Frustrated

[Bluegoat]

I had a woman today tell me that the "only" difference between formula and breast milk was the immunological factors and it was other wise nutritionally identical, and that she had been told this by 10 different peds that had looked after her baby with problems, including the head of peds at a prominent hospital.

Now, aside from the actual problems with the claim itself, I don't really doubt that is what she was told.

How is it that doctors, who are supposed to know about infants and children, can be so ignorant? Myself I have met lots of doctors who are no practical help, but they all at least know that there are bigger differences than that.

I am feeling very frustrated, which is unusual for me, I think it must be the late pregnancy hormones.

[PatioGardener]

I'm with you in your frustration! Paediatricians seem to be the worst as well - which is so surprising... but I chalk it up to the long term relationship they have (formally) with the formula companies. I've had better experiences with family doctors.

Totally off topic - doesn't Nova Scotia have breastfeeding ad campaign running right now? Any news on how it has been received?

(ads are here is anyone is interested: http://www.first6weeks.ca/learning/l...t-natural.html)

[hippiemommaof4]

It is really sad that some choose to be so ignorant but most of the ones I have met really havent been ignorant but they choose to stay neutral on the whole BF vs FFing. They are just there to present facts in the situations I have been in. I have met a few that did need more education on nursing though for sure but the majority do know bm is superior in every way.

On the issue you posted...I would have said "you're wrong and they are wrong and I can prove it" I then would have spouted off a million different websites and books and said that she should have picked better docs lol, but I'm a jerk what can I say lol. I think people like that just want to believe that they made the right choices by formula feeding so they just say things like that to try to suit their purpose. Maybe I am just skeptical but I do find it hard to believe that 10 different peds would say that because I just find it hard to believe that they all would be that uneducated. I would probably be skeptical of it being the truth thinking she was exaggerating.

[elus0814]

She shouldn't be told that but could it be that she was stressed over it and the docs said that so she wouldn't worry over something she could no longer change? She could have been really upset over breastfeeding not working for her and her baby or brought up that maybe formula could have something to do with her baby's issues and the doctors simply told her what she needed to hear at that time. I don't agree with it but it may not have been total ignorance. I agree with pp, family docs seem to be more informed about breastfeeding. With two of my kids I had mostly clueless OBs then with the third I had a midwife but had to have a doc at the delivery because he was premature and the MW suggested a family doctor and he was great, way better than any OB I had ever encountered.

[Bluegoat]

I don't know - the woman's baby was adopted, so feeling guilty wasn't really an issue I don't think - though it did rather seem like some self justification was going on. I just find it bizarre. I did point out that there are clear differences in the make-up of formula vs BM, without getting into benefits, since that was her claim, and she said that I must not know about formulas available in the US???!!

Because Canada is sooo far behind - no matter that we import our infant formula from the US!

I haven't heard anything about the breastfeeding campaign in NS, although I have seen the commercials and noticed a lot of literature around places that new moms frequent. I think it is supposed to also correspond with moving to a Baby-Friendly model, which is great. I suppose it is too early for numbers or effects, but I would be interested to know the public response to the commercials. They are low-key, so I can't imagine anyone being offended anyway.

[tanyam926]

Considering that most peds get their BF info from formula companies, I totally believe it.

I have had peds tell me some really asinine things about BF.

We go to a Family Practioner bc they aren't so invested in the lies that big pharma sells to them and IME they are more likely to respect different parenting philosophies (basically, it's my job to parent and they are there to help w/medical stuff).

[crunchy_mommy]

I agree with the pp, it sounds like they're justifying the choice to formula feed...

Also I wouldn't be surprised if some of the docs really truly don't know the difference. I'm not knocking doctors but really, they are just regular people who went to school a long time. But even so, in their 8-10 years of schooling, they probably studied 10000 different topics, so coupled with our mostly-formula-feeding society & I wouldn't doubt that they are less informed when it comes to BF'ing...

[boobs4milk]

my youngest was 5 wks early and in the nicu. we were told that my milk was inadequate due to our dd's metabolic disorder and that adding formula was the only way to get her 'complete nutrition.' i ended up giving in to them and adding the hmf and formula just to get her home. they told me that, because of her condition, she wouldn't gain appropriately on breastmilk alone.

all i can say is HA! she's 14 wks tomorrow, started out at 5 lbs 14 oz lowest weight (6lbs 7.9 oz birth weight, 19 1/2") and she's 14 lbs and 24"! she left the hospital at 7lbs 20" at 2 1/2wks old. we've been on just breastmilk since she was about 3 wks old.

the misinformation from peds is just crazy. they were P!SSED when i brought in studies and proved them wrong. i wonder what they'd say if they saw her DOUBLE her weight in lest than 12 wks on JUST breastmilk????

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by boobs4milk

my youngest was 5 wks early and in the nicu. we were told that my milk was inadequate due to our dd's metabolic disorder and that adding formula was the only way to get her 'complete nutrition.' i ended up giving in to them and adding the hmf and formula just to get her home. they told me that, because of her condition, she wouldn't gain appropriately on breastmilk alone.

all i can say is HA! she's 14 wks tomorrow, started out at 5 lbs 14 oz lowest weight (6lbs 7.9 oz birth weight, 19 1/2") and she's 14 lbs and 24"! she left the hospital at 7lbs 20" at 2 1/2wks old. we've been on just breastmilk since she was about 3 wks old.

the misinformation from peds is just crazy. they were P!SSED when i brought in studies and proved them wrong. i wonder what they'd say if they saw her DOUBLE her weight in lest than 12 wks on JUST breastmilk????

