Should You Breastfeed Or Formula Feed

Breastfeeding and Formula
Today, breastfeeding is being encouraged over baby formula feeding because of the many advantages for both mother and child. For the child, it gets all the nutrients it needs from breast milk, plus the mother’s anti bodies, which will help the child develop resistance to certain viral and bacterial infections. Breastfeeding also helps in developing physical and emotional bond between mother and child, since there is constant physical contact, and the baby feels secure in its mother’s arms. For the mother, breastfeeding is more convenient and is more practical because there is no need for milk bottles, no need to wash and sterilize bottles, and there is no need to get up at the middle of the night to prepare a bottle of milk. Breastfeeding also does not cause too much burping on infants.
However, there are times when breastfeeding is no longer possible, for reasons such as the following:
- The mother needs to take medication because of an illness or a deficiency in certain nutrients
- The mother’s breast does not produce enough milk
- The baby is not able to suckle on his mother’s breast because of some birth defect
- The mother eats foods that causes an allergic reaction to the baby
- The baby is not the biological child of the mother, in cases of adoption
- The baby is being solely cared for by his father, or by a guardian
- The mother has to go to work on a full time basis
Other concerns such as personal or religious beliefs may also hinder a mother to breastfeed.
In these cases, baby formula feeding can be a substitute to make sure that the baby still gets the nutrients he needs to maintain a healthy body. There are a lot of choices for formula feeding, and there are special infant formulas that address certain peculiar health concerns such as babies with sensitive digestive systems, where they cannot digest ordinary milk formula. There are also baby formulas that are fortified with certain vitamins and minerals that are helpful in the physical development of the baby.
Before proceeding to using baby formula, parents should consult the baby’s pediatrician to make sure that their baby formula feeding is done right. Milk labels already have instructions on how frequent the baby should be fed, and the amount of powdered formula to add to a given amount of water.
When changing milk formula brands, this should be done slowly, and it should not be a sudden change, because the baby might not like the taste of the new brand. It is advisable to first adjust the measurement, for example, for the first week, four scoops of formula can be divided into a ratio of three is to one (three scoops old brand and one scoop new brand), and the new brand can be increased until the baby has gotten used to the new brand.
Baby formula feeding is not a hindrance to achieving a healthy mother and child bond. When bottle feeding, the baby should still be held in a way that it is still close to the mother’s breasts. Breastmilk may be replaced, but the mother is irreplaceable.