What Is Your Take On Breastfeeding Versus Bottle Feeding?
February 8, 2010 by Guest Author
Filed under Breast Feeding Supplies
I am pregnant with my first child and I leaning more toward bottle feeding. i know breastfeeding is free and it is good for the baby. But given my job and our lifestyle, I think it would be better to bottle feed. But everyone is pressuring to breastfeed, so I am mixed on the subject. Just wanted some other opinions. THanks!
I would say to at least breastfeed for the first few days so your baby gets your colostrum. If you simply don’t want to breastfeed beyond that then it is your choice. Maybe you could pump a few times a day if you think that would fit into your lifestyle. No formula can replace breast milk. Seriously, it just can’t. My son is going on 7 months and has never once been sick. He has never even had a cold. He didn’t get sick when both myself and my hubby were (also had him at my MIL when she and two others there were sick). His cousin however is 2 weeks younger, formula fed and has had 3 ear infection, had a really bad cold over the winter and has had RSV. So I think that goes to show how the antibodies in breast milk are so good for a baby. Breast is almost always best however for some it just doesn’t work out and that’s ok. If you choose to formula feed it’s no one else’s Business and you can tell them that. I won’t make you a bad mom! But I really think you should at least let your baby get the colostrum and if you can pump a few times per day then go for it. IF not then don’t worry about what anyone else thinks!
There is no formula on the market which contains antibodies. There is no formula on the market which is designed to meet the complete nutrional needs of your baby. There is no formula which is as gentle and easily digested as breast milk.
I understand that the breast isn’t for everybody, however it is still best. If you can you should try it.
There are many options for the busy mother, pumping even offering the breast for night feedings, only.
If possibly try to get some breast milk into baby.
Bottle feeding is absolutely easier. Bottle feeding is always an option, and in the end as long as baby is fed everything is OK. Just simply not all foods are created equal, and breast is absolutely the best.
SoGlam makes a good point. What if you don’t breastfeed and then wish you had? It’s a good idea to go ahead and TRY breastfeeding. If you don’t like it, quitting is easy. If you DON’T try it and then decide you want to weeks later, it is difficult (and sometimes not possible) to make the change.
You didn’t specify what sort of lifestyle you had that would make it difficult, but just know that many working mothers make it work with a quality breast pump. Even if you decide to do formula while you’re at work and breastfeed while you’re at home with baby, it will be a benefit to the child. Any little bit of breastmilk you can give is liquid gold–even if you just breastfeed while you’re in the hospital and then switch to formula when you go home!
Who knows–you may love breastfeeding. I’d give it a try. The worst thing that could happen is that you will prove yourself right and can quit knowing it’s the best choice for you.
Breastfeeding is always the best. Some women simply breast feed while on maternity leave and then switch to formula right before they return so the baby gets used to it and their milk dries up. I would lean more toward pumping the milk but everybody has there preferences. Of course you need to consider your work conditions and lifestyle but remember, there are going to be a lot of lifestyle changes once that baby comes. The globulin’s in the breast milk are the best for the health of the baby. It is all a personal decision between you and your spouse. Good luck and many congratulations.
I think that as long as you can breast feed, you should. you’re right, it saves LOTS of money and it’s so easy to just latch your baby on to you, especially in the middle of the night, instead of having to prepare a bottle. of course, I’m sure you’re aware of the health benefits and they say that supposedly babies that are breast fed have higher IQ’s. I bf and I do so because I love the bond that I share with my baby when I’m feeding him. it’s amazing, simply put. if you are going back to work or feel like you don’t want to have to be around your baby all the time to feed him, you could breast feed in the beginning and then switch to formula. you could pump your breast milk and bottle feed your baby or you could do a combo of both breast milk and formula.
whatever you choose, I REALLY think you should try to breast feed, if only for a while. trust me, after you have him, you’ll want to do nothing more than just relax and sit and cuddle with your new baby, and breast feeding will “fit in” with that. it’s HARD at first, but after a few weeks, you’ll forget all about everything when you’re feeding your baby.
congrats and good luck!
edit: check out the kellymom website for tons of info about breast feeding. it’s saved my life and my sanity.http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/prepare…
On these situations you have to do what you are going to do. I have no problem with either way because it your choice but this is one of those subjects where the breast feeding mommies are going to jump down your throat and will literally make you feel bad in order to sway to their side and think bottle feeding is wrong.
