PA
Yet again the knives are out for mums who choose to bottle feed - now it's being declared they are less protective of their babies than mums who breastfeed!
A study by the University of California found that nursing mums were almost twice as aggressive as bottle feeders, and behaved like 'mama bears' to protect their babies when they felt threatened.
They were also found to have lower blood pressure than bottle feeding mums when they were angry, which researchers claim could make them naturally braver and therefore more protective.
The author of the study, Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook commented on her findings: 'Breastfeeding mothers aren't going to get into bar fights, but if someone is threatening them or their infant, they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner.'
The study looked at three groups of women - 18 nursing mothers, 17 women who used formula milk and 20 non-mums – and had them compete tasks against an overtly rude researcher posing as one of them. The results concluded the nursing women were almost twice as aggressive as the formula feeding mums.
A ridiculous piece of research, or is there some truth in it?
Were you more aggressive when breastfeeding? If so, could this have been down to engorged boobs, bitten nipples and constant leaking, rather than the 'mama bear' notion the researchers suggest?