https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 03 May 2026 05:06:22 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1461113 Sun, 02 Mar 2014 08:06:08 +0000 Charm54 1461113@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: agreed - if nothing else, the study shows us we can't make broad generalizations about the long term effects of formula/bfing </p> <p>For example, when I went to my breastfeeding course we all had to draw an item out of a hat and say what it had to with breastfeeding. </p> <p>The sneaker? BF babies are better athletes! The pencil? BF babies are smarter! The thermometer? BF babies are healthier! The picture of the scale? BF babies aren't as obese! These were direct words from the LC.</p> <p>Those types of statements are gross generalizations and fear tactics IMO and yet I hear them far too frequently. I generally think the long term effects are overstated...there are many healthy, average sized, athletic, smart FFed adults out there to prove this.</p> <p>Clearly I believe in the short term benefits of Bfing , as I've EPed for the past 6mos. I don't, however, believe that I'm giving her some kind of miracle liquid gold that will protect her from obesity, infections, or a bad report card. There are much more powerful factors that determine these things than what my daughter ate for first months of her life. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1461087 Sun, 02 Mar 2014 07:24:28 +0000 blackbird 1461087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's nice to see a study that, for once, in this day and age, doesn't just go into the "risks" of formula feeding and the benefits of bf. Even if it doesn't analyze the data the same way people want to see it-I know there are some things I am interested in. We all know bf is good, though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1461005 Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:45:56 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1461005@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><a href="http://bfmed.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/reports-on-breastfeeding-sibling-study-are-vastly-overstated/" rel="nofollow">http://bfmed.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/reports-on-breastfeeding-sibling-study-are-vastly-overstated/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460520 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:09:06 +0000 googly-eyes 1460520@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sea_bass: I was referring to breaking down the studies apart from the media headlines.</p> <p>Also, just curious because I don't have access to the full thing, how do you know they were mislabeled? Even if it didn't say "exclusive" it seems like a jump to then say they were "predominantly formula fed" and then categorized in the breastfed group. Was that in the full study? </p> <p>I think sibling studies are as close as we can get to controlling for all the other differences between bf/ff babies. I hope there will be more of them. After all, even if the benefits have been overstated that doesn't make ff better than bf, it just means that as a society, maybe there are bigger issues we should be supporting mothers with (which in turn could maybe also boost bf rates?) There's still a place for bf advocacy and education regardless. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460497 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 16:45:48 +0000 sea_bass 1460497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@googly-eyes: really..? I've never come across a study that said it was analysing FF children, who were in fact prominently breastfed.</p> <p>Subject matter aside, that's fundamentally flawed methodology from an academic perspective. The groups are miss-labeled. </p> <p>Does it surprise me that exclusively FF and predominantly formula fed siblings faired the same- not in the least. </p> <p>Anyway. Overwhelming academic research over a number of decades seems more compelling than this study, to me anyway. </p> <p>However, as its contrary to the accepted standard of breast is best, it's obviously made headlines. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460491 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 16:41:36 +0000 lawbee11 1460491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sea_bass: @junebugmama: Kellymom posted this article on Facebook and I thought it was really interesting. </p> <p><a href="http://kindercarepediatrics.ca/2014/02/have-we-been-overstating-the-benefits-of-breastfeeding-i-dont-think-so-and-heres-why/" rel="nofollow">http://kindercarepediatrics.ca/2014/02/have-we-been-overstating-the-benefits-of-breastfeeding-i-dont-think-so-and-heres-why/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460481 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 16:33:47 +0000 Charm54 1460481@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@googly-eyes: ++++ &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460444 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 16:06:58 +0000 googly-eyes 1460444@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@junebugmama: @sea_bass: The thing is, though, you could do the same with a lot of the studies that show positives with breastfeeding. I don't think anyone is saying there's NO benefit. Now that would be stupid.</p> <p>ETA And I actually really like that it looked more at the long term effects. </p> <p>Anyway hope nobody takes this as me saying bf isn't worth it. I felt tremendously guilty about not being able to bf for a long time. But it's just not the be-all-end-all, which I think most of us agree with. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460430 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:57:32 +0000 junebugmama 1460430@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sea_bass: my biggest issue with the study was that it didn't start comparing children until the age 4. So many immune benefits come from breast milk during infant an toddler years. It again was them starting a study at a certain time in order to cut out where the positive side would be. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1460395 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:22:25 +0000 sea_bass 1460395@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@junebugmama: good to know. I think it got so much press as it seemed to disprove "breast is best" but when I looked into the study it seemed totally meaningless. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1459980 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 09:14:56 +0000 junebugmama 1459980@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sea_bass: You are correct. I got the full study yesterday. It isn't studying exclusively either way. It doesn't study the right things. You can prove almost anything if you pick the right thing to study while ignoring all else. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1457057 Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:46:18 +0000 looch 1457057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband was formula fed, I was breastfed. In terms on IQ, he outpaces me, lol.</p> <p>Great article. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456939 Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:03:12 +0000 daniellemybelle 1456939@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I can't tell you how encouraging this was for me, a mom who formula feeds &amp; breast feeds. I posted it on my FB &amp; said that I wish there was not such a stigma against formula. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456874 Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:29:44 +0000 hummusgirl 1456874@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Interesting, thanks for sharing. I like the author's takeaway. Unfortunately it's so much easier to position breastfeeding as a panacea than it is to actually address entrenched societal issues that truly matter long-term like education and poverty. