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[...] Is Breastfeeding from a Bottle Still Breastfeeding? | Strollerderby [...]

Attacking women who exclusively pump is another one of those ways women are being accused of not being good enough while making a maximum amount of effort. And it’s ridiculous. It’s breastmilk. She’s trying her darn best, and she’s made sure her kid gets her breastmilk.
So what’s the problem? That woman and that woman alone is dealing with the inconvenience of pumping, but her kid is still getting the optimum food for life.
This is as silly as arguing that women who opt to always breastfeed in seclusion aren’t fully committed to breastfeeding.
Need I note that many premies CAN’T breastfeed from the breast, and hospitals encourage their mothers to pump so it can be provided in that form? So when is it “good to pump” and “bad to pump?”

I have a few friends who do this, and it was always because they had a hard time getting their baby to latch and then they had to return to work. I had an extremely hard time getting my son to latch, but since I decided to stay home for an extended period, I really worked at it and finally got it down at about 3 months. Looking back, I’m not sure which way would have been better, since trying to hard to get him to latch caused a great deal of stress and actually inhibited bonding.

Like Jeanne says, this looks like another way to make moms feel bad. ugh

To me it sounds like way more hassle for the reasons you’ve listed, but I also feel that as long as a kid is getting adequate nutrition it’s not my concern how the family decides to go about feeding.

I guess more power to them, because that sounds to me like the hardest way to possibly feed your baby. Nursing was great (after the learning curve) and pumping just stunk, so if you can pump exclusively you are made of stronger stuff than me.

Articles like this just add to the already booming business of getting women to tap into their inner judge and attacking other women. I, too, had an infant in the NICU and had to pump. Every single woman/new mom has her own story, and her own reasonings, and we would be stronger as a gender if we learned to SUPPORT each other in our decisions of motherhood – whether they are the same as our own or differing, instead of judging (did you hear that La Leche League – I’m talking to you, too!)As moms/women we need to do a better job of supporting each other, not tearing each other down.

Comments My son was born with a cleft palate and was unable to nurse. I pumped 5 X a day for 8 months to provide breast milk for him. The comment that I some how resented my son or was not as closely bonded with him as with my nursed daughter is highly offensive. Any mother who lugs a pump around, pumps in the car and has to clean everything just to give her baby breast milk should be praised, not judged.

What everyone else said. Me? I found pumping to be a freaking PITA and far more inconvenient. I pumped while I was at work, only, to send milk with my child to his babysitter’s, only. (Much, I may add, to my MIL’s dismay. She was a great proponent of this “but you can pump and put it in the bottle and it’ll be SO much more convenient for you!”. I did not find it to be, at all, convenient.

@Mistress_Scoprio – amen to that!

Yeah, signing on to feeling like pumping was way more of a hassle than actually nursing. I pumped for 7.5 months at work (just ditched it a week ago when the baby turned one, hooray!!), and holy cow what a PITA. The washing of the parts and the making sure I had the bottles and the caps and the little cooler bag and dear God enough already. What was awesome was when I would realize I didn’t have clean pump parts and have to do it in the morning, usually when I was already late.

But more power to these women if this is how they choose to feed their kids. Mistress_Scorpio kind of summed it up for me above. And PlumbLucky, though I sympathize that you’ve had to live through them, I really never tire of hearing your in-law stories. :-)

@PlumbLucky: I think I gave the mad props to your excellent hubby for the support in similar thread once and let me just reiterate… he rocks. As for me, I pumped mostly out of irrational fear that my milk supply was low. As my LC friend put it, if the baby has a regular output, then he’s getting a regular input. Once I let that little business go, I gave up the pump. However, I’m looking forward to pumping when I pop out this next one… I want to make cheese!

I exclusively pumped (for nine months). It was the way to get breastmilk into my baby. Certainly I would have preferred nursing but we had lots of issues (prematurity, tongue tie, supply issues among them).

