Here is a couple:
You won't have AF return while you breastfeed. Wrong! AF returned at 3 months.
You can't fall pregnant while breastfeeding. Wrong again!
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Here is a couple:
You won't have AF return while you breastfeed. Wrong! AF returned at 3 months.
You can't fall pregnant while breastfeeding. Wrong again!
Yep my mum disproved those - she had three under the age of 2... breastfed me, fell pregnant, continued to bf, had bub, bf, fell pregnant, had bub and bf:
OH YEAH! Breastfeeding stops your menstrual cycle! PFFT WHATEVER! I got my bleed back at 8 weeks. I felt TOTALLY RIPPED OFF! Especially since I was exclusively breastfeeding, and demand feeding every 2-3ish hours.
Mmmmmmmm well I'm just over 6 weeks and have not stopped spotting since birth and now it's getting heavy again. Might be af but might be an infection.:
Another one I've heard is it's harder to bf after having a C section. - not here
You can't breastfeed without showing your boobs.
I am a more private person and have so far been able to breastfeed in many situations and locations without exposing much skin (and without wearing a poncho!). Breastfeeding tops and a so far co-operative child have made this a lot easier.
LOL yeah Loula, I bled heavy for 4 weeks, spotted for two, had a two week break, and then got my cycle back regular as ever. Even moreso, in fact! I was so annoyed, since I had heard the myth that it'd keep my menstrual cycle away for at least months if I kept breastfeeding!
Breastfeeding your toddler will harm your unborn child - said to me by my GP care provider for my pregnancy care. That relationship didn't last long. Shame such an uninformed comment came from a medical professional who claims to be specialised in womens health & care.
Can't get pregnant when breastfeeding - well, conceived DD2 & DD3 and have been BF everyday for the last 4.5yrs!! Still no AF and it's been 5 years now.....
AF stays away - not here, I also spotted for about 8 weeks and AF came back after 4 mnths and I was bf 2/3 hrly all day exclusively.
Another one that didn't loose weight while bf.
I also had a c/section, never had engorged breasts, milk didn't come in until day 5 and still exclusively fed until 5 and 1/2 mnths.
I was also told to try formula to help DS sleep or at least give me a break but I didn't want to compromise my supply if it didn't work and he seemed to have silent reflux and was worried formulae would just cause more problems.
Another one for af not coming back or getting pregnant. Af was back at 6 weeks each time while still breastfeeding. I got pg with ds while still feeding dd2, she wasn't interested in solids until after she weaned and I fell pregnant when she was 9 months.
The one about extended breastfeeding protecting you from breast cancer. *sigh*
I debunked several here too...
AF won't return whilst bfing
Can't fall pg whilst bfing
You lose weight from bfing (I'm bigger than ever and only stopped bfing DS about 3months ago, so fed him for almost 2yrs without dropping a kg! In fact I gain a fair bit and found it so difficult to lose)
Can't bf whilst pg (I fell pg when DS was 19mths old and he self weaned at just under 23mths)
BM alone isn't enough for big babies (DS was 4.2kg's when born and was exclusively bf until he was 6 1/2mths old. By that time he was about 8kg!!)
Myths i debunked whilst bf-ing (about bf-ing)
- i managed to breastfeed in public discreetly (thanks to bfing clothing, where access is from below, and the front of the tops are double layer).
- i bf standing up when necessary (like in supermarket queue)
- who knew that a breastfeed could trump a dose of Panadol for a crying toddler (fallen over etc)
- breastfeeding to sleep, did not damage my child
- GP's and hospital medical people knew very little about BF-ing, lactation consultants, aba people that's who were the most helpful to me.
- a baby getting teeth is not total reason to wean. it was a reason for me to get advice on positioning. we had a problem, we solved it with education for me. problem went away.
- the paed dietician who told me there was NOTHING beneficial in my breastmilk for bilby (when she was 19 months old) - was SO wrong, her immune system has been very very strong against all kind of common kid ailments
- i kept bf-ing bilbs when i had bad gastro (lose 3kg in one night, hard to stand up type gastro) AND SHE DIDN"T GET GASTRO
- we're down to one feed a day, most days (she's nearly four) and the milk is still there (to my amazement)
- and the major one - she only started talking at three - but i never felt anything but happy and content at hearing my child ask for her "mummy booby". and telling me "i uv mummy booby". (her words for breastmilk). I was told it would be repulsive, to hear her ask for breastmilk. Nothing could be further from our reality.
- and on the weight thang, my baby weight came off by 8 months post birth. Breasts stopped leaking milk then too.
- and the one about "feeding on demand will make your child too dependant on you" - hmmm, that one sure got disproved. Bilby is socially confident, she will "read" a story book to a group of ten kids! "now, is everyone listening?" LOL.
