Do You Think When It Is Time For Our Babies To Have Babies The Breast/bottle Situation Will Be Different?
Friday, December 18th, 2009 at
10:59 pm
Do you think breastfeeding will be more the norm? Do you think it will be common knowledge that breastfeeding is the ‘normal’ way for babies to be fed?
Do you think there will be new regulations reguarding formula? For example doctor’s won’t be able to give out free formula samples and hospitals as well?
Tagged with: Babies • Breast/bottle • Different • Have • Situation • Think • Time • When • Will
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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No, I do not think either way will be considered “the norm”… there will still be people who choose one, the other or both.. and people who judge others for their choice. I am almost positive that it will never change.
Yes it WILL be different, in a GOOD way! I’m in my 30′s (and preggo). When I was born, formula or milk was the norm, and even health care was different (all scientific, synthetic drugs, no suppliments, alternative medicines), and when a woman gave birth she was strapped to a table, shaved completely, and it was all about the doctor, not the mother. Now, women have many birthing choices, alternative medicine can be used in conjunction with scientific medicine, and more and more women are being “out and proud” about breast feeding. Laws have been changed in some places where women were told they couldn’t feed, so now they can, and some hospitals have changed policy and no longer give out samples or coupons for formula. Most hospitals provide a lactation consultant where in my baby days there were very very few if any in some places. Times are ‘a changin’, and for the better!
I do think it will quite possibly change, breastfeeding was the norm many decades ago as it was really the only choice, then about 20-30 years ago formula was the norm and now the tide seems to be turning back towards breastfeeding. This day in time there are lots of improvements taking place, with lactation consultants being much more prevalent, nursing supplies in every baby store you walk into and a huge advance in literature and education on breastfeeding and its benefits, all of which is a wonderful step in the right direction.
As far as regulations on formula, I can see more regulations put on it as far as changes it needs to undergo as things are developed more an more in the formula market. However, I sincerely don’t think we will see hospitals and doctors not giving out free samples of formula nor do I want to. The fact is some women don’t breastfeed, perhaps because they truly can’t or perhaps because they don’t choose to. I feel that though breastfeeding is best, those women have the right to choose to formula feed if they wish. To wish them to stop giving out samples would be like those who formula feed wishing the breastfeeding education would stop.
I do agree that the United States maternity leave needs to be addressed and continued longer before more women will choose to breastfeed.
I think so. it’s only been in the past 2 or 3 generations that formula was even invented.. and when it was, it was considered superior to breast milk. as more and more research comes out, people will recognize the benefits that mother’s milk has that cannot be reproduced in formula. I don’t think that formula will ever ‘go away’ completely because it is a secondary substance for mother’s who cannot physically nurse or who really have an aversion to nursing, but I think more and more people will revert back to the ‘old ways’ of feeding.
I think it’s becoming more socially acceptable too, unlike how it was in a generation or two ago. I DO think that maternity leave in the united states needs to improve before more women breast feed though.
I read an article sometime over the past few months (not sure where, either The New Yorker or Harper’s) that was about pumping. But the beginning of the article gave a brief history of breastfeeding including that interesting phenomenon, wet-nursing.
Wet-nurses originally existed for either women who were unable to feed their children (or had died on childbirth so were not available to feed them) right? But of course, the tradition of wet-nursing, especially in cultures that had slaves or servants, swiftly became one of poor women feeding rich women’s kids.
Our modern culture has narrowed the gap between rich and poor on many issues. Like it or not, formula is one of them. Even it became more difficult to acquire, wealthy people could still get it, the same way they can get other things that you need a doctor’s perscription for, the same way they could hire a wet nurse even when they didn’t really need one.
As long as the option exists, people will use it. I am certainly cynical about the bag full of Good Start the hospital gave me. Though I don’t blame the nurses who handed it to me – they were more like, well you’re supplementing, why not have this free bag of goodies? Not “good start is amazing, take it and screw breastfeeding.” And it’s not like I don’t have the resources to get it myself. I do agree that if formula didn’t exist I simply would have had to hunker down and breastfeed and that probably, after a slow and scary start, would have been successful. But it wasn’t the bag of samples, that’s a symptom, not a cause.
I don’t think there will ever be a restriction on hospitals giving out samples, but I think breast/bottle will always be a debate. My own sister thinks formula is better because “if my diet isn’t perfect the baby’s not getting what she needs” but I’ll always be an advocate for breastfeeding as long as you can. Yay antibodies!!! My daughter refused to nurse after 3 months and is now on soy formula, but I’m glad I breastfed her while I could.
I really doubt that it will ever change. If anything formula will be more common just because so many women work and can’t or don’t want to breast feed. It’s like the circumcision issue. That will always be split between people for and against it also. Our pediatrician told us that the formula today is so close to breast milk that there really isn’t much difference, which I’m sure someone will give me thumbs down for, but that’s what we were told by all the doctors we spoke to. Not allowing hospitals to give formula and things like that seems pretty frightening to me. I would never want to live in a country where someone was told they had to breast feed. It should be a choice and always will be.
