Formular is bad for babies

I was at a lll meeting yesterday and there was a conversation about how formula is bad for babies, how it costs the nhs millions treating illnesses directly caused by formula (ear infections and similar). I wonder if anyone has any info about the negative effects of formula. They were saying they should hand out leaflets warning of the dangers of bottle feeding rather than the breast is best ones.

It's information based on a recently US study that really can be translated into any western country that uses formula to the great degree it does.

Heres a link... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36175184/

If you google Breastfeeding saves 900 babies a year you will find more information. Sadly the article was pretty hushed up due to it's inflamatory response...but it's not new information, just us money grabbing westerners have now calculated the exact financial COST of formula.

sorry if i offend anyone and dont jump on me as this is only what iv found..........
my 8 yr old son only bf for one whole day before i turned to formula and hes never ill doesnt get coughs or colds hes in great form same goes for my 4 yr old kiera, emilie was only bf for 3 weeks but as a newborn she was always making odd noises and snotty, where as blake my longest bf lo and hes always snotty and ill, so im sorry but i dont think formula is always to blame! yes i do agree breast is best but there not going to poison babys are they!!! xxxxxx

Unfortunately it's not specifically concerning coughs and colds which is often what people refer to when they hear of such studies. For the record my eldest was a mix fed child and was moved on to soya formula at 9 months (which is now been found to be really dangerous although I was prescribed it by a doctor at the hospital) then a lactose free formula, so I am not speaking from a superiority point. These studies concern illnesses such as rotavirus' and SIDs which many studies have proved are more prevalent among formula fed babies. It also covers illnesses into adulthood such as obesity, diabetes etc, which both you and I may not be aware of yet in our children.

You also need to take into account that most people who choose to formula feed tend to be from the poorer ends of society. Ordinarily you could reduce the risk factor of your formula fed child by introducing an organic diet with plenty of exercise, but these also tend to be lacking in poorer families too, so not only do you increase the risk factor at birth, you then continue it. There are many factors that could influence these outcomes not just formula.

As someone on here I think said, formula and breastfeeding can be likened to this... Breastfeeding is the same as feeding your kids a pure, healthy organic diet with 5 fresh fruit and veg a day. Formula is feeding them TV dinners and processed food but supplementing them with vitamin tablets. Neither is poison, but one is definitely less desirable. The health warnings about breast milk being better on formula cans, can be likened to the warnings on McDonalds packaging about eating a balanced healthy diet.

We are not designed to eat highly processed, dead foods and it is bound to cause issues somewhere down the line. While we all do it at times, no one can judge (I know I certainly can't), but people need to understand that formula is just that, an inferior, highly processed copy...junk, which formula companies are not even required to inform people about their processing, because of copyright infringement and we feed it all the time to our kids. As they say, breast feeding isn't the best, that's formula company jargon, it's just what we are supposed to eat, everything else is an inferior product.

Very well put Squiglet

Well put squiglet.

Every time I mention the risks of formula feeding someone jumps down my neck for offending them - but that puts it really nicely.