Sunday Reading Club Anyone? For those whose brains are mushy from symptoms/question/labor threads!

MrsWiggleWaggle

ok guys my brain is rotting as I speak. I'm at home all day...reading this board till my eyes fall out and I'm sick of the same ol' stuff.

I found this fantastic article on the prejudice in breastfeeding research that got my brain moving! It's long but it makes me feel more informed than some of the classic books since it's based on more current studies.

On Sunday. I was thinking of posting a few questions about the article to get a conversation going...book club style. Any takers who want to try with me? Feel free to add questions here if you want to participate or just tell me if you're as desperate as I am for some low commitment intellectual stimulation!

Here's the article:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/everybody-calm-down-about-breastfeeding/?mod=e2this&utm_source=This+nightly&utm_campaign=af631edf8a-8pm_5_21_20155_21_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4b29b52ce6-af631edf8a-243707321

Things I found surprising in it so far:
1. How income and race greatly affect if you breastfeed.
2. Correlation vs. Causation: is it that breastfeeding reduces obesity, diabetes, sickness? Or that breastfed kids come from families where other factors decrease your chances of these occurring?


Edit:
INFORMAL POLL: love this post to vote that you might be interested!

klkonwi

Love this thread idea. I'm thinking I'm mental too due to spending way too much time on this board.

My comments on culture/ race in breastfeeding. We have a large Hispanic population and it's known that if you formula feed than it's a higher status showing you have the money to do so. However a lot of our Hispanics are low income/ are served at the health department for free....

I like how the article addresses flaws in research. I do wish the article gave specifics such as group sizes, etc so I could use a statistical approach to understanding why the research sucks!

I am totally on board with the thinking that some of the posters are outrageous. We have 3 up in our labor halls right now and were thinking of instituting a consent the parents sign if they want to formula feed stating that we educated them....... Really stupid. If a parent wants to formula feed in the hospital they shouldn't need to sign a damn form!!!!

KaLikeAWind

Ooh. I'm down with this but am *trying* to fall asleep so I don't want to get into reading an article this very minute. I'll read the article tomorrow, promise! Great idea @MrsWiggleWaggle!

HayesRN13

Thanks for posting this!

kherman14

Thank you for posting this! I have no idea how many papers and posters I see is same thing. I just think that they are trying to encourage but in negative way like some woman aren't able to produce milk, those would have worrisome because they aren't getting the same as the one that is fed breast milk naturally.

It is nice to see geographic areas to see what ever there is out there and EVERY woman and baby(ies) is different.

I am always interested in how much they spend on researching! Lol

lovethatcolosun

The article boils it down quite nicely. Basically do what's best for you and baby. If that's breast feeding, great! If it's formula feeding, great! I, along with other moms in my circle definitely felt a lot of pressure to BF, which we feel contributed to a great deal of mom guilt and PPD because of feeling inadequate. I'd be interested in a study on the effects on mom and PPD and inability to solely breast feed or guilt from formula feeding. I am going to to give it my best to breast feed solely again, but this time check the mom guilt at the door if I can't. Our bodies were designed to feed our babies so that's what I WANT to do, but sometimes it's just not possible.

KaLikeAWind

Good article! It really nails down a lot of points that I was thinking about when in my 'baby care and feeding' class - which should have been titled 'Breastfeeding propaganda'. Of a 2 and half hour class, probably 20 minutes of it were on 'care' (how many diapers a baby should have a day, typical daily routines of newborns, etc) and the rest was devoted to breastfeeding. Which is cool, I'd like to breastfeed. But only cause I don't want to spend the money on formula. The lady trotted out ALL the things the article talks about. Higher IQ. Boosted immune system for the long term life of the child. Lower obesity rates for the long term life of child.
And I was sitting there thinking - I do believe there is some kind of benefit, but seriously - if breastmilk is the magic potion its being made out to be, why aren't we being hooked up to milking machines like cows and packaging that sh*t? I mean, apparently, here is the cure for obesity and diabetes. Even DH noticed, we had a murmured conversation about both of us were formula fed, but I came from a 'higher class' family than he did, and while he is not stupid by far - I pursue education beyond the norm (my 'how do things work' itch) he tends to not. And of the two of us, I tend to have the more nimble mind - faster and more interested in puzzles, more patient with a moment when spatial thinking is involved. We are living examples of class leading to better education / IQ. Like mrswilson830 said on another post - plenty of doctors and engineers and whatever were formula fed.
Also with regards to correlation - both my sister and I were formula fed. But. My sister grew up in a broken home (my parents split when she was almost 5) where she was routinely plopped in front of the TV by the nanny, and did not attend a preschool that encouraged learning like I did. I, however, had a stable home until the age of 8 (thru most of my formative years) where I was read to, and encouraged to do puzzles, art, what have you by my mother, who did work but was able to have the time to do these things after work because I had been at a learning daycare all day and at night after dinner I was happy to show her what I learned, which in turn led to her showing me more things... Just like with my hubs, I did end up pursuing more education (both formal and not formal) and have a more curious mind than my sister.

Very interesting article and food for thought. Worth some good ponderings. My 'how does it work' itch is tingling.