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456795 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 23:09:10 +0000 lawbee11 1456795@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TemperanceBrennan: That study sounds really interesting. I Googled it and you have to pay to read it...I hate that! I know that's how it is with most journals, but I don't like that this info isn't more readily available to the general public. </p> <p>I recently read an article in Pediatrics (AAP's journal...my mom works at a children's hospital so she's able to hook me up :wink: ) and it outlined the benefits of breastfeeding but almost all of them were benefits in infancy. I think it's silly that there are people that believe their breastfed child will be smarter than other children that are formula fed...that was never my motivation for breastfeeding. So I'm not surprised that this study didn't find a correlation between BFing and things like math skills and reading recognition. There are so many other environmental factors that play a role in that. Same with BMI/obesity--genetics plays a huge role. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456537 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 21:36:01 +0000 Boogs 1456537@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's a really em outing article for those who struggle with or can't bf. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456248 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:52:55 +0000 Aimed 1456248@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>:heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456177 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:31:17 +0000 Snowdrop 1456177@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Personally I would love to BF if I get to have a LO but I hate judgemental attitudes towards FF (and public BF for that matter) I always wonder if a lot of the research and anecdotal evidence we hear about is rather out dated. I'm sure formula has moved a long way from where it was 50 years ago. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456157 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:22:23 +0000 Charm54 1456157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>&lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1456149 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:20:49 +0000 googly-eyes 1456149@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I heard about this a few days ago. I was going to post about it actually! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455968 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:10:52 +0000 Vegmama 1455968@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was getting on HB just now to say something about this topic. Basically, it's sucky that proponents of breastfeeding talk about the "risks" associated with formula instead of the benefits of breastfeeding. There's so much guilt associated with this topic, and it's really sad. I breastfeed and supplement with formula. Before I had to make the decision, I always thought formula was unnecessary ... Once I was met with our issues (low supply, bad latch, extreme pain), it was an easy choice to make: my daughter comes first. </p> <p>All of this to say: I appreciate you sharing this study! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455955 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:05:20 +0000 sea_bass 1455955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think the term "breastfed" is used rather loosely. </p> <p>They are comparing a sibling who received any breastmilk to a fully FF sibling, from what I can see? </p> <p>So two siblings that could have both predominantly received formula, although one received some breastmilk. </p> <p>If it were comparing an EBF sibling vs an EFF sibling it might be more interesting. As it stands, it seems rather useless...? </p> <p>I could be wrong in which case- apologies! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455925 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:49:04 +0000 Mae 1455925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Interesting. My brother was primarily formula fed, I was exclusively breastfed until I was 9mo. We've both struggled with weight, although he has been more successful in the battle than I have. Although over-all he has had more health problems than I have. </p> <p>I did much better in school than he did although I think that was more an issue of motivation than intelligence because I think he's probably as smart as I am he just didn't care about grades like I did. </p> <p>But I think it's hard to compare any individual family to see whats going on because people have different personalities and other factors! It also is probably particularly hard to compare us because I was born 8 years after my brother and my parents had my brother when my mom was 18. She always says she feels like she was a much better/more confident mom with me because she was so much older and actually had faith in her skills at that point vs. my brother where she was basically a teenager and was very overwhelmed and scared. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455920 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:47:36 +0000 heffalump 1455920@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nice. I couldn't bf my first, but so far it's going good with my second. My first is super healthy.... I'm not too worried. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455900 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:38:30 +0000 Anagram 1455900@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Makes sense to me. I'm one of 6 kids and only two of us were breast fed. We're all about the same intelligence, we all struggle with weight a bit, except one sister who was formula fed; only 1 of us has food allergies and she was EBF and was the sickliest child out of all of us. </p> <p>Basically, you can't tell in our family who was ff and who was bf. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455880 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:33:36 +0000 TemperanceBrennan 1455880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also, the study only says "bottle fed" not "formula fed". Maybe I'm not current on the lingo, but I'm not sure if the study is just talking about the method of feeding (breast or bottle) or the contents of feeding (breast milk or formula). </p> <p>Now I'm confused. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/another-study-about-breastfeeding#post-1455873 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:31:06 +0000 TemperanceBrennan 1455873@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know there are a million articles and studies out there about breastfeeding, but I just read this one and thought it was interesting. I know it is just one study but reading it really took off a lot of the societal pressure I feel that I need to breastfeed. </p> <p>"Colen analyzed three samples: 8,237 children, 7,319 siblings and 1,773 “discordant” sibling pairs, or children from 665 surveyed families in which at least one child was breast-fed and at least one other child was bottle-fed. The children who were differently fed in the same family represented about 25 percent of the siblings in the data."</p> <p>"As expected, the analyses of the samples of adults and their children across families suggested that breast-feeding resulted in better outcomes than bottle-feeding in a number of measures: BMI, hyperactivity, math skills, reading recognition, vocabulary word identification, digit recollection, scholastic competence and obesity."</p> <p>"When the sample was restricted to siblings who were differently fed within the same families, however, scores reflecting breast-feeding’s positive effects on 10 of the 11 indicators of child health and well-being were closer to zero and not statistically significant – meaning any differences could have occurred by chance alone." </p> <p>And I like the takeaway:</p> <p>“If breast-feeding doesn’t have the impact that we think it will have on long-term childhood outcomes, then even though it is very important in the short-term we really need to focus on other things,” she said. “We need to look at school quality, adequate housing and the type of employment parents have when their kids are growing up.</p> <p>“We need to take a much more careful look at what happens past that first year of life and understand that breast-feeding might be very difficult, even untenable, for certain groups of women. Rather than placing the blame at their feet, let’s be more realistic about what breast-feeding does and doesn’t do.”</p> <p><a href="http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/sibbreast.htm" rel="nofollow">http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/sibbreast.htm</a></p> <p>Not trying to start a heated debate - just sharing a study. </p>