I knew a lot of mothers (online and in real life) who EP’d and not a single one did it as their first choice. We all had problems on our end or the baby’s or both. It’s a big hassle so I think it’s strange to want to do it as a first choice, but it certainly makes no difference to me how people feed their babies, as long as they do it!

Exclusively pumping is just as much breastfeeding as nursing. Just with accessories and usually some heartache story behind it.

I don’t know. Sure, people can do whatever works for them. Formula feed for all I care. But, philosophically, I think this does a disservice to women, overall. Choosing not to breastfeed because “you don’t like the way it feels, you don’t want to be tied down or you just don’t want to…” and pumping instead is kind of like choosing to get around in a wheelchair because you don’t like walking and find it to inconvenient. It’s wonderful that there are wheelchairs (pumps) for people who really cannot walk, but wouldn’t you find it ridiculous for someone to choose to use one when they were perfectly capable of walking? Unfortunately this kind of madness is a direct result of a society that doesn’t value motherhood. People just don’t understand breastfeeding. Yesterday I overheard a mother telling a WIC nutritionist at a local health center “I’m mostly going to breastfeed at night and bottle feed during the day, because I’m going back to work” and the WIC worker just says “thats Ok” and doesn’t even tell the mother about the benefits of breastfeeding as long possible or that her milk would dry up soon from just nursing at night. It was rather pitiful.

“Articles like this just add to the already booming business of getting women to tap into their inner judge and attacking other women.” I totally agree with Feathermama’s statement. I have to pump because of various complications and my baby nursing inefficiently and then outright refusing the breast in spite of numerous visits to the lactation consultant. It is a huge pain in the rear to me. But, my point of view is not everybody’s point of view. If some mothers really feel it is more convenient or feels more comfortable than breastfeeding, more power to them. I wish I felt that way too instead of hating the pump. Furthermore, I would not judge somebody in my position to give up exclusive pumping for formula because it was just such a hassle. I honestly don’t see why mommy culture has become so judgmental these days. There are many diverse ways of parenting that can all lead to happy, healthy children.

@Byond72 – “Yesterday I overheard a mother telling a WIC nutritionist at a local health center “I’m mostly going to breastfeed at night and bottle feed during the day, because I’m going back to work” and the WIC worker just says “thats Ok” and doesn’t even tell the mother about the benefits of breastfeeding as long possible or that her milk would dry up soon from just nursing at night. It was rather pitiful.”

Did you think that maybe this mother has a job where she does not have a place where she can pump? There are lots of jobs (particularly the lower-paying ones, unfortunately) where women don’t have a physical place to pump. Was this mom supposed to not go back to work just so she could continue exclusive breastfeeding?

I found your post rather puzzling. (Equating walking to breastfeeding? Maybe I just didn’t understand what you meant.) I think the real disservice to women is when we assume we are all the same. (In the same situations, wanting the same things, etc.)

I worked with lactation consultants and was never able to get my daughter to nurse in a way that was not incredibly painful for me. I dreaded her waking up because I knew she would want to eat and I couldn’t stand the pain anymore. Does that sound like a good bonding situation? I was hopeful that I would have better success with my son but it was the same. I was so relieved when I started pumping. They both got breastmilk for months and I was able to enjoy being with them. For me it came down to a choice between formula and pumping and I thought pumping would be better for the baby. I am glad to see more discussion of exclusive pumping. I couldn’t find any mention of it when I was doing it.

