Why Make Formula-Feeding a First Choice?
Today’s society sets up a woman to feel as though anything created on the market is good enough for her baby. As long as the commercial and advertisements make a few good points, it’s good enough for them. So a can of formula has lipase which is also found in breastmilk – does this automatically make it equivalent to the natural goodness of human milk, just because it happens to have one ingredient of the same?
Women are too easily fooled by marketers these days. Not to say that women are stupid or incompetent at making their own decisions. It doesn’t help when a doctor also enforces a woman to use formula over breastmilk. Of course at that point many new mothers feel that “doctor knows best” so it’s okay to go along with his suggestion.
The sad thing is that many doctors aren’t educated enough on breast-feeding, or really just don’t care for it. They are trained to be technologically driven, always being updated on what is new in the world of medicine. Formula companies are always stopping by their offices to introduce their “great new products,” giving them the same spiel that your doctor will probably be giving you at your visit. Not to say that all doctors are pro formula-feeding. There are still plenty of great pediatricians out there who enforce a mother to breast-fed, knowing how wonderful it is and how every baby should get a chance to at least obtain a little breastmilk.
To compare, formula is expensive, messy, and very time-consuming. Think of all those bottles in the long run that you would have to clean, disinfect and worry about. Breast-feeding is worrisome free when it comes to cleanliness because you just latch the baby on, get comfortable, and feed your baby. There is also an incredible bond that comes from a mother nursing her young. Just knowing that your body is helping this child to thrive is quite a miracle in itself. Just as your body was able to provide everything for your young in the womb, breast-feeding creates the same kind of biological connection between you and your child.
Sure breast-feeding can be a hard hurdle at first. Some women have latching problems or just need a little time to get comfortable. Yet most of these problems come from one source – bottle-feeding. If the baby is given a bottle too early on in the first few weeks, the breast-feeding relationship can be in jeopardy. The fast-flowing nipple of a bottle means faster access for a newborn, causing them to want to suck the whole thing down at once. Rather than taking the time to nurse for their milk from the breast and get it in the small amounts that their body needs, the baby is in fact overeating, causing obesity from early on. It is those fast-flowing nipples that can cause “nipple preference,” causing the baby to not want to go back onto the breast. The baby will then latch on uncomfortably, causing the mother pain, making her nurse less, and therefore losing her milk supply. It is important in any breast-feeding relationship to hold off on any bottle-feeding for at least the first two weeks, four weeks being your best bet. It is also important to obtain help from a lactation consultant if you are in any kind of pain or feel as though you aren’t creating enough milk.
Some women claim that breast-fed babies nurse more often, where bottle-fed babies feed much less. The reason why a formula-fed infant may feed less is because of the large enzymes in the formula that sit in the baby’s gut. Formula is very hard on a young baby’s system to digest which is why feedings may space out. This may seem like a convenient thing to do – to fill your baby up and have more time for yourself, but you must think of it as feeding your baby fruits and vegetables which digest more easily, or filling your baby up on desserts like cake and cookies. Sure your baby will thrive on the cakes and cookies, but wouldn’t you prefer to offer your baby the best?
Other women say that formula-feeding is for them because they just don’t have the time to nurse. Maybe they are returning back to work soon, or maybe they just want to give their husband or a grandparent the opportunity to bond with the new baby as well. Breast pumps are awesome for circumstances like this. I highly suggest the Avent ISIS for a hand pump, or check out www.Medela.com for their electric breast pumps if you will be pumping more often. It is very easy and painless to pump some milk for later, only take a few minutes of your time and then the milk can last up to a few days stores in the fridge, or up to several months stored in the freezer. Besides feeding there are other great ways for someone else to bond with your baby. Daddy can be in charge of bath time for one, or grandma can take the baby after a feeding to burp and then give mom a little break.
Formula just doesn’t contain all of the wonderful benefits of breast-feeding. Breastmilk contains immunities, providing antibodies which protect the baby from many common respiratory and intestinal diseases. Colostrum, the substance provided before a mother’s milk comes in, is loaded with these wonderful immunities. Breast-fed babies are also statistically able to respond to vaccinations easier. Artificially fed babies have higher rates of middle ear infections, pneumonia, and gastroenteritis (stomach flu). The milk also helps to prevent an infant from developing immune system cancers – lymphoma, bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and celiac sprue, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, all of which are related to immune system function. All of these benefits start right away in the breast-feeding relationship and continue to strengthen during the duration of a breast-feeding relationship.
Lactoferrin found in breastmilk helps to provide for optimal iron absorption while also protecting the gut from harmful bacteria. Most formulas market themselves as providing essential iron, yet the iron found in formula is very poorly absorbed compared to the iron found in breastmilk. The mother’s milk grows and changes as the baby grows, becoming a different consistency to suit the needs differently of your newborn compared to your six month old.
In addition to health benefits, the act of breast-feeding is also said to provide optimal oral health. The act of sucking strengthens the babies mouth and jaw, causing a less risk of malocclusion. Bottle-fed infants have a higher risk of tooth decay where the formula pools into their mouth and sits on their teeth. The close contact between a mother and baby calls for a close emotional attachment, making the child feel more secure, and therefore creating him to be more healthy and happy. Even in cases where mother’s can’t provide the optimal amount of milk or where a child is adopted a mother can still nurse using a S.N.S. supplemental system.
Not only is breast-feeding wonderful for a baby but it is great for mothers, too. It means less chances of getting breast, cervical, or ovarian cancer. It also helps to contract a woman’s uterus shortly after giving birth, helping her to rid of any left over waste and also helping her to lose weight faster. Rates of postpartum depression are also much lower with breast-feeding mothers. This could possibly be from the “feel good” high breast-feeding provides, creating a very strong feeling of attachment between a mother and her baby from the beginning.
Breast-feeding is not only great for mother and baby but also for the environment. Waste of rubber nipples, plastic bottles and formula cans is plentiful. Breast-feeding only requires you and your baby (and maybe a pillow for support) and that is it! Even in situations where there have been toxic spills or exposure to hazardous levels breast-feeding has continued to provide the best for babies without any negative effects.
When a mother is choosing to formula-fed over breast-feeding, she is only hindering herself from having the best relationship possible with her young. Breast-feeding is convenient, easy and wonderful for both baby and mother. When an artificial substance is given over breastmilk, the mother is only restricting her child from receiving disease-fighting properties, while also potentially affecting her own health in negative ways. Artificial feeding in the long run may call for higher medical costs and also negatively affects our environment. With the right support a women can thrive in a breast-feeding relationship, making for a wonderful future for all that are involved.
