Bottle Propping —. Do parents not realize a baby can choke using this feeding method?

[TXRunner]

What are the statistics of death by bottle propping? From my experience, a nipple will not just allow milk to drain out, you actually have to suck on it, and typically babies will stop sucking when they are full. In a world of over 7 billion people, you can find a death by every imaginable cause, so anecdotal stories don’t really tell you if something is inherently dangerous. Whether you lay a baby on its back or front has changed a couple times during my lifetime. You have to look at statistics.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by HappyFarm34

Makes me cringe with worry and concern for the baby every time I see this happening. I worked in a daycare temporarily after high school and was told that bottle propping is dangerous as the baby can choke. Babies were always held while being fed.

So since then, for the life of me, I could never understand why parents resort using this method. I have even seen relatives of the baby doing the same thing as well. Once I was visiting a friend, and instead of holding her 2 month old grandson to feed the baby, my friend held the bottle to his mouth as he was laying on the floor while she sat next to him. She didn’t even bother picking him up and burping afterwards. I just thought it was very odd that she was so “hands off” about holding the baby and bonding with him.


Edited to add.... This was way before the U.S. pandemic.

This is so sad on many levels. Yes, aspiration is a real problem. I breast fed.
Holding your child while feeding then is one of the most special experiences of parenting.

I remember seeing a "bottle proper" during the 1960s as a young child. and asking my mother what they were. She explained and added "They are dangerous". For some reason, that stuck with me all of these years.

I am shocked that this is still a practice.

Babies in orphanages are fed this way. Reactive attachment disorder in a very real problem.

At the risk of sounding judgmental, I also think it;s sad that strangers are feeding the baby. I did not return to work until my children were 1 year old.
And even then, I chose my working hours around my children - not the other way around.

BTW, your friend sounds like an odd grandmother. Very detached.

[Size18]

Originally Posted by HappyFarm34

Makes me cringe with worry and concern for the baby every time I see this happening. I worked in a daycare temporarily after high school and was told that bottle propping is dangerous as the baby can choke. Babies were always held while being fed.

So since then, for the life of me, I could never understand why parents resort using this method. I have even seen relatives of the baby doing the same thing as well. Once I was visiting a friend, and instead of holding her 2 month old grandson to feed the baby, my friend held the bottle to his mouth as he was laying on the floor while she sat next to him. She didn’t even bother picking him up and burping afterwards. I just thought it was very odd that she was so “hands off” about holding the baby and bonding with him.


Edited to add.... This was way before the U.S. pandemic.

I grew up in the 60's, and bottle propping was standard practice back in those days, and having baby siblings in the home, my mom propped with us all, and when I started babysitting in the early 70's, I propped many-a baby's bottle.


Also propped my own children's bottles on occasion, and firmly believe bottle propping has a time and place.