Why supp with formula Q

[GeorgiaGalHeidi]

I really do have a Q-I am not trying to start a big battle or fight, but I am so curious cause I see this ALL the time! For the woman out there that read up on or looked into breastfeeding, why would you chose to supp with F? Now, I know that some people have to, and I am not directing this inquiry towards you. For those that had true bonified supply problems before they ever supplemented, I know why you do! I am asking those educated ladies that chose to do it despite no real *need*-WHY? Didn't you stress over whether that would affect your supply? I truly want to understand what makes the majority of woman supp.

[captain optimism]

I didn't supplement, but I have some insights into why people do. No wait, I guess I did supplement very briefly, so let me put the reason that I did, first:

1. Your baby might have a latch problem and you might use formula (and in my case, pumped colustrum) to finger-feed him or her to get the latch right.

2. You might have legit supply issues from polycystic ovary syndrome, or from breast reduction, or from another issue on the mom's side.

3. Your baby might have been ill and not sucked very hard in the early weeks, so that you had to supplement because your breasts weren't stimulated enough to provide milk. This happened to my friend, and it took her nearly four months to get her supply back up so she could stop supplementing. (She also refused to pump, but even if she had I think it would have been tough!)

4. You might have had really bad advice along the following lines:

a. When your baby was having a growth spurt, someone told you that their eating all the time meant you had low supply, so you supplemented. (Argh!)

b. Your baby didn't gain weight, so someone you trusted told you incorrectly your milk was inadequate.

c. Someone told you that giving a "relief bottle" wouldn't harm your supply, and you were really tired, so...

5. You might WOHM and not be able to figure out how to pump enough breastmilk to avoid using formula.

[GeorgiaGalHeidi]

4. You might have had really bad advice along the following lines:

a. When your baby was having a growth spurt, someone told you that their eating all the time meant you had low supply, so you supplemented. (Argh!)

b. Your baby didn't gain weight, so someone you trusted told you incorrectly your milk was inadequate.

c. Someone told you that giving a "relief bottle" wouldn't harm your supply, and you were really tired, so...

5. You might WOHM and not be able to figure out how to pump enough breastmilk to avoid using formula.

Yup. These answers are really the ones that stick out in my head and that I want to mentally write down--I totally get the supp with physical problems, but it is these things we need to focus on with the gal that is not having problems but following advice from a misinformed MIL or out of her own fear that her body is not producing! I wish we could get to a point where these things were not spoken of nor feared, but there are so many people today and in the past that are told or were told these things and truly believed them.

[Greaseball]

I bfed exclusively until 3 mos and then supplemented 1-2 times a day. I only had a hand pump and could not get more than 8 oz with it, and I was a full-time student. Then when dd was about 6 mos old, I got an electric double pump, but by then I did have supply issues, probably because of the supplementation. So I still couldn't get very much with it. So when she was at home with dh, she would get maybe 9 oz of ebm and 3 oz of formula. Finally when she was about 11 mos we used cows milk, and by that time I could not get anything by pumping. She nursed only 2-3 times a day until 15 mos or so, then only once a day until she quit at 22 mos. I feel if the supply had not been interfered with, she might still be nursing.

I'm hoping to avoid that this time. I still have the electric pump, so maybe it won't come down to that. And I'll be taking my classes online, so I won't be gone all day. Maybe this babe will be one of the lucky ones who never has formula.

[Lucky Charm]

For the woman out there that read up on or looked into breastfeeding, why would you chose to supp with F?

Because i was completely and totally exhausted, thats why.

I had no supply issues, my kids loved to nurse, i was just "nursed out".

I actually was an excellent pumper, getting up to 15 oz when i did pump, which i would freeze.

Didn't you stress over whether that would affect your supply?

No.

I wonder why you are so "curious".

[chellemarie]

Because I figured that some formula wouldn't kill 'em.

I nursed when I was home and gave formula when I wasn't. It worked for us. I wish I'd nursed longer with the first two, and wish I'd had more information and support to pump and give them nothing but breastmilk, but it worked really, really well for us at the time.

I had different information and support for baby #3 and he's not had anything but human milk. I like that. If I hadn't had the info and support, I'd have given him some formula and I'm sure he'd be fine.

I'm sure I'd be very put-off by questions like this, though.

[Lucky Charm]

What chellemarie said.

