Breast Milk vs Formula Feeding
What's Best for My Baby?
Advantages Of Breast Milk for the Neonate
Breast milk is a food that cannot be replaced by anything else for your child. It is high in nutrients and vitamins that cannot be duplicated by formula. Children who are breast fed are more resistant to diseases and infection then children who were not breastfed. Later in their lives, these breastfed children will be much more resistant to juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and even cancer before the age fifteen. In fact, the first milk that a mother produces (called colostrum) is known as 'liquid gold' because it is yellow in color and rich in nutrients for the child.
Advantages of Breastfeeding for Mother
Not only is breastfeeding very beneficial to the baby, but it is also helpful to the mother who is breastfeeding as well. To begin with, breast milk is completely free, it is produced naturally by the mother. Also, the physical act of breastfeeding is a great time to bond with your child. A mother who breastfeeds is less likely to develop osteoporosis later in life and is more likely to loose any fat gained by pregnancy quicker. Mothers who breastfeed also have a lower risk of contracting breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer.
Formula Feeding vs. Breastfeeding | Baby Development
Advantages of Formula Feeding
Many mothers are biologically unable to produce breast milk, in this situation, formula feeding would be the alternative option. Although it's expensive, formula feeding allows the mother to know exactly how much formula the baby needs in order too grow properly based on their stomach size. Formula feeding is also much more convenient in the sense that it can be done anytime, anywhere. It is not socially acceptable to breastfeed in public in many areas so formula feeding is much more convenient. Also, in the event of an adoptive family, the mother or father who adopted the child cannot produce breast milk. However, many mothers who can produce breast milk choose not to because of the initial pain by when one begins breastfeeding.
So What's so Bad about the Bottle?
Formula feeding is quite expensive, up to $115 for 21.5 ounces, and it still does not have all the spectacular vitamins for the baby that breast milk does. Also, bottle feeding does not provided the mother and baby with the skin to skin contact crucial for bonding. However, some parents simply cannot or don't want to breastfeed and the child still may be perfectly heathy. So, whichever way you decide, make sure your neonate is being fed often and given the right amount of nutrients they need.
Sources
- "Issues: Health." Benefits of Breastfeeding. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
- The Breastfed Baby. N.d. N.p.
- "Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Joseph. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Feb. 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2016.
- Infants Maximum Stomach Capacity. N.d. Web.
- Why to Breastfeed. N.d. N.p.
- Why Some Mothers Choose Formula over Breast Milk. N.d. N.p.
- Howcast. "Formula Feeding vs. Breastfeeding | Baby Development." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2016.