Turns out breastfeeding doesn't make smarter babies...

[Sonny]

See link.

boobs and brains

My wife couldn't nurse, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out. But I got real frustrated with those nurses in the baby ward who used to give you the big-time guilt trip. I call them the "breast feeding nazis". We even had one doctor who flat out told us that our decision not to breast feed would cost our son 5 to 10 points in IQ. He seriously said that. And my wife was all hormonal at the time -- I thought she was gonna pop him for it. I thought about telling him that his mother's decision not to breast feed evidently cost him 2 to 3 inches in penile length. I mean, what a stupid and insensitive thing to say.

Anyway, I'm sure that nursing is a good thing. But I never bought that intelligence myth. I was bottle-fed, and I consider myself to be close to genius level. OK, well ... maybe not that close.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

Simple correlation <> causation.

Anything else?

(I'm just a bit peeved that your link showed neither boobs nor brains.)

[Pseudolus]

I've never heard the breastfeeding --> smrtr thing, just stuff about immunities and such. But I also observed that the lactation consultants at the hospital I went to were a lot pushier than I thought they should have been

[Dorkus Malorkus]

Originally Posted by Pseudolus

But I also observed that the lactation consultants at the hospital I went to were a lot pushier than I thought they should have been

Sounds sexy.

[JMO]

Originally Posted by Pseudolus

I've never heard the breastfeeding --> smrtr thing, just stuff about immunities and such. But I also observed that the lactation consultants at the hospital I went to were a lot pushier than I thought they should have been

When all you have is a hammer, everybody else starts to look like a nail. Or something.

[22aliens]

My wife couldn't breastfeed either. Not for lack of size or the ability to produce milk, mind you. Her milk-ducts did not function and so there was no way for the milk to come out (and trust me, we tried).

We had similar experiences with doctors/nurses. Everytime we visited the the doctor or nurse, they would start in on the "breast feeding guilt trip". I kept having to interrupt and explain. Especially frustrating, the doctor kept forgetting the issue between appointments.

Anyway, our son is growing up to be incredibly brilliant.

[quentin cassidy]

Originally Posted by Sonny

See link.

boobs and brains

My wife couldn't nurse, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out. But I got real frustrated with those nurses in the baby ward who used to give you the big-time guilt trip. I call them the "breast feeding nazis". We even had one doctor who flat out told us that our decision not to breast feed would cost our son 5 to 10 points in IQ. He seriously said that. And my wife was all hormonal at the time -- I thought she was gonna pop him for it. I thought about telling him that his mother's decision not to breast feed evidently cost him 2 to 3 inches in penile length. I mean, what a stupid and insensitive thing to say.

Anyway, I'm sure that nursing is a good thing. But I never bought that intelligence myth. I was bottle-fed, and I consider myself to be close to genius level. OK, well ... maybe not that close.

Don't you care more about how many fewer illnesses your children will suffer and how likely they are to become healthy adullts than you do about a few IQ points?

My daughter was breast-fed for 16 months (until we found out #2 was on the way), and she has only gotten more than a mild cold once in 2 1/2 years. It was extremely difficult for my wife for the first week or so after she gave birth (my daughter lost over a pound or about 15% of her birth weight), but we're very glad the nurses/consultants strongly encouraged my wife to keep trying. I realize there are many mothers who simply cannot do it (and obviously I don't know the details of why your wife decided she couldn't do it) , but I think a lot of mothers give up without really giving it a chance.

My son is almost 7 months old, and feeding him has been very easy compared to our first, and he has also never had any illnesses other than a runny nose. He does seem very interested in real food though, so I'm guessing he won't be nursed for much longer than 12 months, since he can drink store-bought milk as soon as he turns 1.

Another advantage of nursing is that baby formula is VERY expensive!

[carrot]

Originally Posted by 22aliens

Her milk-ducts did not function and so there was no way for the milk to come out (and trust me, we tried).

Oh, I'll bet you did, you dog!

[carrot]

Originally Posted by quentin cassidy

My daughter was breast-fed for 16 months (until we found out #2 was on the way)...

Doctors often prescribe stool softeners to women who just gave birth to prevent a painful situation. But 16 months? Wow, that had to hurt!

Originally Posted by Sonny

Anyway, I'm sure that nursing is a good thing. But I never bought that intelligence myth. I was bottle-fed, and I consider myself to be close to genius level. OK, well ... maybe not that close.

If you were really all that smart, you'd have realized somebody would smack you down for quoting a 1-point data set as a disclaimer for the original hypothesis. Which I'm doing. Smacking you down, that is.