Poll: Breastfed/Bottlefed and OSA - Please vote ...

[preemiern]

I quit feeding my breasts along time ago...they are too darn big as it is!!!

But all joking aside...I too am a huge proponent of breastfeeding and am a lactation support person in the NICU where I work. You have brought up an interesting question, Deb, that I had never thought of. thanks for presenting the idea...
Cindy

[debtheveg]

Hi Cindy,

It is an interesting thought isn't it? Apparently the tongue and mouth have a very different action when breastfeeding as opposed to bottle-feeding and it seems to make sense that in those early months when there's a lot of growth, that the jaw and palate could all form quite differently if bottle-fed.

It may not be the cause of OSA in some people, but there again it may be part of the puzzle for many, who knows?

By the way, cute baby!

Deb

[OldLincoln]

But were you breast or bottlefed Old Lincoln???

Don't know for sure, but I probably was breastfed because that's what they did in those days. WWII was going strong and a lot of things were rationed.

BTW, my son was breastfed until my wife got an embolism and the doctor made her stop cold turkey. I think he was about 3 or 4 months old and continued on formula. Because he had a milk allergy he was raised on soy milk. He has OSA.

[Kiralynx]

I was breast-fed. But still ended up with orthodontia to correct an overbite. I also had four teeth removed to free up space in a small crowded jaw.

One thing I have learned in my research on digestive issues and the relationship of breast-feeding to those is something every mom who ever ate, say, raw onion, and then had to deal with their baby's colic knows about: what the mother eats affects the child.

On the SCD lists, if a child is having digestive issues, and is still breast-feeding, the mom has to go on the diet as well.

[tillymarigold]

I was bottle-fed because I was born premature and was transferred to a different hospital from where my mother was staying.

I had a severe overbite as a child, and the first time I remember complaining of apnea symptoms was when I was 11.

[debtheveg]

Hi all,

Funny how there have been many more females post replies to this than males. Everyone gets fed as babies, one way or the other. I might try and add a 'don't know' to the poll question.

Deb

[Wulfman]

Hi all,

Funny how there have been many more females post replies to this than males. Everyone gets fed as babies, one way or the other. I might try and add a 'don't know' to the poll question.

Deb

OK.....I'll add another "Male" vote here. No breast-feeding in our family in the late 40's and early 50's (I'm the oldest of three).
Besides, we lived on a farm and had milk cows.

Den

[debtheveg]

Hi again,

For those that may be interested, I've done a little research and there definitely appears to be a connection in the way you are fed as a baby and the chance of developing OSA.

I'm not sure how to get the links up here, but if you google 'sleep apnea breastfeeding' there are numerous sites there showing the palate can definitely form in a detrimental way if bottle-fed, or long-term thumbsucking.

Hence the increase in diagnosis of us baby-boomers, born during a time when breastfeeding wasn't encouraged.

Deb

[roster]

Very interesting Deb. This might explain (at least partially) the increase in sleep apnea (if there is such an increase) in the general population. I look forward to reading some of the links when I get a chance.

Reward yourself with a beef steak for making a good find.

[BeanMeScot]

I was breastfed and although I have OSA, it is only clinically an issue when I am in REM and I don't apnea episodes so much as hypopnea.

[Nodzy]

Hmmm... I was breastfed mostly, with bottles used when traveling due to social stigmas during those times. Overall, about 90/10. Interesting, this topic is - and I've always been a proponent of natural feeding of infants, the mother's body and health permitting... of course. I'll be watching this thread.

Nodzy

[debtheveg]

Rooster,

I forgot I meant to reply to your 'beef steak' comment. Am I the first vegetarian you've been acquainted with? You seem a little obsessed about it.

We really aren't so rare. I've bred four of them and my spouse is semi-converted.

So, when I feel the need to 'reward' myself, I usually have a bit of chocolate, which has added to my weight problems, which probably contributes to my OSA which makes me depressed and I usually have a bit of chocolate .........

Such is life,

Deb

[DreamStalker]

Rooster,

I forgot I meant to reply to your 'beef steak' comment. Am I the first vegetarian you've been acquainted with? You seem a little obsessed about it.

We really aren't so rare. I've bred four of them and my spouse is semi-converted.

So, when I feel the need to 'reward' myself, I usually have a bit of chocolate, which has added to my weight problems, which probably contributes to my OSA which makes me depressed and I usually have a bit of chocolate .........

Such is life,

Deb

Using chocolate for both positive reinforcement rewards and as a crutch for depression for life's ups-and-downs is a Pavlovic road to obesity . I guess that is better than using chocolate ice cream though

Listen to Rooster and have a beef steak and maybe a side of chicken too

[roster]

My wife and I ate mostly vegetarian meals at home for years and really enjoyed it. I used to travel to India and very much enjoyed the Gujarati vegetarian cuisine and found two good Indian restaurants locally.

Then in 1996, a doctor explained to me what eating a mostly carbohydrate diet was doing to my insulin levels, i.e., making them fluctuate up and down outside normal range. I did some reading and found out how damaging this is to health.

We needed to balance carbs/fat/protein in our diet so we added lean meats to our meals and felt noticeably better and it was easier to keep our weight down. At breakfast I relied on an isolated soy protein shake for protein and drank a three ounce cup of olive oil for fat. Carbs were from whole grain cereal.

Now the people who keep up with these things tell me soy is not good for one's health. I had a soy shake this week but I now keep it down to no more than one shake per week. Now for breakfast I eat two eggs, three ounces of walnuts and a bran cereal with whole milk. If we fix a meal at home with a very lean meat and little fat, I still will drink a little olive oil to keep the balance.

Maybe you know that osa can contribute to undesired weight gain and insulin irregularities? Too bad that doc in 1996 knew little about osa. He could have saved a lot of damage to my health.

BTW, a soon-to-be-released major study will show that 95% of all cancers are caused by eating chicken.

[debtheveg]

Hi again Rooster,

You seem to know what you're doing and take your diet pretty seriously. What was the problem with your insulin levels? Are you diabetic or were you heading that way?

I've be vegetarian since I was 11 years old when I reaslised what I was eating. I really have been in great health since and the kids have been extremely healthy. Two of them didn't see a doctor from about 9 years old till early 20s.

My only major thing, which was unrelated to being vegie, was about five years ago, when being extremely tired, a doctor filling in for my doctor, sent me for blood tests which showed I was extremely anemic. (Sleep apnea wasn't even mentioned but I now know that was also a contributing factor). Knowing I was veg she of course presumed non-meat eating was the cause and told me to start eating meat! I, of course didn't.

Changed doctors, etc. etc. had an endoscopy and found I had severe esophagitis which means I was bleeding internally, hence the anemia. Wasn't aware I had acid reflux, but now know why. It was happening during sleep because of the OSA, it's all related. I wish the gastroenterologist had known there can be a link between the two, I could have gotten onto the SA problems much sooner.

Anyway, after all this time feeling horrid I had hoped the cpap would be the answer but it wasn't. So I'm hoping the dental thingy will produce miracles. It's still a few weeks till I start that process of fittings etc.

I've never smoked, don't drink, eat healthily (except for the chocolate) .... life shouldn't be this difficult. If only my mother had breastfed me!!!

Deb