Yet another reason to like breasts!
(34 posts) (18 voices)-
OnTheBayou
MemberAs if there aren't plenty already.
I don't have a link, but an LAT story in the local paper showed that letting kids suck their thumb or use a pacifier for long periods, like three years, led to a 300% increase in speech disorders!
This might have actually been the scenario with a grandson. He got speech therapy even before starting school and is OK now.
Oh, yeah, breasts. Kids on the teat for no matter how many years, no problem.
Ain't nature amazing?
Posted 4 months ago # -
yay for BOOBS!
Posted 4 months ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberWell....I nursed my son for 19 months, then he went straight to drinking out of a cup. No pacifiers or bottles.
He still turned into a lisper (from something called "tongue thrust") until we took him to a speech therapist when he was five, which fixed the problem with a couple month's worth of saying esses with a mouth full of cracker crumbs. He's 21 now and talks just fine, but he still sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating.
My husband, on the other hand, still isn't weaned. I don't think most men are.
Posted 4 months ago # -
@Dragonmamma - Yes, you are correct about most men not being weaned! And I'm proud to admit it.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I've also heard that kids who "use" pacifiers are more likely to have dental problems later in life.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Posted 4 months ago # -
klcarbaugh
MemberOTB, you WOULD put this up. Haha.
I agree, If I ever have kids I will breastfeed beyond what is considered "socially appropriate" and who cares if I get labeled as a hippie in the process (I certainly don't look like one though so maybe not...). Not that I have anything against hippies (I live in Boulder).Posted 4 months ago # -
lol...the home of the hippie rock climbers!
Breast feeding is the only way to go IMO. My wife has regrets around not doing it longer than she did...which by today's standards was still long.
There are too many doctors/nurses out there that work in the maternity wards that are pushing supplementation and formula at day 1. Frustrating experiences.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Indiscreet
MemberMy mum couldn't breastfeed me. I was bottle fed for years and got somewhat attached to the bottle - I used to drink Lucozade out of it when I was 3 or 4. I called it my "titty bottle", lol. My mum used to joke that I'd be walking down the aisle with it hidden in my bouquet.
I never had any speech impediment and my teeth came out perfectly aligned, so it ain't a problem for everyone.
Never got married either, for that matter. Heh.
Posted 4 months ago # -
OTB, you are so right with following the money, in more ways than one. Pharma companies loose revenue from the formula and then from all the drugs the kids *don't* need to take.
I nursed my kids (what seemed like) forever & they were/are hardly ever sick. Breast is best! :)
Posted 4 months ago # -
MariaNYC
MemberMy mom had me at 33 and was unable to lactate. I was unable to pronounce "r" properly, but speech therapy fixed this is 2 sessions.
As for the medical/health community pushing formula over breast, this is the first I've heard of it. I was under the impression that the pressure was extremely high for new mothers to breastfeed.
Posted 4 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberMaria, you haven't been around long enough! Post WWII America was enthralled by anything new, technical, "better." Baby formula was one of those things. Soooooo, modern and convenient, you know. Monsanto, I think it was, had a tag line on TV, "Better living through chemistry."
It's only been since the 1970's that the pendulum has shifted back to Mother Nature.
Posted 4 months ago # -
rachelcb80
MemberI was breastfed, never given a bottle, but I sucked my thumb....for a loooooong time. My mom tried every way in the world to break me of it (and yes, I was old enough to remember all this, that's how long I sucked my thumb!) My teeth are perfect (new dentists often ask me if I had braces) and I've never had a speech problem. My brother on the other hand was breastfed, sucked his thumb for just a little while, but had a speech problem.
All three of my kids were breastfed and all three started sucking their thumb around 4 months of age. It just seems natural to me but if we have to deal with speech problems down the road, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
As for the medical industry and the push to breastfeed, they've definitely gotten better. But there's only so far you can go with suggesting a woman breastfeed her new baby. If the mother is unable, or unwilling to, you can't make her feel guilty because of the choice she made to formula feed. Breastfeeding is really hard at first (and honestly it's painful, no matter what "they" say) and it takes a strong determination and desire to continue with it. It's much easier to just switch to the bottle.
