Good Morning Britain in mum-shaming squabble after breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding debate

A furious debate about “mum-shaming” has erupted after a mother of four insisted breastfeeding is a better option than bottle-feeding a newborn.

Broadcaster Clare Muldon appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday to discuss a new study that suggested longer breastfeeding could help children perform better in their exams.

She stressed that breastfeeding is a public health issue and that new parents need “more education” on childcare.

However, journalist Ella Whelan also appeared on the show and said that some women just “don’t want to breastfeed,” while others struggle with it for various health reasons.

Many quickly took to social media to voice their opinions on the debate, with one person writing, “Breastfeeding is free only if the time, effort and energy of the person doing it is considered worthless.

“Breastfeeding is *work*, it also requires a minimum of 500 calories a day and food is NOT FREE.”

Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls, Clare explained that encouraging mothers to breastfeed “isn’t about shaming.”

She explained that she breastfed her four children, who are now between the ages of 19 and 25, for six months.

“We didn’t have the training then.

“We didn’t know how much better breast milk is for your child, I think that’s very sad, it’s a public health problem.

“It’s free, it’s sterile, it’s the right temperature, you don’t have to mess around in the middle of the night at any point.”

However, Ella argued that breastfeeding is not free because women have to skip work in order to do it.

“There’s enough evidence to say that breasts are best,” she added.

“Most women like me cry in the middle of the night [in order to breastfeed].

“After those first few weeks, there isn’t enough evidence to show that switching to bottle feeding is bad.”

After the clip was shared on Twitter, many social media users were outraged.

“Breast has already been proven to be best, especially colostrum. But not everyone can. Health problems and medications can make it unsafe. Sick of formula being maligned. It shouldn’t be breast versus bottle feeding, it should support whatever works. Formula shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive,” one wrote.

“You don’t “fumble around in the middle of the night” when you’re bottle-feeding. You don’t just make a bottle – it’s ready-made and in the fridge and you warm it up a bit. Drop the ‘it’s free’ chat… more support is also needed for babies and formula-fed mothers,” added another.

“No one tells you how painful it is in the beginning. No one showed me how to do it right and then I started having damage and bleeding and had to switch to bottles and mix feed for a while. Breastfeeding doesn’t just happen. Women need help,” noted a third.

“I tweeted about this and right now a fellow mom is telling me that breasts are the best, and people give up too quickly. I’m so happy for those who don’t struggle, but some of us did, and it wasn’t out of laziness,” said another.

“There may be medical reasons why a mother cannot breastfeed. All my children were bottle fed and they are growing up well. I refuse to feel guilty about bottle feeding. Plus, my babies were bottomless pits, mother’s milk didn’t fill them enough,” another wrote.

“Mothers should do what is best for them and their baby and not be pressured to do anything else. I also think that more attention should be paid to mothers who breastfeed in public. Honestly, attitudes were better 30 or 40 years ago than they are today,” one wrote.

“Are we still doing this thing where we shame mothers who don’t breastfeed? I thought since it was the 21st century we had gone a bit further? Just for the record, I am a father of two boys who were both not breastfed. They are definitely doing well,” added one.

It comes on the heels of a study from the University of Oxford that found that breastfeeding longer could help children take better exams.

Children who were breastfed for at least a year were 38 percent more likely to get a high score – the equivalent of an A or A* – in their English GCSE exam, compared to children who were not breastfed, it found from a study.

These kids were 39 percent more likely to get the same highest grade in their final math exam.

Breast milk contains important polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are believed to stimulate brain development.

The study, which involved nearly 5,000 children in England, found that those who were breastfed for at least four months were about 12 percent more likely than children who were not breastfed to pass at least five GCSEs, including English and maths , with the equivalent of a low B or a high C grade.

Some previous studies suggesting that children who are breastfed longer are more intelligent have drawn criticism.

This is because they failed to account for the fact that children who are breastfed for longer tend to have better educated and affluent mothers whose children may do better in school because of these benefits.

But the new research found a link between exam results and breastfeeding, even when taking into account parents’ socioeconomic position, based on their job and education level.

It also took into account mothers’ intelligence, which was tested by giving women a 20-word vocabulary test.

However, the researchers note that the difference in exam results associated with whether teens are breastfed is “modest,” and they didn’t look directly at other factors, including children’s family wealth, that could make a further difference to their performance in school.