What's the worst advice you've ever rec'd re: Breastfeeding?

I am still nursing my 13 month old with no plans to wean anytime soon. Last night my husband took him to the Dr. as it happens, it was not our regular practitioner. This man told my husband that I should wean because there was no longer any benefit to me nursing.

Luckily, I am well informed and educated when it comes to Breastfeeding, so I KNOW there are MANY benefits. I was just soooo surprised by this Dr's comments. It made me wonder what other ppl have heard either from Drs or other ppl.

O I've heard a bunch... you can't breastfeed if you or your baby develop thrush.... or mastitis... or if your baby is jaundiced. I breastfed through thrush and jaundice. My mom and aunt both breastfed through mastitis. Are we just super-human? I think not.
My favorite though, (and by favorite I mean the one that really ticks my off) is when doctors tell you to "supplement" with formula, like formula has stuff in it that breastmilk doesn't. They are just setting the mother up for failure to nurse. I'm so glad I have my midwife that I can call anytime. She is EXTREMELY well-informed, and is constantly keeping up on new research. She actually congratulated me when I told her Teagan sleeps with me! Those are the kind of people who should be in charge of your sons and daughters well being. Not these ignorant doctors!

my favorite is when people say its gross and unnatural, what idiots, of course its natural we are the only country who makes such a big deal about it.

That's crazy that a Dr. would say that to you. I am new mommy, and am breastfeeding my son, who will be 8 weeks on Saturday. I plan to breastfeed for as long as he wants to!

I really haven't received any bad advice, at least not yet, thank goodness. My husband, even though he's in Iraq, has been extremely supportive and has pushed me, even in the first couple weeks when it was really difficult.

Wow! What an ignorant doc! I'm nursing my 2 y.o., but luckily I have a great support network. Plus my entire family are breastfeeders since time immemorial!-)

I did hear "how can you nurse when they have teeth?" once. I cracked up because my daughter had teeth at 4 months. i said "Most mammals are born with teeth, yet they manage to nurse just fine."

My sons first doctor told me to "make him wait a little" between feeds. He was about 10 days old. If I hadn't known better and followed his advice, it could have had a horrible result!

ETA:
So Ang... Every baby should be weaned at 6 months? or is it 12? I would love to see where you have "learned" this... how on earth would milk made for a different specis be better for a child, than milk made SPECIFICALLY for them? Not to mention that cows milk is pasturized and homogenized. Is my milk useless now that my son is 14 months? Oh, wait... he has a dairy allergy, so according to you, my milk is okay for my son? But Calliope's isnt?

Oh, this is a good one... you should look at the question I just posted earlier today about negative attitudes towards extended breastfeeding and you'll be absolutely shocked at the ignorance that abounds about breastfeeding.

My ex-pediatrician (I just switched because of her ignorance regarding breastfeeding) advised me that I HAD to start solids at 6 months because my milk just wasn't good enough the day my daughter turned 6 months old. Unfortunately, I listened to her. My second child, however, didn't start until nearly 8 months (since I did my research a little better the second time around). My ex-pediatrician also told me that my son (second child) NEEDED cow milk at one year of age because of the fat. She said he specifically needed the fat in cow's milk for brain development. After a little research and a LOT of anger and resentment towards her, I switched doctors. If you don't already know, breastfed babies do not need cow's milk. Ludicrus!

Some of the incorrect or even humorous things I've seen online include: you have to wean when the baby gets teeth (haha!), extended breastfeeding is unhealthy and selfish, it is NORMAL for breastfeeding to hurt, and my personal favorite -- you can't take hot showers or your milk will curdle.

I can't wait to see the other answers.... there's just SO MUCH ignorance about breastfeeding out there, even amongst well-meaning people!