[Mothra]

I try not to give my daughter formula, but when we do I don't freak out about it. I really, really hate to pump and all I have here is a manual pump. If I go somewhere, I pump before I leave but it isn't always enough. My husband gives her formula if he can't hold her off. Sometimes on the weekends he'll give her a bottle of formula if I'm sleeping in or taking a nap. We're talking about 2-4oz of formula a week, on average.

I'm not going to NOT give my daughter formula, ever, because I might enrage someone else. All breastmilk that babies get is beneficial. If women decide they can't or don't want to breastfeed all the time, then why shouldn't they supplement with formula? Why can't we support them for the times they DO breastfeed? I'm freaking exhausted most of the time. If giving my daughter an occasional bottle of formula means I get a break, then bring it on.

[sntm]

I think it's a valid question.

I've wondered the same thing. We had such a rough start to breastfeeding that I've always been amazed when women who seem to have had an easier road appear to "waste" their gift. My perception, only, but it seems to trivialize my struggle.
:

[Mothra]

And I don't worry about my supply. I've never had supply issues, even when my son was getting a bottle a day when a friend of mine was going through a rough time and I was spending a lot of time with her.

[Mothra]

Originally Posted by sntm

I think it's a valid question.

I've wondered the same thing. We had such a rough start to breastfeeding that I've always been amazed when women who seem to have had an easier road appear to "waste" their gift. My perception, only, but it seems to trivialize my struggle.
:

How does someone else making a different choice than you trivialize your struggle? Are we really so wrapped up in what everyone else does? Do we really need everyone else to make choices the same as our own to validate those choices?

This whole thing, along with the other thread, just reeks of judgement I'm sure people don't want brought on them about other parenting choices. Seriously, you just can't win. So a woman decides to breastfeed. Maybe she wasn't too sure about it at first, but she decides to give it a go. She breastfeeds most of the time, or even just some of the time, and uses formula, too. She's STILL a bad, lazy, ignorant, selfish mother trivializing the struggles of others? You really just can't win.

[Lucky Charm]

then bring it on.

Oh yeah.

Mothra, you rock!

[Victorian]

Why is there so much anger and hate on this board today? I don't think that the OP meant to hurt anyone by her question, maybe she is trying to understand something. The only way to knowledge is to ask questions.

Victorian

[Mothra]

Because some of us are tired of defending our parenting choices and having it implied, or shouted at us, over and over that we aren't AP enough, don't REALLY breastfeed if we supplement, can't possibly be attached to our kids if we work outside of the home (why have kids at all if you aren't going to raise them), and so on and so on. The question might have been offered up in a sincere way, but when people start talking about how other people's choices affect THEM, I get snippy. I have enough trouble keeping my own family in line, I don't need other people looking to me to validate their choices and struggles and doing so in a condescending, patronizing way.

[chellemarie]

Victoria,

I don't think there's a lot of anger and hate on this board today. In fact, some of these discussions feel very open and tolerant to me. I don't think the discussions are getting ugly, either.

A lot of MDC is very into being tolerant of so many different people and situations. It's unfortunate the tone has to be so rigid on other subjects.

A mama feeding her baby a bottle of formula doesn't trivialize anybody's anything. It's about having compassion for other human beings. Formula feeders (and drinkers) are still human beings. Yes, breastmilk is best for baby and formula should be seen as the alternative and not vice versa, but we don't need to bash anybody over this.


And, uh, what Mothra said.

[GeorgiaGalHeidi]

I wonder why you are so "curious".

Because a local gal and I are leaders of a local breastfeeding group for working moms, and I am part of a breastfeeding coalition that is working with WIC to create peer counselor program. Although supplementation may have had no ill effects on your supply, statistically speaking, supplementing with formula does negatively affect many woman's supply and usually leads to earilier weaning. My goal is to help woman successfully BF and continue to BF. Not everyone is as gung-ho as I am, so it is hard to see the other perspective sometimes. That is why I am asking. I can help a woman if I know where she is coming from. Since supplementation is the leading reason many of the moms we see are having supply problems and not continuing breastfeeding, it is important to find out why they do it to begin with and start from there.

I guess this, although the BF support and advocacy board, like all boards, is not the place for any inquiry at all on the subject of BF or FF based upon the angry, rude, and snippy comments I have gotten. No one judged you. It's an honest Q and concern for many BF advocates, LC's, counsleors, etc., because we DO know that supp is likely to negatively impact your BF relationship. I have seen this alot lately, and I truly do not know WHY people do it if it is not needed, and I really need to understand why if I want to help anyone. I am seriously surprised that such attitudes exist on this board. Last time I checked, this was the BREASTFEEDING support and advocacy board, and this is a post related to advocacy.