Fortunately my DS was born on time and no metabolic disorder, however I heard the EXACT SAME THINGS from the hospital staff!! They kept us an extra day or two for "feeding issues" and told me I didn't have enough milk, I NEEDED to use formula, he was losing too much weight, they kept bringing in bottles of formula and running to check his (PERFECTLY NORMAL) blood sugar and I could go on & on.... Oh man it makes me so mad because he was perfectly healthy. The hospital "acted" pro-breastfeeding, at least outwardly... and if I had listened to even one piece of their "advice" we wouldn't have ended up BF'ing at all. Now, 10.5 months later, he is still mostly EBF (just a little solids) and has been on the high end of the weight gain curve since the week after we left the hospital. The misinformation & so-called "helpful" advice drives me insane. One of these days I will get around to writing them a letter!

[purplepaperclip]

I must be a lucky one. My ped is VERY pro-breastfeeding. My OB is as well and even showed me her pump set up in her office one day at my pp visit. She had a Medela that was 10 years old and on its fourth baby.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

Fortunately my DS was born on time and no metabolic disorder, however I heard the EXACT SAME THINGS from the hospital staff!! They kept us an extra day or two for "feeding issues" and told me I didn't have enough milk, I NEEDED to use formula, he was losing too much weight, they kept bringing in bottles of formula and running to check his (PERFECTLY NORMAL) blood sugar and I could go on & on....

Mine too. My MW wasn't one who said this, she is very pro BFing, but I swear every hour the nurses came in and badgered me. Threatening that if he didn't nurse and his sugar was low they were going to give formula. BEFORE they tested his sugar after I made them test his sugar it was fine and the nurse literally was surprised. I could see it on her face. I was soooo pi$$ed. Stressing a mom out doesn't help a baby latch p.s.

To the OP. I would have just given here the blank "Uh-huh" nod. There is nothing you can do at this point. She has made her decision and evidently has entrenched herself in her mindset.

[Equuskia]

I had a woman today tell me that the "only" difference between formula and breast milk was the immunological factors and it was other wise nutritionally identical...

Even if this was the only difference, doesn't that sound pretty significant? The difference between sleeping peacefully at night, or having to run to the hospital at 3am for yet another ear infection or bronchitis?

[smeep]

Originally Posted by Equuskia

Even if this was the only difference, doesn't that sound pretty significant? The difference between sleeping peacefully at night, or having to run to the hospital at 3am for yet another ear infection or bronchitis?

Unfortunately we are taught that running to the hospital or pedi for a sick babe every 1-3 months is normal. It's what we are used to seeing, so it's "not a big deal." It's "normal." Plus we're also taught that bf moms never get sleep bc their babies never sleep through the night. But, honestly, I got less sleep the two nights I bottlefed all night (was on meds I incorrectly thought were unsafe for a few days, but stopped after 2 days of bottle hell). And we hadn't even learned how to nurse while laying down yet! Once we did around 6 mos, I could've cared less if he STTN or not because I rarely woke up. I only knew he did because my shirt would be up in the morning (he was waking at night until he weaned at 26 mos).

[April Dawn]

I think a lot of peds are just trying to not stress out moms who are, for whatever reason, formula feeding. They know the benefits of breastmilk, but they also know that formula feeding is not the end of the world, and so they don't want to lay a guilt trip on the moms.

My experience with my pediatrician led me to think this. My son had to get supplements of formula in the first two months because of my low milk supply. My supply gradually increased, and today at 7 months he gets all breastmilk. In those early days, I talked to the pediatrician in tears about my son getting some formula. She told me it was fine to feed formula, if my supply didn't increase it was perfectly ok, my son would still be healthy. But now that he gets exclusively breastmilk, my pediatrician is all about telling me about all the benefits my son is getting from that milk. So I think it's more that a lot of peds have seen stressed out moms who wanted to BF and struggled, and they don't want to add to the stress on those moms. I think that most of them DO know the benefits!

Edited by April Dawn - 7/5/11 at 8:19pm

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by April Dawn

I think a lot of peds are just trying to not stress out moms who are, for whatever reason, formula feeding. They know the benefits of breastmilk, but they also know that formula feeding is not the end of the world, and so they don't want to lay a guilt trip on the moms.

I think this definitely has something to do with it. Of course, telling mothers THE TRUTH is in no way laying a guilt trip on them! This 'don't make a mother feel guilty' thing only happens with breastfeeding. No pediatrician would hesitate to tell a mother the risks of smoking, driving without a safely fitted car seat, leaving baby alone in the bath, etc. For some reason (*cough* strong formula lobby? *cough*) breastfeeding gets an exemption to the primary medical ethical principal of informed consent.

There are a couple of really good articles about breastfeeding, health care providers and the 'guilt issue' - I'll try to find the references.