Comments on: Do Hormones Really Account for a Mom’s Ability to Breastfeed??

By: StorkStories

StorkStories — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:49:14 +0000

Thanks for writing this Melodie.. I’m sad about all the hoopla and attention this study got on Twitter and probably other sites where unsuspecting pregnant or nursing women are negatively influenced about bfing. As Amber said above, this is ONE study and I agree that although interesting, it doesn’t carry much proof at all for me. I like this collection of data by the US Dept HHS current as of May 2009: http://www.ahrq.gov/Clinic/tp/brfouttp.htm … where they looked at some 9000 studies!
I also value Marsha Walker’s words “ABM [artificial baby milk] does NOT duplicate the complexity, CANNOT provide the multiple tiers of disease protection, and CANNOT operate in the dynamic manner of human milk! ABM simply fulfills the role of maintaining growth and development within normal limits.”
I bet she’ll have a comment about this study and I’ll pass it on to you when I see it.
.-= StorkStories´s last blog ..For Expectant Families… your “Due Date”… =-.

By: Melodie

Melodie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:32:27 +0000

@Pat @Julie – I’m pretty sure his statement must have been funded by a formula company. Because any good scientist wouldn’t make a sweeping statement like that, when you’re right, his conclusions have nothing to do with formula being better or just as good as, without getting something for it.

By: Naomi

Naomi — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:34:32 +0000

ugg! Things get so simplistic! .-= Naomi´s last blog ..House Gloom =-.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:45:47 +0000

I was really sad when I read that article in my newsfeed. I'm much more affected now as my sister is currently in preterm labor at 32.5 weeks. I've been encouraging her to breastfeed ever since and I hope she will do so even more now that her baby will be a preemie. .-= Jenny´s last blog ..Breastfeeding Classes Tomorrow =-.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:15:41 +0000

I can't believe how many people have retweeted the link to an article about this study. How many new mothers have read that stupid article and thought, great, now I can bottle feed and know my baby will be just as healthy as if I breastfed. How many people who lapped up that article and retweeted it actually went back to the study and looked at with a critical scientific eye? Grrrr is what I have to say right now. Thanks for taking it on. .-= Julie´s last blog ..New year, new resolve =-.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:11:23 +0000

I read the study. I don’t get how a small study, with 181 women in total, most of them breastfeeding, that suggested that high androgen levels in pregnancy may correlate to quitting breastfeeding at 3 months, can conclude- that formula is just as good as breast milk. The study didn’t look at formla of fed babies compared to breastfed babies. I don’t see how this study, with 181 women in it, looking at the levels of hormones, can mean “breast is not best”, and I think reporters who are calling it this way are being irresponsible.

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:10:27 +0000

I hate it when a new study is published and the most simplistic possible spin is put on it, then it’s taken as fact. This is SO not limited to this study, or to breastfeeding studies. It’s more a symptom of the way that news is handled.

I’m with you, this is ONE study. While it raises an interesting theory, it’s hardly conclusive on its own. So I’m not going to put much credence into it, at least not now.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Figuring Out What You Want =-.