Choosing between Formula and Breast Milk

For many women choosing between breast milk and formula milk for their baby is often a very difficult decision, and in truth both options have their good and bad points. Generally it is widely accepted that breastfeeding is the healthier option, although this isn't always suitable in all circumstances. Many women in fact find that using a combination of both is the best overall approach, with breast milk being used primarily and when possible.

Although many people think that breast milk is a lot healthier than formula milk, some woman tend to feel very self conscious about breast feeding in public. Also for certain people having to feed in public if they choose to nurse rather than using formula is unavoidable. If this is something of a problem for one reason or another and you don't have enough time to keep bottling milk before you go everywhere, then formula milk is often the better option.

Breast milk is often affected by whatever the mother has ingested, and as such is as healthy as the mother herself. There are of course some circumstances in which a mother should definitely not breast feed, for example if she has a transferable illness or a substance abuse problem. Obviously women who are breast feeding should never drink, as the alcohol can affect the baby and even cause withdrawal problems in some extreme cases. As well as which most medications are not recommended for nursing women either as they too can be passed on to the baby.

There are certain enzymes which breast milk contains which formula milk do not, purely for the reason that synthetically creating them and storing them is not scientifically possible. Similarly it is thought that certain antibodies and nutrients are passed from mother to baby, which can strengthen the infants immune system. Because of this many studies have tended to show that babies who are breast fed are less at risk from a variety of different health problems and infections than those who are formula fed.

For many women, breast feeding is an important way to bond with their baby, and the experience can often be calming and soothing for both mother and child. Often a breastfeeding baby will be calmed a lot better than a baby feeding on formula milk, and there are health benefits for both mother and baby from not being stressed. The only drawback of this however is that it makes leaving the baby with its father or grand parents more difficult, as you have to collect break milk before you leave the house for any length of time.

Also somewhat usefully, breastfeeding is also a great way for many women to help get back to their pre-pregnancy figure. Providing breast milk is generally fairly demanding on the body, and often causes weight loss in many women, which is a much easier method than having to go on a diet or use the gym. It will also alleviate the pain of swollen breasts, although of course can cause pain and tenderness of its own.

Breast milk is also of course essentially free, whereas formula milk can tend to be fairly expensive, and extra cost when you already have a new baby is usually not something anyone needs particularly. Formula milk of course does have the advantage that it can be prepared by anyone and not just the mother, which is one of the drawbacks of breast milk. Essentially women who are breast feeding need to stay close to the baby at all times, although breast pumps can be used for short amounts of time.

What many women tend to find is the best approach is simply to use both formula milk and breast milk, alternating the feeds between the two. Many women tend to find that breast feeding constantly will eventually lead to chafing and even cracking of the nipples, which often leaves them very sore. On these occasions using formula milk is often a valuable respite from the pain of feeding,and can give the breasts a chance to heal and for the soreness to recede. This is also a good idea if for example you have twins, and are finding that producing enough milk every day is a problem.

Lastly the other issue with formula milk is that most of the chemicals going into them aren't necessarily good for the baby. For example there was a scandal in China where thousands of batches of formula milk was contaminated with dangerous chemicals in the factory. The recall didn't happen before several infants were fatally poisoned however, which is always a small risk. In most countries of course this kind of thing very rarely if ever happens, although it only takes one mistake for tragedy to happen.