According to Pediatrics, a medical journal,in their October 2008 issue, at 3 months of age, 61% of babies are formula feed exclusively. Of the remaining 39% of babies that are breastfed, approximately 34% are supplemented with formula.
A little math later, we have approximately 74 babies out of 100 receiving formula through a bottle for some or all of their nutrition after 3 months of age.
I guess this statistic shouldn't be so surprising. Off the top of my head I can name about 7 different bottle companies and at least 4 big formula companies, not to mention generics (we'll get to that later). Surely there wouldn't be that much stuff out there--not to mention all the advertising dollars spent for all that stuff--if there wasn't a market for it.
More than anything, I want to offer this statistic to any bottle-feeding mom who feels like a failure or feels like she gave up. I want to let you know that you're not alone out there. I know there were times after my son was born when I felt like (or was made to feel like) less of a mother because I didn't--couldn't--breastfeed. Breastfeeding works out really well for some families, and for others, it doesn't...and that's okay.
My husband found himself in a "battle of words" with a former friend this week. The woman said that she'd been to my blog and "disagreed with basically EVERYTHING in it." Clearly, she hadn't really read my blog that closely because I'm fairly sure that I never said that bottle feeding was better than breastfeeding or that anyone should give up breastfeeding to bottle feed--just that it was the only option for my family and that I wanted to offer support and information to other bottle feeding families becauseI felt like there wasn't much out there. This woman made us feel like if we couldn't breastfeed, we should just let our babies die of starvation. I'm sorry, but that's discrimination. It frustrates me that there are people out there who feel like if you don't breastfeed you're not as good as them--I guess it just seems like these are the only people doing the talking.
So, there you go--I bottle feed, my kids are happy, healthy, and loved. I'm not better or worse than anyone else. And I truly, truly hope that if I had been able to breastfeed, I would have never had that "I'm better than you" attitude that SOME (not all) people do.
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Time flies
12 years ago
The fact/statistic (whatever you want to call it)that so many babies are bottlefed by 3 months is probably because most women return to work by 3 months post partum. I do think it is great that the majority of employees have begun to accomodate mothers by allowing them to pump breastmilk at work. I pumped at work with Abby, but I realize that supply can sometimes go down when a woman is breastfeeding less.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone should be made to feel less adequate because of a how their infant is fed. Women in general should stop being so critical of one another. Women can be very harsh and critical to one another.
"Women in general should stop being so critical of one another. Women can be very harsh and critical to one another."
ReplyDelete--Well said, Carrie Wilcox.
Seriously, this whole breastfeeding/bottle feeding feels like an all-out cage match! Thanks for the comment! Love you!