Who Watched : Honey I Suckle The Kids ?

[lindsay ormerod]

Me and my daughter watched the programme;amidst the laughter I thought that 2 years would be quite enough;I managed 6 months before having to go back to work.Just for the record;the mum who was still feeding her 5 year old was "educating" her children at home and a bunch of ruder,more ignorant kids you would struggle to find! The same prog also had some crazy Yanks on it trying to potty train a 5 day old baby;and without much success ,and a 3 year old being trained minus nappies;totally barking !

[lettie]

Originally Posted by katex

I'm confused by that one myself Chav .. you don't produce the milk whilst pregnant, or maybe if you were still feeding a child from a previous pregnancy it does keep going ? How do they keep it flowing all those years for their grandchildren ? Pehapsthey just act as a dummy? Over to you Lettie ?

Any woman who has had a pregnancy lasting 16 weeks or more has the ability to re-lactate with the right kind of stimulation. Many Nepalese Grandmothers have re-lactated and fed all of their grandchildren. The ability to re-lactate also comes in handy in this country when a woman wishes to feed and adopted child (yes!! this happens). If the woman who adopts the child has lost her own babies, stillbirths, late miscarriages etc, she still has the ability to breastfeed an adoptee. She will spend many weeks prior to adoption using a breast pump or hand expressing and massage in order to re-lactate..

[SPUGGIE J]

Lettie is this why the rich in times gone by employed wet nurses to feed their offspring?

[lettie]

Originally Posted by SPUGGIE J

Lettie is this why the rich in times gone by employed wet nurses to feed their offspring?

Yes, the wet nurse had often fed several of her own children and in some instances was still feeding them. Breastmilk is produced by stimulation, the more the baby feeds the more milk is produced. Many women give up breastfeeding because they say that they don't have enough milk. In truth, there are only about 2% of women worldwide who are unable to lactate due to rare medical conditions. Many women who give up feeding in the West are merely experiencing a baby growth spurt. During a growth spurt the baby will demand to be fed for up to 22 hours out of 24... This can go on for about 48 hours leaving the mother knackered and feeling that she mustn't have enough milk, therefore, she gives up....
Growth spurts happen at roughly 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 3-4 months old...

[SPUGGIE J]

When my daughter was born my wife desided to breast feed but really struggled and even had trouble expressing it for a bottle. The fact she couldnt was something that really upset her yet most around her opted for a bottle even with the advice from the midwifes who were only thinking of the newborn. Personally I blame the way the public view breast feeding as abhorent yet that is what a set of breasts are for. Some women I think take the view that the look of the chest outweighs the needs of the child which come from breast milk. Its time it became the norm if possible for women without being looked on as a horrid act. Breastfeeding is natural and has been
been around longer than "civil society" and is therefore the right of all women to, if they can give their newborn child the best food for it.

[accymel]

Originally Posted by lettie

During a growth spurt the baby will demand to be fed for up to 22 hours out of 24... This can go on for about 48 hours leaving the mother knackered and feeling that she mustn't have enough milk, therefore, she gives up....
Growth spurts happen at roughly 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 3-4 months old...

Flipping heck that must of started as soon as now 10year was born lol, was a nightmare to feed yehh 22-24 was about right i was sooo exhausted, had mastitus on both boobs & i lost soooo much weight cos i basically up all time & not even getting chance to feed myself so it was a constant circle & the midwife wanted me to continue - errr nope i did a months worth & that was enough!

Besides i couldnt go out, people objected to breast feeding a newborn nevermind a child!!! Anyways drained my boobs out completely nowt left of em pmsl

[lettie]

We tend to find that women who genuinely can't produce enough milk in the first few days after delivery have sometimes retained a piece of their placenta. The hormones in the placenta prevent the production of breastmilk, this stops women from leaking bucket loads of milk whilst they are still pregnant. Anyone who is experiencing insufficient lactation in the first 14 days after delivery should tell their midwife. They may need to go back to the hospital for a scan and examination in order to identify and remove any retained products from pregnancy.

[SPUGGIE J]

Wish we had known that at the time then maybe she wouldnt have felt like a failure. This was 10 1/2 years ago so dont even know how things have changed.

[lettie]

Hehehe...... It's amazing what you can learn from Accyweb..

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by SPUGGIE J

Personally I blame the way the public view breast feeding as abhorent yet that is what a set of breasts are for. Some women I think take the view that the look of the chest outweighs the needs of the child which come from breast milk. Its time it became the norm if possible for women without being looked on as a horrid act. Breastfeeding is natural and has been
been around longer than "civil society" and is therefore the right of all women to, if they can give their newborn child the best food for it.

I tend to agree with most of what you said there Spuggie. The public attitude to breastfeeding in this country does seem to be one of disgust and repugnance rather than viewing it as perfectly normal. Mind you I do think it's also the responsibility of the mother to be discrete about it. It's one thing to quietly tuck the baby against you with a shawl around both and quite another to go flapping your boobs around in public places.