There will always be people who don’t want to breastfeed, and there will always be people who can’t breastfeed.
That being said, look at how much things have changed in the past 100 years.
Before, everyone breastfed (plus wetnursing).
Then doctors told every woman they shouldn’t breastfeed, because it made them a LOT of money to sell formula.
Now that a lot more women are sexually “empowered” women don’t want to use their breasts for nursing (silly, I know) and we have a lot more working moms (many who don’t want to deal with pumping)
so, who knows.
I would hope negative attitudes about nursing would change, but I would also hope people would stop bullying moms who have to resort to formula
When I was a baby 21 years ago it was bottle feeding right (I don’t remember I was a newborn). And now it’s breast. In 20 years who knows what will happen. As far as being “normal” I don’t see what isn’t normal about either way of feeding. If you’re saying that breast is best then I understand that, but not “normal”.
I hope that they will have regulations of how much of what nutrients are in formula so that it is safer and we don’t have the scares we recently have had.
I do have to say that I feel a little hurt by you saying doctors and hospitals shouldn’t give out formulas for moms to try. My son had horrible reflux and the doctor gave us two $30 cans of formula (the kind you can only get in the small cans) to try to see if it helped. Since we’re young and don’t have that kind of money getting free samples was great especially since I couldn’t keep cutting 3/4 of my diet out to breast feed. If that’s something the doctors can provide to help the health of a child I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. This is JMO and situation.
I hope so. I definitely think that they should not be allowed to give samples out without a request at least. It’s very offensive.
I think they’ll always be ignorant people out there. We’re just gonna have to teach our children better.
Point of that there are ignorant people out there is proven by the people who answered your Q and said that formula is just as good as breastmilk. It’s not even close! If your doc is telling you that I suggest changing docs because they are obviously a quack!
I hope that by the time my son has children that formula will no longer be considered ‘the norm.’
I want him to grow up and not even think twice about how his baby will be fed.
ETA-
Breastmilk is a LIVING SUBSTANCE. Formula will never compare to or surpass breastmilk.
I sure hope so. It’s already getting to be more accepted by the chilly chilly west, in most places. And in a lot of places it’s already prohibited for hospitals to give out free formula to new moms.
Its hard to put regulations on something that keeps a baby ALIVE AND THRIVING in case of whatever reason a mother does not choose to breast feed. I’m sure more people will breast feed as time goes by.
i think it will. I know my mother’s generation hardly anyone breastfed. So it has come a long way since then
I hope so!!!!
No, as long as there are options, there are going to be disputes. Breastfeeding used to be the only option, now it’s not. And things won’t be the same as they used to be. Breastfeeding is normal, but displaying personal and private matters out in the public is not normal. I’m not talking about breastfeeding in public, I’m talking about exploiting children for the sake of being vain and rude, such as posting pictures of poor children sucking on a breast. That’s private and personal between a mom and child.
And I think some states are trying to ban formula samples from those little bags they give you at the hospitals. I think New York is on the band wagon with that. But like I said, as long as there are options, there will be those for and against.
I think breastfeeding is awesome. I think formula feeding is appropriate and acceptable. There’s nothing wrong with either. But in America, breasts are sadly considered almost purely sexual, and you can blame the media, porn, magazines, and TV for that…it’s not your fault or anyone’s but there is a line you have to draw as far as what is decent and modest and what isn’t according to your environment.
Formula feeding and breast feeding are both normal ways to be fed. There are many intelligent and healthy people who have been both formula and/or breast fed, and are just perfectly fine. Besides, you do not know every mother’s situation as to why she didn’t breast feed.
I know a girl who told me that the reason why she didn’t breastfeed is because she didn’t want ‘her boobs looking like old lady boobs.’ She was soo concerned about her looks, she didn’t give breastfeeding a chance. That is just plain stupid to not even give it a try, to not give it an effort, especially out of plain vanity. But I know moms that have tried, and tried, some moms that had problems with their babies or bodies..there are so many situations. You can’t just allow the baby to die due to the mom not being able to nurse, and hence there’s formula.
Please just understand both sides. No one needs to ban formula or breastfeeding. Both are normal. It’s the new age, technology has come around, and just embrace that not every woman is the same, not all will make the same choices as you. It’s normal to breastfeed, and it’s normal to formula feed.
Formula is getting better every day. Australia already has very strict regulations regarding it’s quality. and the main reason it’s available in hospitals is because some women who WANT to BF still need to use formula initially.
If they could figure out how to put anti-bodies into formula, it would be just as good, if not better than, as breast milk. Perhaps in 30 years, they’ll have perfected it.
Its formula not beer. And I must say that your avatar is horribly offensive. Who wants to see a baby biting on your nipple?