Posted 4 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberNot being able to nurse is a whole "udder" reason to use formula, for sure.
Of course, if Mrs. Grok was not overflowing, another woman would just take over. Some were "professional," being wet nurses. (They might have noticed that they never got pregnant. Whoopeeeee!)
The need for formula is a byproduct of living separately and not in small tribes or villages.
Posted 4 months ago # -
MariaNYC
MemberInteresting historical info, thanks OTB. Brings to mind an episode of Mad Men when Betty, after giving birth, is asked if she will breastfeed and quickly answers "no". Oh and back then, many women smoked and drank while pregnant, so formula may have been a lesser evil.
And yes, I was referring to the more recent practice of encouraging women to breastfeed, it seems like it was in the news quite a bit the past few years, or else I somehow kept stumbling on it. And from some of the things I've read, some women are made to feel guilty if, for whatever reason, they do not breastfeed, which I think is very cruel.Posted 4 months ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberMy mom was ahead of her time. She had babies from 1942-1958 (I was the 1958 "whoops" baby) but insisted on nursing all of us, because she just knew that formula couldn't possibly be an improvement.
But what do you expect from a woman who woke up early to exercise to the Jack LaLanne show at 6:00am every morning?
Posted 4 months ago # -
go_ginger_go
MemberUnfortunately, I was not breast-fed at all. My mother tells me I would clamp my mouth down and dodge the bottle with my head when trying to be fed formula. I simply refused to eat that crap, and it got so bad that my parents (who lived out in the middle of nowhere and didn't cotton much to doctors at all) finally brought me in to a country doctor, who told them to feed me tiny bits of raw hamburger meat. Which I gulped down.
Born to be primal! :)
Posted 4 months ago # -
lil_earthmomma
MemberIt's very sad but true OTB that mothers do not get the support they need to breastfeed. My midwife liked to say, "for something so natural, it sure doesn't come naturally!" lol
I just finished *sniffle* tandem nursing my 2 1/2 yr old and 1 yr old. Now I just nurse the 1 yr old baby. It's been a difficult journey, with lots of obstacles from the medical community and the community in general, but I'm very proud that I've made it this far and my babies have received the best I could give them. And, since I moved to this tiny (ehem hillbilly-ish) village, I've been able to encourage 4 or 5 mothers to continue breastfeeding, and help them overcome some of the major pitfalls that cause mama's to stop. *yay!***
Now If I can just convince them to feed their toddlers primal instead of disgusting jarred baby food...
Posted 4 months ago # -
kam904s
MemberI'm due in January and the chance that I might not be able to breastfeed for whatever reason is a pretty large worry of mine right now. Formula is expensive! Ironically, I was one of those weirdo babies that refused the boob when my own mother tried to breastfeed me. Granted, she is French and thus a smoker as well as drinking wine with every meal, so that might have had something to do with it. Hearing some of the stuff she did while pregnant with me amazes me that I came out healthy. Huge for a newborn, but healthy.
But then again, it's probably a generational thing. I was the "oops" baby - there's a 10 year difference between me and my next oldest sibling - so all the medical advice she previously knew was from my siblings (1966-1970) and not from 1980 when I was born.
Posted 4 months ago # -
lil_earthmomma
MemberKam, don't stress yourself out please. The amount of women that are truly physically unable to bf is very small. Surround yourself with support, like finding a LLL support group in your area http://www.llli.org/
and check out http://www.mothering.com for tons of advice from people who are very knowledgable about bfing, and I was directed to mark's daily apple by mama's on the traditional foods forum!!!
Don't keep formula in the house. Breastfeeding can be hard, but it's so worth it. Also, there are parts that are way easier than bottle feeding, nothing to sterilize, no running out, no making bottles, finding somewhere to heat them up...
Breast feed as SOON as possible once giving birth. Immediately. The sooner the better for your supply and baby learning to latch. Breastfeeding is something you will both have to learn to do together. :)
Breast feed as often as possible in the first 6 weeks especially. Your body is attempting to build your milk supply. Ignore anyone that tries to get you to feed on a schedule, bf babies need to feed on demand!!!
Hope that helps a little. You'll do fine!
Posted 4 months ago #
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