Would you give your older kids Covid antibody breast milk?

[Anonymous]

They are very big and would need to drink many many glasses of breastmilk every day to confer any of the same protection that your newborn gets.

So no, I wouldn't waste it or risk over supply by pumping more than you need.

It's great your baby can get a little boost of protection from this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there's a big movement toward breastmilk for all but I've yet to see any valid studies that prove that it is beneficial for older humans. In short, the benefit is really limited to infants - much in the same way that it is with nearly 100% of other mammals who do not have their pups suckle after they learn to eat on their own. We mammals just don't do it much - er, at all. Older children - particularly your 7 year old - will get zero out of it and then you'll just have to tell him that you were feeding him breastmilk in the 3rd grade. I mean, weigh the options here.

Stop reading the alternative science, folks.

Im not being a lactivist here but for purely discussion purposes: Why would the benefit be limited to infants? Whats the cutoff? We, humans, ingest cows milk which provides nutrients. Some people dont drink it but its used in a LOT of products. Medications, breads, almost ALL baked goods, etc. Camel milk, goat milk, etc. are substitutes. Camels milk has been ingested for 6k years. You can make all of those things with breastmilk as well although the fat/carb ratio is different but I substitute soy/almond milk so it cant be that far of a stretch.

I could understand the hate (and for a lot of people repulsion) over breastmilk after some arbitrary age but most of these people drink cows milk, which biologically is for baby cows. Baby cows wean at 10months but youd have to compare where cows are at 10months developmentally and growth-wise to ascertain what the similar age would be for human children. Camels wean at 4 months and goats wean at 6-8 weeks. Kittens 6-8 weeks, puppies 3-4 weeks. Modern human nonindustrial societies averaged 30 months for breastfeeding- thats 2.5 years old.

Im not for/against the OP's thought process but this discussion of breastmilk being awful to give sounds weird as you dunk oreos into milk no?

There's no study that show breastmilk as a benefit past the first few weeks of infancy. NONE. So sure, argue it's best for the first weeks to months of a human's life. But after that, it's not proven at all. It's conjecture from animals that have no other option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there's a big movement toward breastmilk for all but I've yet to see any valid studies that prove that it is beneficial for older humans. In short, the benefit is really limited to infants - much in the same way that it is with nearly 100% of other mammals who do not have their pups suckle after they learn to eat on their own. We mammals just don't do it much - er, at all. Older children - particularly your 7 year old - will get zero out of it and then you'll just have to tell him that you were feeding him breastmilk in the 3rd grade. I mean, weigh the options here.

Stop reading the alternative science, folks.

Im not being a lactivist here but for purely discussion purposes: Why would the benefit be limited to infants? Whats the cutoff? We, humans, ingest cows milk which provides nutrients. Some people dont drink it but its used in a LOT of products. Medications, breads, almost ALL baked goods, etc. Camel milk, goat milk, etc. are substitutes. Camels milk has been ingested for 6k years. You can make all of those things with breastmilk as well although the fat/carb ratio is different but I substitute soy/almond milk so it cant be that far of a stretch.

I could understand the hate (and for a lot of people repulsion) over breastmilk after some arbitrary age but most of these people drink cows milk, which biologically is for baby cows. Baby cows wean at 10months but youd have to compare where cows are at 10months developmentally and growth-wise to ascertain what the similar age would be for human children. Camels wean at 4 months and goats wean at 6-8 weeks. Kittens 6-8 weeks, puppies 3-4 weeks. Modern human nonindustrial societies averaged 30 months for breastfeeding- thats 2.5 years old.

Im not for/against the OP's thought process but this discussion of breastmilk being awful to give sounds weird as you dunk oreos into milk no?

There's no study that show breastmilk as a benefit past the first few weeks of infancy. NONE. So sure, argue it's best for the first weeks to months of a human's life. But after that, it's not proven at all. It's conjecture from animals that have no other option.

