why do breastfed babies still get sick all the time?

[Anonymous]

I bf'd my twins until 10 months. They never once got sick. One month after quitting they got their first cold and ear infection. They have had colds on and off since.

In my case, I think it made an amazing difference. But every child, immune sytem (both mother and child) and season are different.

[Anonymous]

It probably is making him less sick. You don't see the illnesses he doesn't get.

[Anonymous]

Have you read the studies about all the toxins in breastmilk? It's pretty scary. I BF both my kids, so i'm not anti-BF, i'm just saying that the toxins in our bodies ultimately wind up in our breastmilk, so it's not a given that BM is that much better than formula. My kids have food allergies galore.

[Anonymous]

There's no magic bullet. Kids get sick. A lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the studies about all the toxins in breastmilk? It's pretty scary. I BF both my kids, so i'm not anti-BF, i'm just saying that the toxins in our bodies ultimately wind up in our breastmilk, so it's not a given that BM is that much better than formula. My kids have food allergies galore.

OP here. I have read about all the toxins in breast milk, it's scary, but I figure there are just as many toxins in formula. If toxins are in our bodies, they are also going to be in our food, our livestock and our environment. So, they are pretty much everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it is crazy propaganda. Both my kids were breastfed for a year, and both have asthma, food allergies, had so many ear infections they had to get tubes before the age of 1, RSV, etc.

It is complete and utter HOGWASH that it makes children healthier.

But they still might be better off than if they had been formular fed - at least according to the studies.

That is not what the studies say, that is what babycenter and the feminazi's say.

The studies say that YOUR baby MAY be less likely to develop common asthma and ear infections. Not that your baby will be healthier overall.

To believe that your baby will in general a more healthy baby is believing in "magic"

[Anonymous]

I wondered the same thing because my BF son was much healthier than my BF nephew, even though my child was in a nanny share and my nephew was home with my sister. A plastic surgeon friend, who was around when I wondered it outloud, said that it actually made sense because I was out and about alone, getting exposed to germs and building up antibodies to them before BFing my baby. But my sister and her son were both basically exposed at the same time. She didn't have time to build up her antibodies before the germs infected her son. (This actually forced me to leave him some freshly pumped milk each day instead of using everything from the freezer stash).

I totally agree with the folks who say that we can't "see" the illnesses they don't get when BFing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[
That is not what the studies say, that is what babycenter and the feminazi's say.

The studies say that YOUR baby MAY be less likely to develop common asthma and ear infections. Not that your baby will be healthier overall.

To believe that your baby will in general a more healthy baby is believing in "magic"

Bitter much? Didn't know babycenter was evil. And, um, yes there are numerous studies that do support more than just illnesses and ear infections (metabolic disorcer protection, less likely to die of SIDS, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[
Bitter much? Didn't know babycenter was evil. And, um, yes there are numerous studies that do support more than just illnesses and ear infections (metabolic disorcer protection, less likely to die of SIDS, etc)

Don't forget less likely to be obese or have diabetes and the newest "feminazi" research even says better muscle development.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-mother-physical-condition-future-adolescents.html

[Anonymous]

As I understand it, for the first 4-6 months you are passing on your immunity because their "gut" is still open. After that the benefit of your antibodies goes away.

This is from kelly mom and is more in reference to starting solids but it also mentions immunity

elaying solids decreases the risk of food allergies.
It is well documented that prolonged exclusive breastfeeding results in a lower incidence of food allergies (see Allergy References and Risks of Artificial Feeding). From birth until somewhere between four and six months of age, babies possess what is often referred to as an "open gut." This means that the spaces between the cells of the small intestines will readily allow intact macromolecules, including whole proteins and pathogens, to pass directly into the bloodstream.This is great for your breastfed baby as it allows beneficial antibodies in breastmilk to pass more directly into baby's bloodstream, but it also means that large proteins from other foods (which may predispose baby to allergies) and disease-causing pathogens can pass right through, too. During baby's first 4-6 months, while the gut is still "open," antibodies (sIgA) from breastmilk coat baby's digestive tract and provide passive immunity, reducing the likelihood of illness and allergic reactions before gut closure occurs. Baby starts producing these antibodies on his own at around 6 months, and gut closure should have occurred by this time also. See How Breast Milk Protects Newborns and The Case for the Virgin Gut for more on this subject.

[Anonymous]

Many of these "studies" you quote for the other things are observational studies, which are hard to control for, and not based in scientific data.

[Anonymous]

I am so surprised every time anyone asks this question--it just seems so naive. Even the most unapologetically pro-breastfeeding people (like Kelly's Mom) only promise that breastfeeding will "reduce" the likelihood of illness. Who could possibly suggest that a child would not get sick? Adults, with much stronger immune systems, get sick all the time. Who could think an infant won't?

By the way, since we are trading anecdotes, I breastfed my three kids for about a year each. The first had countless upper respiratory illnesses in the first year; the second, a preemie, didn't get sick once; the third was not sick for the first six months and then had one ear infection after another until he got tubes. Different experiences because they are different people exposed at different times to different germs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10 month old son has been breastfed from day one. He still catches every cold, virus that goes around? What's the deal here? What are the benefits of breast milk if it does not keep a baby from catching viruses and colds?

If it turns out that the notion that BF shields db from illness is a myth, would you do anything differently?

I think it's pretty obvious if not a myth, the benefits have been exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

because you were sold a bill of goods

-mom who BFed and FFed and neither of her kids had a fever or bad cold their first year

[Anonymous]

Daycare makes them sick. It isn't rocket science. Why do moms kill themselves trying to pump when they are just going to put their kids in the germ factories known as daycare centers? Does it make moms feel less guilty like the breastmilk will protect them from illnesses?