Breast or bottle feeding

Even before the baby is born, every mother needs to decide on how she plans to feed the baby. Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding are the two basic options. While most experts agree that breastfeeding is the healthiest and safest way to feed a baby, many women are not able to breastfeed or, for some reason, simply prefer not to nurse. Fortunately, there are high-quality baby formulas that offer a healthy and safe alternative for mother’s milk, packed with all the ingredients a newborn needs to grow big and healthy.

Reasons for breastfeeding

According to many experts, there is no food like mother’s milk. Breast milk appears to be superior even to the best formulas, especially when it comes to nutrients. In addition, breastfed babies tend to suffer less from gas and bloating and they spit up less than babies that are bottle-fed.

Breast milk provides protection against a number of ailments and diseases that can affect a newborn baby and that protection seems to extend throughout the childhood, not just to the nursing period. It is believed that, thanks to the antibodies a mother passes through her milk, breast-fed babies are less prone to asthma, allergies, diabetes, viral or bacterial infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract and ear infections.

Breastfeeding is obviously highly beneficial for newborn babies, but it is good for mothers too. Breastfeeding reduces the chance of mastitis and other inflammatory conditions of the breasts and milk ducts. It also seems to reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian and uterine cancer.

Not only that - mothers who breastfeed seem to go back to their pre-pregnancy weight quicker than mothers who do not nurse.

Reasons for bottle-feeding

Even though breastfeeding seems to be a better option, some women simply cannot nurse their babies. For example, women who have AIDS or HIV infection are not allowed to breastfeed because that way they could pass the virus to the baby. Breastfeeding is also not recommended for women who are on chemotherapy for cancer or who have to take certain medications, both over-the-counter and prescription ones.

Fortunately, the market today offers a wide selection of commercially prepared formulas. Using a high-quality formula for bottle-feeding will provide all the nutrients a baby needs during the first months of his or her life.

Bottle-feeding is, for many women, easier than breastfeeding. Formula seems to keep the baby satisfied for longer than mother’s milk. In addition, some foods are not allowed for women who nurse while those restrictions obviously do not apply to those who bottle-feed their babies.