This was in response to my post about breast-feeding older kids:
Breastfeeding has more benefits than the medical field is aware of. But if you want to know according to the “experts” breastfeeding lowers risks of getting all kinds of illnesses and diseases for both mother and child in the future. It can only make sense then that the more you do it the better it is for both.
For me, I cannot afford not to, I suffer with severe FMS and I have no doubt that at this stage had I not been doing this I would be in a much worse situation health wise, it is more than worth the effort. In this western world the real issue is all about image and some perverse thought that it looks bad, I think people who think that there is something wrong with breastfeeding at any age have this perverseness in them and they should be called petifiles instead of women who are doing the right thing having to deal with the perverse opinion of these people because I just can’t understand what other problem these people who even question whether it should be done or not have with it. And I wish there was some way of protecting the children from being exposed to this jading opinion to protect their innocence. We should be ENCOURAGED TO DO THIS NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN OURSELVES FOR GODS SAKE
Rita
Really Rita?
Lori
May 30
2:53 pm
Damn those petifiles anyway. LOL!
JoanneF
May 30
3:03 pm
What’s FMS?
Throwmearope
May 30
3:28 pm
FMS = fibromyalgia syndrome, used to be called CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). For more information, watch all the ads on TV for a couple of the drugs that are used to treat it.
Never saw any data that breastfeeding has any affect (positive or negative) on FM.
Most of the medications for FM are contraindicated in breastfeeding.
Just sayin’.
ETA: As a physician, I’ve got to admit that it would never occur to me to ask a patient if she is still breastfeeding when her youngest child is in kindergarten, for instance.
This would be something to volunteer to your physician so we don’t poison your kid.
ME2
May 30
7:48 pm
Yah, WTF is a petifile? One who want’s to breastfeed a pet per chance?? @@
Rita, fyi, it is P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E. A dictionary is your friend.
Shiloh Walker
May 30
9:26 pm
Seriously? Doing it past a certain age isn’t for the kid’s sake, it’s for the parents and it’s cruel. It’s setting that child up to feel different, excluded and mocked.
Doing it for your own medical conditions? Can we say selfish?
FYI, that’s coming from a medical profession with a whole crap load of medical problems AND a mother who nursed all three of her kids.
Now, I’m off to look up just what a PETFILE is-sounds like something I’d use to groom a dog’s toenails.
Amarinda Jones
May 31
10:19 am
Uh huh…well, I’m just confused – but on the bright side we do have a new word now.
anon
June 1
7:05 am
Um, WTF does FMS have to do with Breastfeeding? I do have Fibromyalgia. And yeah, I’ve researched it a lot since I can’t find a doctor who will do anything except shove those TV-advertised drugs at me. And they don’t do anything for me. (For others, they’re a godsend, but not for me.)
Let’s look at this from both sides of the coin… I was breastfed as a child. Should this have lowered my risks? Not according to any research I’ve read.
I don’t know about breastfeeding, being child-free, but given that sometimes the merest touch can bring me to tears it hurts that bad, I’m not sure how breastfeeding helps her FMS. If you do gentle exercise, it can help, so maybe the act of picking up, moving her child acts as this exercise?
The only reason why breastfeeding might help is because FMS is made worse by stress. Anything that lowers your stress level will help you not hurt so badly and deal better with your FMS. So if breastfeeding your child lowers your stress, it might help, but no more so than reading a book, petting a cat or dog, snuggling with a partner, etc. would for someone else.
katieM
June 2
12:31 am
I thought that once a child could chew his own food then breastfeeding was not necessary because the child could obtain nutrition from solid food. Isn’t that why we have teeth?
Lo
June 2
7:30 am
Well I can’t comment on the nursing for mommy’s health point of view. I’ve never heard that so…yeah. Nursing for baby’s health? Sure. It worked beautifully for our daughter.
We’re still (yes, still) nursing before nap and at bedtime. Nyx will be 21 months old tomorrow. I do get the wtf responses from some people but frankly it’s none of their damn business. And, yes, it really gets on my nerves when folks criticize me for still breastfeeding when they’re letting their 3 year olds drink toddler formula from bottles. Nyx prefers human milk before bed. Some kids like warm cow’s milk and others want soy or almond. It’s just the delivery method that skeeves people out. If I pumped and put it in a sippy, no one would care. It’s the physical act of nursing past a certain age (apparently 12 months because that’s when the snark started for me) that makes people freak out.
Will we wean soon? Yes. 2 years is the longest I’m willing to play milk maid. I figure at that point she will have gotten all the benefits of human milk. We’ll be out of the woods on the heart thing and RSV, flu season, colds and tummy bugs won’t pose such a huge risk. And, frankly, I’m kinda over this whole breastfeeding thing! 🙂
I do kinda, sorta get where Rita is coming from though. It’s stunning to me how much push back new moms get when it comes to breastfeeding. Had Nyx not been a heart baby in need of multiple surgeries and at one of the most breastfeeding supportive hospitals out there, I don’t know if I would have stuck it out through those tough, early months. Having NICU nurses tell me breastfeeding was “disgusting” and would “make my tits sag” didn’t help….
Anon 76
June 2
9:20 pm
“Breastfeeding has more benefits than the medical field is aware of. But if you want to know according to the “experts” breastfeeding lowers risks of getting all kinds of illnesses and diseases for both mother and child in the future. It can only make sense then that the more you do it the better it is for both.”
That last sentence? Hmmm. Yes, and drinking water is very good for you. But an overabundance can shut down your kidneys. More is not always better.