This is a hard web page to work on, for two reasons. First because the subject matter is so tragic, and second, because some people are so confused about the relationship between breastfeeding and child abuse.
    There are two major parts to this page. The first part points out that breastfed children are less likely to be abused and speculates on the reasons. The second part discusses what to do if you are blamed to be a child abuser because you breastfeed your child when she or he is too old for someone's taste (ridiculous as it is, this has happened to some people).

Breastfed babies are less likely to be abused.

• Research shows that breastfed babies are considerably less likely to be abused than bottle-fed ones. Why can this be?
• There are many confounding factors here.
  • The most obvious that in this bottle-feeding culture, it takes a devoted mother to find out about the benefits of breastfeeding and a courageous one to choose to breastfeed her baby. It is likely that such a mother's child will be less likely to be abused even if she ends up not breastfeeding for reasons outside her control.
  • Other confounding factors are the obvious ones that come into many sorts of sociological research: the mother's level of education, income, etc.
  • Researchers try to control for all these factors. However, in this case the first confounding factor is rather difficult to control for. Therefore, we might want to treat the conclusions as suggestive but not necessarily conclusive.
• With these caveats, let's look at some possible reasons why breastfed babies are less likely to be abused.
• Independent research has shown that babies who cry more are more likely to be abused.
  • Breastfed babies on average cry about half as much as bottle-fed ones.
  • This is partly because they can be fed whenever they are hungry. They don't need to wait for formula to be mixed and bottles to be warmed up.
  • Another reason is that bottle-fed babies are in gastric distress much of the time (because formula is much harder to digest than breastmilk, and also because breastmilk--but not formula--contains bifidus factors that encourage beneficial bacteria that aid digestion to thrive in the guts).
  • Yet another reason is that the mother's breast is a much better pacifier than an artificial plastic teat. Many a breastfed child never has a single temper tantrum. Even those that do cry a lot less than a bottle-fed or pacifier-soothed one.
  • So, breastfeeding reduces the chances that a baby will be abused by making the baby cry less.
• Other research has shown that parents who are deprived of sleep are more likely to abuse their babies.
  • It is a common misconception that bottle-feeding lets you sleep longer (because formula takes longer to digest, the baby won't be hungry for about four hours, as opposed to breastfed babies, who will usually be hungry in two to three hours after being fed).
  • In reality, breastfed babies' parents tend to sleep much better, if less.
  • This is especially true if you sleep with your baby, or at least have the baby in your room.
  • Why is that so?
  • First, because a breastfed baby can eat as soon as she or he is hungry.
  • If you have the baby in your bed, that means before the baby even starts to cry.
  • A bottle-fed baby has to wait for formula to be prepared and warmed (state-of-the-art formula cooler/warmer devices boast that they warm up a bottle in a couple of minutes. That hardly measures up to the mother's breast, which can deliver milk at the right temperature in a couple of seconds!).
  • By the time the bottle is ready, the baby is likely to be really agitated and crying, and will take some time to calm down.
  • By that time, everyone at home is awake and geared up. They might take a good while to wind down and go to sleep again.
  • If you breastfeed a baby in your bed, then nobody except for the mother needs to wake up to feed the baby.
  • Since fathers are the likeliest child abusers, this immediately decreases the chances that a baby will be abused by a sleep-deprived, therefore cranky, father.
  • Even the mother does not need to wake up fully to nurse her baby. Furthermore, the hormones produced during nursing have a relaxing effect, and the mother will probably end up sleeping even better when she nurses her baby.
• Finally, there is a rather sad reason why breastfeeding helps.
  • A breastfed baby (especially if fed on demand) tends to spend more time with her or his mother than a bottle-fed one. Since the father is the likeliest abuser, just keeping the baby away from the father decreases the chances that she or he will be abused.
  • A breastfeeding mother is less likely to abuse her baby as well, thanks to the hormones produced during nursing, which cause the mother to feel protective, warm, and "motherly" (prolactin is often called "the mothering hormone"; this is the same hormone that relaxes you and helps you sleep better).

What to do if you are accused of child abuse because you breastfeed? back to the top

• Believe it or not, some mothers have been accused of abusing their children because they continued breastfeeding a child that was too old for someone's taste. A few unfortunate ones have even temporarily lost custody of their baby for this reason.
• What should you do if this happens?
• First, it would help to educate your accusers (and perhaps yourself) about the benefits of extended breastfeeding. See the pages on breastfeeding a toddler and a young child. Also educate yourself about the normal feelings of sexual arousal you might experience during nursing (but keep this from your accusers). See the page on uterine contractions for some information on this topic.
• Second, don't bring in any extraneous issues.
  • Some mothers who have been accused in this way have made a simple but grave mistake:
  • They told their accusers about other unusual practices in their interaction with the children (for example, co-family sleeping, nudism, lack of toilet training, etc.). They said that they would understand if they had been accused of neglect or even abuse for those things they did, but not for breastfeeding.
  • You can see why this would not help. You don't want to give these people any more reason to blame you.
  • So, remember: don't tell them anything else about your parenting! Just get them to understand that extended breastfeeding is known to be good for a baby, and that's why you're doing it.
• Most importantly, contact La Leche League to get legal advice.
• Finally, don't forget: you are right and they are wrong. Extended breastfeeding is good for a child, both physiologically and psychologically. Hopefully, as more and more people choose to do what's best for their babies, the public will also become more aware of the benefits of extended breastfeeding, and this ridiculous worry will disappear.

Back to the breastfeeding page.