What is so bad about feeding a baby formula?

You can tell all the 'mother earths' have given me the thumbs down........oooohhh im so scared!!! I wouldn't give a rats @ss what anyone on here thinks about you feeding your baby formula, its your baby not their's its none of their business Too many bloody 'mother earth' types ramming crap down your throat, if you wanted to breast feed you would have, you didn't, do they want your baby to starve? *EDIT* Obber..... we aren't in America, we are UK/NI so dont need your advice, go to the American YA and give your much needed info there!!!

Those 'direct quotes' have come from what they refer to as 'crunchy mamas'. They believe that if the THOUGHT of just formula feeding crosses your mind then you are an absolutely horrid mother. Just ignore them and raise your son how you want to. Poor Obber, I feel so sorry for her.

pssshhh... i dont care what people say about it. i always knew i wasnt going to breastfeed. just not my thing. i bottle feed my son. and even use tap water! lol. he is perfectly fine. dont let people get to you about it. blow it off.

"I mean come on, someone please tell me why formula milk is so bad." Seriously? "Infant formula was designed to be a medical nutritional tool for babies who are unable to breastfeed. Formula does not fully meet the nutritional and immunity needs of infants, leaving their immune systems flailing. An infant’s immune system has three aspects: her own immature, developing immune system; the small component of immunities that passes through the placenta during natural childbirth (and to a lesser degree with premature births and cesarean sections); and the most valuable, living portion that is passed on through mother’s milk on an ongoing basis. Remove any of those components and you take away a vital support structure. This brings us face to face with the safety and effectiveness of infant formula as a breast milk substitute. Is formula actually as safe as we have been led to believe? In fact, the answer is a resounding “no.” In fact, the use of infant formula doubles the risk of infant death for American babies." http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/articles/312-formula-report.htm

So it is not ok for a BF mother to make statements that formula is not a good nutritional choice for their babies but it is ok for you to call people ignorant? Double standard I do believe. I am a BF mother of a 3 month old and I do not hug trees or co sleep or wear my baby. I chose breastmilk because I thought that was what was best for my baby. I neither condemn nor judge any mother for the choices she makes for her child. Not all BF moms shove their opinions down other people's throats. Calm down a little bit!!

I totally agree with you... my son was 3 weeks old when he started formula milk... my breast milk wasn't enough for him... he's thrived on his formula milk, he's certainly no worse off for it! He got all the antibodies he needed from me in the first week anyway. People need to stop being mean, and giving us dirty looks when we're in public feeding our baby with a bottle... i'm sure they wouldn't like it if i popped a breast out either! Maj ps. you can give me as many thumbs down as you like, my opinion will never change, and my son likes his formula milk

I agree! I breastfed my son because that is what I chose. But I didn't breastfeed my son so that I could shove it in other mothers faces and feel high and mighty. I think that is so wrong. Ultimately you are his mother and you decide what is right for you and your child. There is obviously no denying that breastmilk is best, but sometimes that just doesn't work out for everyone. And how can you judge someone for that? I hate that, all the judgement. It really isn't a bad thing, it isn't evil. I think you know that too. Don't let people make you feel bad for it. Babies have been surviving on formula since forever, so they must be doing something right... =}

It is not bad! I agree with you; I get tired of all the judging too. I fed both of mine from the bottle from day one and they are both the picture of health. Rarely sick, healthy weights, etc. Both are extremely smart. I did all the research while I was trying to decide on whether to bottle feed or breast feed and the only difference in them is that formula does not contain the natural anti-bodies that you carry in your breast milk. I decided to go with formula on my first after having a conversation with my doctor. He told me that only 40% of women stop ovulating while they are breast feeding and I did not want to have another baby right away. So, I decided to go with formula and go on birth control. Your baby is healthy and happy and I wouldn't worry about what everyone else says. You are being a good mom! I have always said that the best way to raise your children is what is right for you. As long as your children are healthy and happy.

I agree with you completely. My son has had formula since day 1 and he's perfectly healthy (as am I, as is my husband, as are both of our siblings and honestly most of our friends and relatives). Breastfeeding is great, but it's not for everyone. I commend mother's who do it, but it wasn't what worked for my son, for me, or for our family. The real kicker is that these breast feeding moms who go on their rampages (not the ones who just breastfeed and mind their own business about it) about how HORRIBLE we are for feeding our children formula don't stop to take into account that by acting that way, they are actually only DISCOURAGING women to breastfeed. (I for one don't want to end up as nutty as some of them appear to be!!) Also, just to add.... last time I checked, before formula was invented, babies used to DIE if the mother didn't produce enough milk or had other breastfeeding issues. For those of you that think formula is just so evil.... would you rather see that formula would disappear from the face of the earth and have babies needlessly die because of it? Not everyone CAN breastfeed for one, and some of the rest of us simply prefer not to. EDIT: I agree with Charlotte's Mommy..... people who go to the extremes on either end of the argument need to calm down. And regardless of how you feed, you have no right to call another mother a bad person just because they choose to feed a different way.