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It raises the question not just about twins but also about wet nurses. I mean its a pretty normal tradition for mothers to 'outsource' their breast feeding to o
by cup 13y ago
It raises the question not just about twins but also about wet nurses. I mean its a pretty normal tradition for mothers to 'outsource' their breast feeding to other mothers, especially if they're tired or sick.
Also what about formula milk?
- brosco45 13y agoBreast milk is the best choice.
- jacalata 13y agoThat was not the question, and even people who accept that should understand that breast milk is not always an option, for instance for the father I know whose wife died shortly after they had a child.
- brosco45 13y agoMy condolences. However, the answer stands.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 13y agoWhat about formula milk? The long term benefits of breast feeding are so tenuous that I can't imagine there's a practical significance to the difference between breast milk produced for girls versus boys in human babies: http://www.skepticalob.com/2013/05/world-health-organization-no-long-term-benefits-to-breastfeeding.html http://www.skepticalob.com/2013/05/world-health-organization.... Studies like these are valuable, but it's tempting to jump from interesting observation to policy recommendation without keeping in perspective (or even bothering to quantify) the magnitude of the impact. An excellent blog post on the state of research into breast feeding: http://www.skepticalob.com/2013/06/two-crappy-new-breastfeeding-studies-make-irresponsible-claims-of-benefits.html http://www.skepticalob.com/2013/06/two-crappy-new-breastfeed...
- maratd 13y ago> The long term benefits of breast feeding are so tenuous This is a joke, right? Simple reasoning and deduction will lead you to the right answer. We evolved to drink the milk of our mothers, not a chemical concoction derived from the milk of cows fed by corn.
- wikwocket 13y agoWe also evolved with immune systems. This does not mean that supplementary tools such as antibiotics and vaccines are not useful. I believe rayiner's point is that infants can thrive on formula milk as well as breast milk. Please don't mock parents who choose to formula feed; there are many cases where it is preferable and/or necessary, just as there are cases where it is necessary to use antibiotics to supplement the body's immune system.
- maratd 13y ago> Please don't mock parents who choose to formula feed; there are many cases where it is preferable and/or necessary And where have I done that? Formula is a fantastic invention that can specifically assist in very difficult situations. But just as it is clearly inferior to take antibiotics daily because it is too inconvenient to wash one's hands ... so to is it clearly inferior to use formula when the mother is capable of breastfeeding, but can't be bothered.
- mistermann 13y agoWhile I can certainly see the downsides of abusing antibiotics, I don't "clearly" see comparable downsides, in likelihood or magnitude, to using formula.
- emiliobumachar 13y agoFormula lacks the live immune system cells the mother passes to the baby. Maybe someday we will develop nanobots to substitute for that. Till then, that's a clear downside.