- her teeth are excellent, so breastfeeding in bed did not give her cavities (we visit dentist six monthly).
- that i COULD breastfeed after 29 hours of waterbirth labour, 7 hours of medical intervention, two epidurals and sundry other drugs and a 2.5 hour gap between her traumatic non breathing arrival and her first breastfeed (with her father standing guard in ICU nursery to make sure no medical staff gave her formula against my wishes). I was convinced (by believers of the myths) that i would not be able to feed her, after a birth involved drugs.
will stop now, i'm sure that's enough to send you all to sleep
hugs Marydean.
I proudly debunked the "I need to wean to go back to full time work" myth. I went back to work at 4 months with DD and full tiime work at 9 month including 15 hour shifts and 60 hour weeks. I fed her 3 times a day until about 1 year and morning and night until about 21 months (when my morning sickness from DS became too much).
I was teh only full time worker in my Mothers group and the longest feeder. I think it helped me cope with my complicated guilt from working, It was a wonderful time with each other, great for our blossoming relationship, and it was good for my beautiful daughters health!
And I am another who most defiitley does not dropweight from bereast feeding :(
that the breastfeeding relationship is so fragile that if you give bottles your baby will be hideously confused and your supply will disappear. I gave bottles for six whole weeks from when DD2 was three weeks old until nine weeks old because I couldn't attach her (long story, whole other thread on this). We are relactating. Her attachment is not perfect but she has not lost the instinct and I am working hard at getting my milk back (after six weeks of not feeding once and not expressing once). People who suggest that the odd bottle here and there will doom the BF relationship do a real disservice to those women who need to do that occasionally in the early days if they are having difficulties and need to regroup and refocus.
You need nipple shields if you have flat nipples - wrong, they pop out on their own after the first feed and stay that way :)
Using a dummy causes nipple confusion and deters baby from the breast - not in my house anyway
Using bottles and or formula top ups will end your BF relationship early. Nope, wrong again! We gave bottles (both EBM and formula) randomly throughout our journey and DD continued to BF until she was 11 months and 2 weeks
Breastfeeding doesn't and shouldn't hurt - their should be a disclaimer with this 'once you find your groove'. From what I hear, have read and experienced, I'm pretty sure it does hurt most women in the early days. My poor nipples went through he'll until DD hit 12 weeks!
My personal fave was from MIL - 'DH was allergic to my breastmilk so your baby probably will be to yours so you probably won't be able to breastfeed'. MIL, you were wrong!
There's a few more for me too,
You won't be able to bf when you go back to work. I worked at least 26hours a week when he was 5mths old and still managed to bf DS.
Once he got a bit older and I was working 30+hrs a week, I would occaisionally needed for someone to give him a bottle (I dont express so well!), which totally did not confuse him, nor give him a preferance to the ease of a bottle. It did not cause him any confusion. He would leap at me as soon as I walked in the door and I HAD to feed him then and there once I was home!
Using a dummy also causes confusion. Both of my children had dummies from very young and had them up until about a months ago, I combine fed DD until she was 7mths (then fell pg and my supply was non existent) and I fed DS til he was 23mths old when he self weaned. They were both addicted to dummies and booby!!
BFing is painless. For me bfing was excrutiating. Particularly with DD. The first 12ish weeks were hell and I had bleeding blistered nipples. I would tense up and cry when I knew I had to feed her. But I did it. They did get better eventually with the help of nipple shields and perseverance. With DS it wasnt so bad, but it still hurt. Once we got throught the pain though it was such a lovely experience. The best thing I have done for my babies so far.
that using a dummy causes confusion.
that you can not fall pg while feeding.
my personal fave i got with dd, you couldnt possibly feed her, theres no room in them boobs for anything! i only go up to a b cup each bub, but have fed them for aslong as i was comfortable, so far the furthest i have gotten was 4 months, but i am determined this time to make at least 6 months, who knows, if i can reach 6 months, might go further! heres hoping!! (i just have to remember to make sure im eating properly myself, as well as everyone else.)
oh that one is true, if you dont take care of yourself, eating right wise, it is hard to keep a baby happily fed when you "forget" to feed yourself!
Mine was that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed as I had small boobs, Your mother couldn't your aunty couldn't your sister couldn't & she (coming from grandmother) couldn't. So I wont either...
SUCK ON THAT GRANDMA!
Oh yes, breastfeeding and returning to work! I too was the only full-time worker and longest breastfeeder in my mothers group. I do work from home though, so it's easier than if you're out in the workforce, but continuing to breastfeed was even more important to me as a working mum - some days they were the only times I had anything to do with my son.
i was told because i had larger boobs id have trouble feeding... ppfftt to that!