I'll add: if humans nurse I don't think there's a huge downside. But there is also most likely NO measurable upside. So if it works, great. If it doesn't, that's fine. Formula is a modern marvel. If nursing for longer fits into your family's life style, I think that's just fine. I won't shame anyone for extended nursing. But there are no proven health benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there's a big movement toward breastmilk for all but I've yet to see any valid studies that prove that it is beneficial for older humans. In short, the benefit is really limited to infants - much in the same way that it is with nearly 100% of other mammals who do not have their pups suckle after they learn to eat on their own. We mammals just don't do it much - er, at all. Older children - particularly your 7 year old - will get zero out of it and then you'll just have to tell him that you were feeding him breastmilk in the 3rd grade. I mean, weigh the options here.

Stop reading the alternative science, folks.

Im not being a lactivist here but for purely discussion purposes: Why would the benefit be limited to infants? Whats the cutoff? We, humans, ingest cows milk which provides nutrients. Some people dont drink it but its used in a LOT of products. Medications, breads, almost ALL baked goods, etc. Camel milk, goat milk, etc. are substitutes. Camels milk has been ingested for 6k years. You can make all of those things with breastmilk as well although the fat/carb ratio is different but I substitute soy/almond milk so it cant be that far of a stretch.

I could understand the hate (and for a lot of people repulsion) over breastmilk after some arbitrary age but most of these people drink cows milk, which biologically is for baby cows. Baby cows wean at 10months but youd have to compare where cows are at 10months developmentally and growth-wise to ascertain what the similar age would be for human children. Camels wean at 4 months and goats wean at 6-8 weeks. Kittens 6-8 weeks, puppies 3-4 weeks. Modern human nonindustrial societies averaged 30 months for breastfeeding- thats 2.5 years old.

Im not for/against the OP's thought process but this discussion of breastmilk being awful to give sounds weird as you dunk oreos into milk no?

We ingest cow's milk because it tastes good, is mass processed and is cheap. The dairy industry has seriously overstated the benefit of cow's milk to humans (in the same way that the meat industry marketed protein) and we have bought into it. I'm not knocking it. I love milk but but it is not some magical food additive that is a necessity for kids. We like it because it is fatty, frothy, and creamy. In days of yore, it provided much needed fatty calories to someone's daily intake. Also, there's a huge difference in the mass production and pasteurization of milk today than there is in getting breastmilk straight from the source. Zero comparison. Milk has been mineralized and sanitized for human consumption so it is nowhere near the same product that calves drink.

But back to the original point, breastmilk benefits are significantly overstated for older children. Past infancy and early toddler stages, there's hardly any point. We give younger ages breastmilk because they're incapable of consuming the calories, fat and nutrients in any other form. Once they're capable of doing that, it's no longer needed. Why people insist on the given older kids breastmilk is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there's a big movement toward breastmilk for all but I've yet to see any valid studies that prove that it is beneficial for older humans. In short, the benefit is really limited to infants - much in the same way that it is with nearly 100% of other mammals who do not have their pups suckle after they learn to eat on their own. We mammals just don't do it much - er, at all. Older children - particularly your 7 year old - will get zero out of it and then you'll just have to tell him that you were feeding him breastmilk in the 3rd grade. I mean, weigh the options here.

Stop reading the alternative science, folks.

Im not being a lactivist here but for purely discussion purposes: Why would the benefit be limited to infants? Whats the cutoff? We, humans, ingest cows milk which provides nutrients. Some people dont drink it but its used in a LOT of products. Medications, breads, almost ALL baked goods, etc. Camel milk, goat milk, etc. are substitutes. Camels milk has been ingested for 6k years. You can make all of those things with breastmilk as well although the fat/carb ratio is different but I substitute soy/almond milk so it cant be that far of a stretch.

I could understand the hate (and for a lot of people repulsion) over breastmilk after some arbitrary age but most of these people drink cows milk, which biologically is for baby cows. Baby cows wean at 10months but youd have to compare where cows are at 10months developmentally and growth-wise to ascertain what the similar age would be for human children. Camels wean at 4 months and goats wean at 6-8 weeks. Kittens 6-8 weeks, puppies 3-4 weeks. Modern human nonindustrial societies averaged 30 months for breastfeeding- thats 2.5 years old.

Im not for/against the OP's thought process but this discussion of breastmilk being awful to give sounds weird as you dunk oreos into milk no?

There's no need for us to ingest cow's milk . That we do is largely related to industry marketing the nutritional benefits can be found in other foods.

Op there's no solid evidence this is beneficial if you want to do something with your milk donate it to babies