Sunday 30 June 2013

Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths


There are so many breastfeeding myths that you hear on a daily basis, here are just a few!

Myth 1: It is important that other family members get to feed baby so that they can bond, too.
It is important that other family members bond with the baby, no-one is disagreeing with that part, but not during a feed, that is special mother and baby bonding time, if they want to help, get you a drink and something to eat and make you as comfortable as possible, then take the baby once he or she has fed and have their bonding time.

Myth 2: Child-directed feeding (nursing on demand) has a negative impact on the husband/wife relationship.
I have no idea where that myth comes from, as a mother of six, who has nursed them all, there has definitely been no negative impact on mine and my husbands relationship, if anything probably the opposite, he loves that I am providing the best start possible for each of our children, and he gets a full nights sleep before starting a full days work.

Myth 3: Frequent nursing causes a child to be obese later in life.
There have been many studies over the past few decades to suggest that the obesity problem actually stems from formula fed babies, not breastfed babies, the breastmilk is already part digested when it enters the babies tummy and the baby knows when it has had enough, whereas a bottle fed baby, will continue to drink what is placed in their bottle.

Myth 4: The lying-down nursing position causes ear infections.
The helath benefits and immunity that is in breastmilk has a much higher chance of preventing these type infections, regardless of how the baby is fed.

Myth 5: Nursing a baby after 12 months is of little value because the quality of breast milk begins to decline after six months.
As we all know from the posts on Friday, there is a great benefit for continued breastfeeding beyond a year and the WHO states it reccommends two years.

Myth 6: It is normal for breastfeeding to hurt
It is not normal for breastfeeding to hurt, at the beginning you may notice a strange sensation when the let down reflex kicks in, some describe it as a tingling sensation, others don't notice it at all, if a feed continues to be uncomfortable or hurts after ten seconds them there may be a problem with the attachment or positioning and you may have to either adjust your feeding position  or get it checked by your midwife, health visitor or a wonderful peer supporter if you are lucky enough to have one in your area.

For more wonderful posts, why not visit


My Thoughts on Things

Mixed Bag of All Sorts

Life With The Pink Princesses

- Life Happens So Smile

Seven Year Hitch



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3 comments:

  1. I've been told that there is no benefit to breast feeding past a year. I've enjoyed reading the informative posts this week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was told by my father in law that if I got ill I would pass it to baby through my milk. I had to explain about antibodies!
    Thank you for linking to my blog.

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