out there - formula feeding an infant raises the chances of deadly infections and illnesses, lowers the baby's immune system response, increases the chances of dying from SIDS, etc.  

I am all for moms making their own choice - but it should be a truly informed choice.  And judging by the responses that I so frequently see to these types of articles and posts - the information is simply not out there.

I support anyone who wants to breastfeed and the folks who want to help and support - not terrorize - moms.

I was a bit galvanized by the commentary, though, on "some babies die from not breastfeeding."  

Some babies die.  This is one of the most horrific and cruel truths of our world. Some babies do die.

Some babies do not.

For many of the babies that die, their survival may not have been materially affected by breastfeeding - too many other strikes were against them.

I was abandoned as a premature baby and not found for multiple hours.  Obviously, I was formula-fed. I am healthy. I am strong - I run three miles a day and lift weights.  I have a graduate and a post-graduate degree from two Ivy League universities.

Not being breastfed didn't kill me - and as an abandoned preemie, of under 2 lbs, I had a rough start.  

So it's more than breastfeeding, in many cases.

This makes it no less sad or horrific that babies die.  But statements like some of the above anger me and, IMO, do much more harm than good.

anonymous2 - just as much as babies are more likely but not gauranteed to have better early development from being breastfed, your statements are just liklihoods.  Babies do not die FROM being formula fed.  In all of those examples and statistics, formula is not what caused the babies death, there is absolutely no way to know for sure that those deaths wouldn't have occured anyway even if those babies were breastfed.  There is just a link between, but not concrete causation.  As leahsmom states above, there is more to every story than just what the baby was fed, and babies die, it's a cruel hard fact.  Formula doesn't CAUSE SIDS, luekemia, or cancer anymore than breastmilk saves you from them.  

It's kind of like saying if I don't wear my seat belt, I WILL die in a crash.  No, I'm more likely to die IF I'm in a crash, but there is no gaurantee that A I will even be in a crash and B that I will die in said crash.

@leahsmom

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I, and I believe every reasonable person, would agree that formula is a wonderful option in many cases, and that the majority of tragic infant deaths are caused by factors far complex than "not breastfeeding."

However, I must point out that the comments about the potential risks of formula-feeding were not simply responding to the post, but were clearly in response to cooper1178's statement that "There is absolutely no chance that a baby will die because they were given formula instead of breast milk."

Obviously, that statement is simply untrue, and easily disproved. PP have pointed out the increased risk of SIDS, and in developing countries the "double whammy" of exposing infants to unclean drinking water (to mix the formula) and depriving them of the natural anti-diarrheal properties of breastmilk has led directly to infant deaths. Even someone who strongly believes that formula is just as good as breastmilk for the majority of children cannot contravene the fact that for some babies, and in some circumstances, the use of formula has in fact led to injury or death (just as breastmilk can be injurious for some babies and in some situations, as this news article notes).

Clearly the solution is not to make false claims about formula OR breastmilk, but ensure that every family has the accurate information and support to make the feeding decision that is right for them. Erroneous statements on either side simply confuse the issue and make people more likely to discount anything that they don't already agree with.

And correlation does not equal causation: it may be that moms who share some other characteristic that is responsible for the variation in SIDS rates, etc. are less likely to breastfeed than those who don't have that characteristic.

Find me one case, just one, where the cause of death was strictly the formula the baby was given and nothing else (water it was mixed with, other medical conditions, quality of life conditions), and can be proven without a doubt, and I'll concede.  And you can't use SIDS either because there is no proof what exactly causes SIDS, just that there are certain things that are often present in SIDS cases.

Erin, I think you said everything I was about to say.

To cooper1178 and others: Correct, infant formula is not toxic to babies.  On the contrary, it can be a lifesaver in cases where mother and infant are separated or unable to breastfeed.  No responsible lactation consultant or La Leche League Leader will deny that commercially-produced infant formula has its place in these situations or in cases where the mother is not producing enough milk to adequately nourish her child.  (If your LC tries to tell you otherwise, find a new one.)  However, breastfeeding is the biological norm for all mammals, including human infants and there are risks involved with deviating from it.  A higher risk of SIDS persists among formula-fed infants even after controlling for demographic and other factors (per the International Journal of Epidemiology).  Since there is no scientific consensus as to what causes SIDS, we don't know exactly what protection breastfeeding offers against it.  We only know that breastfed babies are less likely to die of SIDS.  Again, I'm not trying to scare anyone, make them feel guilty or tell them how to live their life or what to feed their child.  I'm only providing information so that mothers can make an informed decision.

Amen for a balanced viewpoint!

I have never heard that lying down and nursing could cause ear infections.  I nursed all 3 of my kids while lying down--at least some of the times, and we have only had one ear infection in our house so far...our 5 1/2 year old, who obviously isn't nursing any more.

Breastfeeding while lying down can cause ear infections if the milk goes up the eustacian tube and sits in the ears.  It's more likely to happen with formula than breastmilk, though, since breastmilk contains antibacterial properties.

Breastfeeding while lying down can cause ear infections if the milk goes up the eustacian tube and sits in the ears.  It's more likely to happen with formula than breastmilk, though, since breastmilk contains antibacterial properties.

Regarding the comment that all mammals breastfeed.  While by and large, this is true the fact is that humans have manifested certain evolutionary traits over time that make the comparison to a cow or other mammal invalid.  For better or worse we can't always compare how our bodies work to another creature just because it is of the same taxonomic class.  Look at our walking upright and the enlarged female bosom for examples of how our evolutionary traits have given us unique ailments that don't commonly occur in other animals.

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