By the way, if you haven't already, I highly recommend finding another pediatrician that is more supportive of breastfeeding. I was very hesitant to switch doctors because it's a big hassle, especially when my daughter is already 2 1/2 and my son is 14 months old and we've had the same doctor since my daughter's birth. But the way I looked at it, if you can't trust your doctor to give you good, informed, updated advice about breastfeeding, how can you trust your doctor to give you good, informed, updated advice about anything? You simply don't have time to do the research on every single little issue -- isn't that what your doctor is paid to do? You have another 17 years with this doctor, so find one you can trust! I found one whose wife breastfed his four daughters (including twins) ALL beyond the second year. He's much more well-informed and supportive than my previous pediatricain.

It wasn't my doctor, but I was with my sister in law in the hospital when her doctor told her not to let the baby nurse for more than 10 minutes on each side because it could make her baby fat!!! Is that crazy or what!!?!!

When my daughter was 4 months old, our pediatrician suggested I wean her. She also told me it was ok for my daughter to drink up to 4 oz of juice a day. I was only 21 and while I had read up a bit on breastfeeding, I was no expert and wasn't absolutely confident in my parenting ability. Still, it didn't sound right to me; her advice to wean so early and offer juice went against a lot of the material I had read. So, I found a different doc and breastfed my daughter until she was ready to wean (which, coincidentally, was around 13-14 months).

im not sure about some of the issues regarding breastfeeding but i think mothers who choose not to are just as frowned upon as women who do so past the 6 months.i was quite ill and unable to breast feed but was made to feel like a bad mother because of it. i was advised of the benefits etc that i was "depriving" my baby of.sorry but breast feeding doesnt make a better mother or healthier children. you can spout on about being educated etc that doesnt make you right and everyone else wrong. i felt a failure for a long time because of women who were amazed when i said i bottle fed.my two children are very happy and extremely healthy .at 13 months what possible reason could be justified for having a toddler with its head stuck up your top? im not being rude or nasty just honest. i know now im not the only mum made to feel like this either.everyone has the right to do whats right for them and how they feel. breastfeeding is a very personal thing and unfortunately it doesnt suit everyone.could it be your husband wants you to stop breastfeeding and is using the doctor as an excuse??why didnt the doctor ask you when you last him? sorry but i think you need to go see him yourself.

Ang, While I have no doubt that you are informed, I seriously question your sources and urge you to update the information you are speaking of. please do not misinform anyone else, it would be such a shame.


The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.." * The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend that babies be breastfed for at least two years.

Just as babies do, toddlers receive health benefits from breastfeeding. Your milk continues to provide immunities and vitamins, and can help protect your toddler from illness and allergies. If your toddler does get sick, nursing will help comfort him. In fact, a toddler with an upset stomach may be able to tolerate nothing but human milk.

this isnt advice as such, but every time i see my grandmother she trys to tel me i do not have enough milk because my boobs are not very big. gets very annoying and ive had to have a go at her for it. though i do know in her day if your baby cried alot they said the mother didnt have enough milk and made the mother formula feed.

The last doctor I saw with my son which was longer ago than it should be said that I "HAD TO" night wean at 7 weeks. Umm yeah RIGHT!

Particularly as I was still weaning him from the nipple shield and having other problems. However even in a great nursing relationship I think any sane person would agree that night weaning is irresponsible.

Shortly after this I also realised that because my son has GERD (undiagnosed because I know where that would go) if he went longer than 3 hours without nursing he would spit up stomach acid! Umm not exactly fun. Imagine if I had night weaned him, the pain, the failur to thrive because who would eat after spitting up stomach acid during the night? Well I guess he would have been on all sorts of drugs. NICE. Wonder where she is getting her info from?

Well I am also very well educated on Breastfeeding and that doctor was right. The health benefits to breastfeeding end when the child is about 6 months. You no longer pass anti bodies onto your child (which is one of the reasons for breastfeeding, to protect the child from getting sick) And often the child's nutritional needs after six months surpass what you are able to provide and you can begin to suffer for it. Unless there is a medical reason why you are still breastfeeding (milk allergy) you should really consider stopping.