Breast or Bottle?

Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is one of the first decisions expectant parents will make. It is recommended that babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months and that breastfeeding should continue until 12 months (and beyond) if both the mother and baby are willing.

But breastfeeding (or nursing) may not be possible or preferable for all women. The decision to breastfeed or formula feed your baby should be based on your comfort level with breastfeeding as well as your lifestyle.

Breast milk is the ideal form of nutrition for newborns, but for mothers who are unable to breastfeed or who decide not to, infant formula is a good alternative.

The decision to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is a very personal one. But here are some points you may want to consider as you decide which is best for you and your new addition.

Breastfeeding: The Advantages

• Breast milk is the only food specifically designed, by nature, to meet your baby's individual needs.
  
  
• It contains the right balance of nutrients in a very easily digestible form.
  
  
• Antibodies are passed on through breast milk to protect your baby from all kinds of infection. The longer you can feed your baby the better but if you breastfeed for the first three or four months this protection can last for up to a year.
  
  
• Your baby is much less likely to need to be admitted to hospital.
  
  
• Your baby is less likely to develop diarrhoea or constipation.
  
  
• Breastfeeding reduced the incidence of allergies such as eczema and asthma.
  
  
• Breast milk contains growth factors and hormones to help your baby's development. These cannot be reproduced in formula milk. Children who have breast fed for eight months or more have been shown to achieve more at school than those who have been bottle fed.

Bottle Feeding: The Advantages

• Bottle-fed babies need to be fed less frequently since it is more difficult to digest.

• If you are bottle feeding your baby, you know exactly how much milk your baby has had.

• You do not need to be present each time the baby has to be fed; some other family member or friend can also feed the baby.

• Your social life does not need to be curtailed.  You can resume your normal life.

• formula milk has added vitamin K

• Bottle feeding in public tends to be far less embarrassing for a mother than does breastfeeding. A consequence is that many mothers who choose to bottle feed generally venture outdoors much more than those who breastfeeding; society has not made public breastfeeding easy for mothers.

Whether you choose to breastfeed your baby, bottle feed or a combination of the two, the most important thing is to enjoy the time snuggling with your newborn while you get to know each other. Before you know it your baby will be walking and talking, so enjoy those peaceful baby feedings!