Re: Mother's milk
Um , so yes, that would mean that there is no hard and fast law that you have to suckle a child for 2 whole years necessarily. Just do what's reasonable.
Re: Mother's milk
You are right PCG... but the ayah suggests that mother should not breast feed for more than two years anyway. The sugession however emphasize for TWO WHOLE YEARS.. so there goes the reference you asked for...
Also in surah At Talaq, there is a mention of finding another woman for breast feeding if mother can not but that context is when there is a divorce between the two at or near the time of birth of the child... (you know foster mother) ...
but as you also mentioned if mother can't, there is no forcing involved... I just gave you the reference you were looking for :-)
Re: Mother's milk
Thanks. :)
I just wanted to clarify there was no hard and fast rule that it has to be for 2 whole years, as the original poster suggested.
Re: Mother's milk
Because some women find it painful, or perhaps the amount that they manage to express isn't enough in which case formula milk is given as well as breast milk. Sometimes it's just more convenient to bottle feed especially if the mother has to return to work. Lots of reasons.
Re: Mother's milk
I breastfed Safia for 2 years due to her allergies and attachment to nursing but not necessarily for religious reasons. I was constantly being pressured to stop nursing and to force a bottle on her. She absolutely refused bottles even of my expressed breastmilk. I didn't know any Muslim women who breastfed for over a year. Many Muslim girls I know who are my age, may have nursed in the beginning but turned to formula later on. Many believed that formula babies are healthier because they're fatter and can drink milk with cereal mixed in the bottle. Some of our people also have the backwards thinking that breastfeeding is for poor, village women and formula is for a more modern Desi woman.
I think it's the convenience and ease of bottle feeding that makes moms give up on breastfeeding. You can leave your child with someone else, especially if you work. But it's also that nursing is so demanding and painful in the beginning. It is hard but it's such a lovely bond. The thing with nursing is that it's a supply and demand system. So if a woman gives both nursing and bottle then eventually her supply will diminish the less she nurses. So she is sabotaging the amount of milk she makes. In this way a mother may say that "I don't have enough milk, that's why I will use only formula."
Re: Mother's milk
Attia, how old r u?....
Re: Mother's milk
well, my first one refused it .....i don't know whyl....???
at that time i was too naive to think about expressing the milk n give it via bottle .....i was under much pressure coz many many ppl thought n said i'm just not tryuing enough! my MIL saw this whole drama going on n said it doesn't matter ....we've tried enough ...so lets try the bottle now!
for the younger two .....i spent months before their birth , praying they do get nursed ....thankfully i was able to nurse the middle one for full two years
for youngest i'm still nursing her (she's 20 months old) ...n now i'm under pressure to give up nursing coz of my own health.....
so basically its a lot easier to talk about how a mother is doing something nonsense ....n quite a different thing to be in the situation n face it!!
no doubt about the health benefits of mother's milk ....but please let the mother decide the actual course of action ....!!being pressurised for something is the last thing anyone likes!
Re: Mother's milk
I think there is one other reason which no one has pointed out. These days babies have changed as well. It is much harder for babies to suck milk out of breast than from a bottle. They go for the easier option, naturally. It is very difficult not to use bottles at all because of the busy lives people have these days.
Re: Mother's milk
Saimanyc made a very good point that noone noticed. The companies that made powdered milk did a huge amount of highly successful marketing to make bottled, powdered milk appear more "sophisticated" , "modern", "healthier" than breastfeeding.
Of course, now we know that formula milk is nowhere near as healthy as natural breast milk. Natural breast milk from a healthy mother has a superior blend of nutrients for a baby. But the damage from those marketing campaigns is still ongoing - people still have the incorrect impression that formula, powdered milk is a 100% substitute for breast milk. This is simply not true at all.
Women are the cows of mankind for a reason... because they are better at it than any baby powder factory in the world.
(Sorry, I couldnn't help but end with a controversial statement like that. Saw it in a comedy show once and I've been itching to use it ever since)
Re: Mother's milk
atural breast milk from a healthy mother has a superior blend of nutrients for a baby
Being a healthy mother is the key here.
Re: Mother's milk
Ok thanks alot guys.. i was just wondering about it and i guess i got my answer :)
cause when i was in pak.. ladies used to talk so much about feeding their babies their own milk but after coming to canada this question was in my mind for a long time.. that is why i asked it :)
Aur ** Partyguy ** iam turning 19 :)
Re: Mother's milk
well you have a long way to go, put your mind in more Constructive way, i am sure a great Future is ahead for you:)
Re: Mother's milk
^ dear i know i have a long way to go.. but that doesnt mean i should not care of think about such topics :)
Re: Mother’s milk
^ its like watching a bimbo go, why do women scream so much during birth, it doesnt look that painful
:halo:
Re: Mother’s milk
Now iam not that dumb 