[vermontgirl]

"Do you think that breast fed babies have more a secure attachment to their mothers than bottle fed babies?"

This question was asked in a class I am taking and I need help coming up with some good answers because some people are being really ignorant about it. Some of the people think there is no difference between bottlefeeding and breastfeeding. Help!

 

[Meiri]

Given that the breast cannot be propped and baby left alone in a stroller or carseat to feed him/herself, I'd say the chances of a less secure attachment are much lower for the breastfed. Even when NAK, baby is hearing mom's heartbeat, feeling her warmth, seeing her face, etc.

How does the all too commonly seen practice of bottle propping promote attachment? Therefor, bottlefed babies are at higher risk of being less attached depending on how the parents feed. Breastfeeding doesn't allow for that variability.

 

[mothragirl]

that's a can of worms right there. i would talk about breastfeeding, bottlenursing and the importance of skin to skin contact and oxytocin production, and bottle propping (and babies holding their own bottles).

 

[Daisie125]

I think that if a mama is lovingly bottle nursing her baby, than the bond is probably similar. (Granted, there are many aspects of a bond, I am talking ONLY of the bond developed by feeding.) this would include not bottle-propping, not letting everyone and their mother feed the baby...etc.

I would probably stress the importance of bottle nursing and close contact while using ANY feeding method rather than stressing that the bond is better if the mama is breastfeeding.

Obviously, breastfeeding would be optimal for a bond, but I don't think the bond is hurt if a mama cannot breastfeed and bottle nurses instead.

(Ug... I'll probably be back to edit that later it's not reading right to me)

 

[stacyann21]

Well anyone can give a bottle but only mama can nurse the baby, so I definitely think it makes a difference!

 

[bri276]

I was about to post a really mad rant and rave, but stepped back.

You have to understand, when your attachment to your child, or their attachment to you, is questioned by an outsider, it's beyond insulting. My child was born with a birth defect that caused her to be completely unable to breastfeed. I have been EP'ing for her for 20 months.

but I re-read and I honestly don't get the vibe from any of you that you actually doubt a bottlefed baby/mother could be just as attached as long as there wasn't copious use of bottlepropping and constantly allowing other people to take over feeds. Right?

But isn't that really a different issue? I mean- what about breastfed babies who attend daycare? Are they not as attached to their nursing mothers because someone else fed them a few times that day? Or are they less attached than a baby who had been bottlefed only from their mother? What about infants who cannot bottlefeed or nurse?

I often feel like I'm more..... like my life is my child, more than my friends who are mothers, whether they breastfed or not, because my baby has/had health and development issues and simply, needs me more than the average child her age needs their mother. Does that make me more attached to her than them? Maybe, but maybe there's another mother out there who just happens to have these exact feelings for her non-SN child and I would never presume to make a statement that implied otherwise. AND- it's possible I'd feel the same way even if dd didn't have SN. AND- it's possible someone in my exact circumstance would feel differently. It's possible that I read into these feelings as being from the special needs experience when they would exist regardless, just as it's possible nursing moms could think their bond comes from nursing when it would be there even if their baby took a bottle- or was fed through a tube. You never, ever know.

Attachment has a lot of meaning behind it, sometimes it seems to mean "love" rather than "closeness of relationship". It's never okay, IMO, to say one group of parents love their children more (or are more attached) than another based on one facet of their relationship. While I certainly am 100%, even 1,000% pro-nursing from the breast whenever possible, and completely agree it's the most natural and best way for babies and mothers in general, when it doesn't happen for whatever reason, there are absolutely many, many other ways to compensate and be just as attached as you would have been were you able to have a breastfeeding-at-the-breast relationship.

sorry I wrote a novel.

 

[annekevdbroek]

It seems to me the issue is close-body-contact feeding vs. distant-feeding. A baby who is bottle fed in a nursing/snuggle position would, IMHO, show no difference in attachment. Also, many babies who receive bottles get breast milk. Also many babies get breast and bottles. So, it isn't exactly a black/white question, KWIM.

Harlow's research (on monkeys) suggested that it is the physical contact and comforting that plays a role in emotional security, not the container that the food may come in. Research on parenting and attachment indicates that responsive parenting (responding to baby's needs) plays a role in attachment, again, not the container that food comes in. The thing is, that bottle-feeding allows a parent to be less responsive, at least in regards to feeding, than breastfeeding. It simply isn't possible to "bottle-prop" with a boobie.

 

[Firemom]

As a working mom, I had a strong bond with my babies.

i didn't like the fact they had to take a bottle for their food from someone else.

I was glad that I could go home from work and nurse my baby.

 

[Meiri]

Quote:

but I re-read and I honestly don't get the vibe from any of you that you actually doubt a bottlefed baby/mother could be just as attached as long as there wasn't copious use of bottlepropping and constantly allowing other people to take over feeds. Right?

Yes. That is what I, and I dare say the rest of us, are trying to convey.

 

[letniaLynne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bri276 but I re-read and I honestly don't get the vibe from any of you that you actually doubt a bottlefed baby/mother could be just as attached as long as there wasn't copious use of bottlepropping and constantly allowing other people to take over feeds. Right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meiri Yes. That is what I, and I dare say the rest of us, are trying to convey.

Totally agree! Also I wanted to add...as my DD gets older my mom keeps asking me when am I going to show her/let her hold her own bottle (I am also an EPer and currently she has no desire to hold it even though she has had the ability for months now). My reply to her is "never, you cant take my boob and walk around with it/or sit alone and drink from it so why would I promote that kind of detached behavior with a bottle."

I think when we introduce the cup and she moves off the bottle I will think of her as weaned even if BM is still in the cup.

 

[velcromom]

I'd add that the mother's feelings are affected too when the bond is still physical through breastfeeding - by that I mean the mother's body still physically responds to the child, she needs the baby to nurse and gets signals from within her own body that help trigger holding and feeding. It's just a much different feeling when your body is still "attached" to your little one and needs them too. I felt totally different in my bond with ds1 at one year, no longer nursing, than I did with ds2 who was still nursing at that age. Not in the sense of less love or caring, just a very different quality about the relationship we shared. More of a feeling of we are a pair, a team, a 'nursing couple' rather than one loving mother and one beloved child.

hope I said that the way I meant it, because I agree with the pp about bonding with a non-bf child, just saying it is a different experience of bonding in some ways for the mother if the child bfs.

 

[Nisupulla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vermontgirl "Do you think that breast fed babies have more a secure attachment to their mothers than bottle fed babies?"

Do all BFed babies have a better maternal bond than FFed babies? No. Breastfeeding is not essential for a mother-infant bond, but it does facilitate the bond. There isn't much science to support it, but there is some. Here are a link to the Russian study, the hormone issues and a general report. HTH

http://www.moonlily.com/breastfeed/a...ssianstudy.htm

http://www.babyreference.com/BondingMatters.htm

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...10/ai_n9302754

 

[Attached2Elijah]

Hmmm I think my bottle-fed baby is more attached to me then my boobie baby! I'm almost certain she hates me. But then again, maybe she's more secure in our relationship because we breastfed then my son... I have no idea but she sure seems to hate me, lol.