That is has to look a certain way to be working properly. I got so obsessed with DD1 having enough nipple in her mouth that I was constantly pulling her off to try and make it look they way they told me to. With DS and DD2, I just did what felt right. If it didn't feel right, then I would pull them off and start again, but I stopped worrying about how it should look and never had any problems.
Well I've debunked something a MCHN told me when DS was 2 months old. I was using nipple shields to breastfeed, and she told me outright that my milk would dry up if I kept using them... now here we are, DS is now 20 months and we are still breastfeeding using nipple shields! I don't even think anything of it now, I'm so used to them that I forget it's not 'normal' most of the time!
More recently, I think the main b/f myths I've debunked have been related to breastfeeding while pregnant. I've shocked a few people telling them I was still breastfeeding (and breastfeeding quite a lot) when I fell pregnant. A lot of people assume you have to wean in order to fall pregnant - I know some women do, but not everyone ;).
Also, I've come across who thought you couldn't breastfeed while pregnant - I think they thought it was either bad for the developing baby, or that your milk dries up. So far so good here though!
Sterla, my mum told me that I had to wean whne I fell pg with #3 too. She said it would deprive the growing baby of nutrients she really thought it was true...I said that I knew I wouldn't and she told me I had to go to the doctor....mind you my gp also told me that my milk had no nutritional value to it for DS when he turned 12mths old and I should just stop! When I told him half the world bf past 12mths and into toddlerhood and beyond he dismissed it as being for the 3rd world where they have nothing better to give babies and toddlers....it's so sad that even gp's are so ill informed.
Great thread topic Jennifer13!
* I exclusively bf all my children for the first 9-10 months of their lives (ie. no solids), proving that BM can sustain babies perfectly well for almost the first year of their lives. With my first child the IL's were constantly asking when I was going to give her 'real food'. They didn't bother asking with the next two!
* I bf while pregnant (twice).
* I bf DD and Ds1 until well after their 2nd birthdays. DD was still occasionally feeding after her third birthday, and I was still feeding DS1. No DD did not need to be fed at the school gate when she started school this year! I heard this comment constantly when people realised that I was feeding an older child. (And anyway, I wouldn't have minded if she did!).
* I demand bf and co-slept with all of them (currently with DS2), and no, they never had trouble transitioning to their own beds and bedrooms.
* You can think you are a bf expert, and then get mastitis for the first time with your third child! Conversely, you can overcome mastitis.
* I returned to work when DD was 13 months old and our bf relationship continued beautifully (and I didn't express once).
* I have been lactating for over 6 years!
I'm more a confirmer than a debunker.
BF makes the weight melt off
BF shouldn't hurt
BF makes your boobs smaller afterward (and kills the perk, but then I went from a 10DD to 10G to 10D and that's a bit extreme)
I breastfed my first two until, coincidentally, a week before they got teeth. At 9 and 14 months ...
Breastfeeding is most certainly good for lazy people. You just schmock em on the boob and don't need to think :)
The only one people seem surprised about is that DD#2 and DS (DD#1 was smaller and a slower grower) are such honking great porkers. DD#2 had a ridiculous growth spurt at around 6 weeks and shot up from 50th to 90th percentile, then slowly dropped back down again, I think she's about average now. DS blubbered up to 75th percentile and is holding steady. Apparently breastfed babies don't get this fat or something. Its even more amusing if you consider that myself and my partner are both rather petite little lightweights - I'm normally about 55kg and he's 65kg, both of us are small builds.
Myths Dismissed:
"Breast feeding will ruin the appearance of your breasts". WRONG. Mine look better, slightly bigger (gone from size A to size B) and still perky. Only change is a few white stretch marks on the sides which resulted from my pregnancy... not the feeding. Also I have the added peace of mind that my chances of contracting breast cancer is significantly reduced after feeding for a total of 4 years.
"People will be critical of breast feeding beyond 6 months/1 year". WRONG. No one said anything and I breast fed until beyond 2 years with my third child.
"Your milk will dry up if you miss a few days of breast feeding". WRONG. I had to travel interstate while BFing my youngest. All i did was a little hand expressing in the shower once a day to relieve the pressure and was able to continue as before when i got home.
"A dummy/bottle use will confuse a breast feeding child". WRONG. I had to express my milk (and use a bottle due to mastitis) and even offer formula for brief period for two of my 3 babies and the other one used a dummy until he was a toddler. No confusion what so ever.
You can have a chubby fully breastfed baby! lol. Everyone was surprised she was so chubby on just BM.
Your child won't starve if you don't give them solids before 6 months!
You can get pregnant while breastfeeding.
You can continue breastfeeding during pregnancy!