When exclusive pumping is a choice, so be it. Breastmilk still has great benefits and moms who do this for the long term are champs!
On the other hand, statistically speaking, babies getting just pumped milk from a bottle, end up getting breastmilk for a shorter period of time. There is no question is it double the work: pump AND feed.
My sadness is hearing moms say they are pumping because they didn’t get a good start at breastfeeding, almost as if that choice had been taken away from them. What moms need to know is that if they want to get the baby back to the breast (after a stay in the NICU for instance), it is very possible in most cases. There are lactation consultants in community practice who can help with this transition.
suep http://www.bosombuddies.com

I love breastfeeding my 3-month-old, and I’m very lucky that she 1) latched beautifully right from the start and 2) I’m a freelancer and work at home most of the time, so I don’t have to worry about pumping that often. But I really have to take issue with the statement quoted in the original post, about vision and palate formation: my mother breastfed me, and I had a set of palate and other structural issues that caused me to have years of orthodontia, and I’m also extremely nearsighted in one eye and needed vision training as a kid. And I had severe recurring ear infections until I was a teenager. So, I really think some of these benefits are overstated. Is it really necessary to make such huge generalizations in order to promote breastfeeding? Can’t we just accept that it’s good, without making people who can’t, for whatever reason, fear that their childrens’ health issues are their fault?

I guess I’m the odd one out, but I *prefer* to feed my son with pumped milk. For me, it’s allowed me to bond much better with him as by day 12, I was becoming resentful and depressed. My baby has an extremely strong suck, and breastfeeding every few hours was painful, not to mention the lack of sleep, and the complete lack of freedom. Pumping allowed me to enjoy snuggling up with my son and feeding him, and allowed my husband to do the same. It also allowed us to take turns feeding so we each got at least 4 hours of sleep, which has kept us much healthier and happier. I continued to do some feedings at the breast so my son can easily go between breast and bottle, but generally I prefer to pump and bottle feed him. I don’t find it that inconvenient as I only have to pump 3 times a day and that is way less time consuming than breastfeeding 7 times a day. I’m always amazed by mothers who breastfeed for such long periods as I personally would so feel trapped. I like my personal space and I do not appreciate having my body being controlled by someone else. Pregnancy was long enough for sharing my body and now I have the freedom to choose when I want to share it. In the end, pumping and bottle feeding is the healthiest way for our family.

i have been exclusively pumping and my daughter is 3 months old. I found nursing to be way too painful, I was crying every time I had to nurse it was awful . She had a very small mouth and it was very difficult to get her to latch. I basically had 2 options..I give up and give her formula or I pump and feed her with a bottle, I honestly never knew that anyone exclusively pumped when I decided to do it. I felt it was best for me and her. Even though it isnt the most convenient way to feed my daughter , I basically put my needs aside and decided to do what I feel is best for my daughter. Everyone has the right to decide what is best for their child. And yes it does become a pain in the butt..but its working for us. And I think more people should be supportive in breastfeeding in general..nursing or pumping.

Wow… Really? My son and daughter are somehow less nourished because I exclusively pumped for them and they were bottle fed my breastmilk?? This article basically said either formula feed your kids or physically breastfeed them, pumping is somehow evil and wrong to do to your children.
I for one, found it wonderful that my husband was able to feed our babies. He felt proud that he could share that responsibility with me, and he was even more proud that it wad my liquid gold. My mother, sister and grandmother were also big helps when I needed a break or a babysitter. My babies were used to bottles, it was never a big deal. Kudos to Mom’s who can breastfeed for a year or longer.
But back off us Mom’s who exclusively pump, we shouldn’t need to apologize for it or feel bad. Maybe it was a medical/lactation reason or maybe physically breastfeeding wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and we were miserable doing it. Who cares!?!?! The end result is, they all got breastmilk.

I pumped during the workday for 9 months (until my DD was 1 year) and nurse the rest of the time. For me, nurisng is about, oh, a trillion times easier. I hated having to wash parts, making sure the pump was charged (also hated finding an outlet when it crapped out mid-pump), making sure I keep the milk cold enough, etc. I’m so glad that my supply is strong enough to keep nursing without pumping during the day now.

Kudos to those who are willing and able to pump exclusively because they can’t nurse or never get their baby to latch so it doesn’t hurt. And it sounds healthier than formula . . . but I don’t relate to actively wanting to pump.