[chellemarie]

Heidi...this is a breastfeeding support forum. However, I don't think it needs to be the "100% Breastfeeding Support Forum".

If you want to address the main causes of supplementation when it is not otherwise seemingly necessary, start with getting free cans of formula out of hospitals and mailboxes. Call medical schools and urge them to train pediatricians and family doctors in breastfeeding benefits and concerns. Those are the roots of much supplementation and I believe that is where advocacy groups need to start.

Also, if you're seeing the women who are supplementing and having supply issues, you should be asking them why they started to supplement. We can generalize and infer, but they've got the real answers. I imagine asking them that question will lead you back to my previous paragraph.

[sntm]

Originally Posted by Mothra

How does someone else making a different choice than you trivialize your struggle? Are we really so wrapped up in what everyone else does? Do we really need everyone else to make choices the same as our own to validate those choices?

This whole thing, along with the other thread, just reeks of judgement I'm sure people don't want brought on them about other parenting choices. Seriously, you just can't win. So a woman decides to breastfeed. Maybe she wasn't too sure about it at first, but she decides to give it a go. She breastfeeds most of the time, or even just some of the time, and uses formula, too. She's STILL a bad, lazy, ignorant, selfish mother trivializing the struggles of others? You really just can't win.

That's not what I meant, and no, I don't need other people to make the same choices as I do. And for the record (please read my post) I specifically said that I don't think of nor condone labelling women who use formula as "bad, lazy, ignorant [or] selfish." And I again, I am supportive of any woman who breastfeeds at all or even attempts to breastfeed. Do you not believe me about this? What would my motivation be for lying???

In my case, because of my early struggles and my early supply issues, I have been vigilant about pumping at work. I have taken my baby and husband with me to conferences so that my supply would not be threatened. Even working among "enlightened" health care professionals, these actions are seen as a little extreme and I am sure my dedication to/productivity at work have been questioned. I do this because I don't want my son to have to get formula again (he had a few ounces when he was 3 weeks old). So, when the general opinion is that a little formula won't hurt anything, my professional sacrifices appear less meaningful and possible even silly. Does that make sense? Why should an employer ensure working moms a place to pump, time to pump, etc., if it doesn't make any difference, even to breastfeeding advocates? For that matter, why should insurance companies be encouraged to pay for LCs or pumps? Why should forums like this exist in the first place? (a little hyperbole, but you get my point)

This is just my perception, and perhaps tainted by my wishes to be home with my DS where I could chuck the pump and just breastfeed him whenever. But I think I have just as much a right to my feelings as you have to yours.

The OP asked a valid question. And I am interested in what reasons someone might have for disagreeing. If they are good or well-thought, why not share them and maybe educate me/other readers? If you and other posters are tired of defending your choices, then don't. Hopefully someone else will. I've found threads like these very informative in other MDC forums.

[GeorgiaGalHeidi]

If you want to address the main causes of supplementation when it is not otherwise seemingly necessary, start with getting free cans of formula out of hospitals and mailboxes. Call medical schools and urge them to train pediatricians and family doctors in breastfeeding benefits and concerns. Those are the roots of much supplementation and I believe that is where advocacy groups need to start.

You are assuming that I have not started here also? You need to reach out on a personal and community level also because the changes you are talking about will take a long time, and even after these things change, years to really have an affect.

I do ask individual woman I know, but wouldn't more collective knowledge assist me and prepare me even more?

[guestmama9924]

why would you chose to supp with F? Now, I know that some people have to

with my first child (8 y) they gave me free stuff in the hospital of course, and again at the Ped, and at the mothers group ( hospital based) and so on. I was young and although breastfeeding without a care in the world, I really bought into the fact that she must need some of that stuff. So dh and I gave her 1 bottle a day which allowed me to take a long bath, grocery shop, etc. Never really gave it a though until after she was weaned and I became a cbe.
With dd2 I wouldn't touch formula with a 10 foot pole. The recalls, the chemicals, the whole thing. I really hated pumping, and tried because I did like the idea of having an alternative means if needed to feed baby, but since I hated pumping, and didn't trust what was in formula, I just EBF...and lasted longer than with dd1.
So, for your question, I think for some mothers, marketing and social norm plays a HUGE role. It did for me.