We’ll listen here bottle feeding is not wrong, whichever you decide to do you will be a wonderful mother do not let other people pressure you to do something that you feel you cannot do. It doesn’t matter how “healthy” it is for your child formula is not like its poison or anything like that. It is formulated with all the vitamins and nutrients that are needed for your healthy and strong growing baby. SO no more worries about what anyone tell you okay!
I chose to formula feed and now my son is 5 months old and i regret it i wish i could go back in time i would have breastfeed him being its healthier and you loose your weight a lot faster!! i suggest to any new mother to breastfeed because if you don’t i think you will regret it like i do!! I don’t think i was educated enough on the subject and it why i opted not to do it!!! Get educated search around on the net go to parenting classes get all the info you can it will help you a lot in choosing!! and you can pump and still have a busy life style remember its whats best for your baby that what you need to think of not of your self if you do think about your being selfish if you don’t because of you lifestyle there are other options than just breastfeeding you can pump and still be able to give them breast milk over formula!!!!
I didn’t think anything about breastfeeding but just went ahead with it. It was challenging initially to do but I find it quite easy now and I don’t have to think about getting bottles made up in the night or worrying about extra feeds as it’s with me when we go out. I sadly didn’t express milk initially to get our son used to bottle feeding so it’s been down to me from the start so that can be really tiring. It is also extremely cost effective although you do have to watch your diet a bit closer as what you eat can have affects on the baby.
Most of my friends bottle feed and they prefer it because of the convenience aspect. (ie. hubby/partner can share the feeding and you get to sleep through some of the feeds) and there’s no worrying about what you’re eating.
My choice would be breast-feed and with the next baby I’ll express and get them used to bottles so Daddy can help out with feeds.
At the end of the day it’s what suits you and your hubby/partner.
Lol
The bonding during breast feeding cannot be reproduced with a bottle. Of course you will still love and cherish your baby, but ‘happy’ hormones are released when your baby suckles which makes you relax and bond so easily.
Try breast feeding for the first six weeks at least. Allow your baby to have the best start in life with all the antibodies you can give him/her. You will value this experience. Then turn to bottle if you feel the need.
Please give it a go. It is a beautiful time for you both.
You could always pump your milk. alot of work places allow you time to pump and the person caring for your child can come and get it. or you can store up alot in the freezer and pump at work and toss that in the freezer as well…
BUT you are going to get alot of rude answers on this question. yes breastfeeding has WAY better nutrition, however a fed baby is a fed baby…… you do what you feel comfy with. your baby is going to get some of the same nutrients from formula. they have got it quiet close to breast milk. although it is not the same it is still very good for them.
don’t listen to the rude people… they have no idea what they are talking about. i feel very strong about breastfeeding. my son is 5 1/2 months and i ma still breastfeeding but i would never put a mother down for feeding their baby formula. it is food to…. just let the rude answers pass you buy.
Congrats on the baby! and good luck.
Any breastfeeding is better than no breastfeeding at all. Ideally, every infant would be put to the breast and allowed to nurse on demand until they were eating solid foods, and then allowed to continue to nurse until they were ready to wean. That doesn’t work for every mother, and I certainly understand that. Even one day of breastfeeding is better than none at all. There’s no harm in giving it a try.
I would rather breastfeed just because i heard it makes u closer with ur baby and its healthier, but if u cant because of a job and things like that i think it would be better to formula feed or u should just do both or pump breastmilk into a bottle so whoever is babysitting can feed breastmilk from the bottle.
You should definately breast feed. Formula is no comparison to the start you could give your baby by breastfeeding. I bet everyone who is “pressuring” you to breastfeed is just trying to encourage you to make the healthiest decision for yourself and your baby.
I think that every family is different and what works for one,doesn’t for others.You should do whatever is best for YOUR family.No one else’s opinion matters here but yours.You make a decision & stick to it.If you are confident that you made the best choice,then no one should be able to make you feel guilty about it..Congratulations to you as well.
In a perfect world I think every mother would and *should* breastfeed.
But we are not a perfect world and you just need to do what’s best for you and your baby, if that means bottle feeding, so be it.
Bottles increase the risks of ear infections, speech problems, overfeeding, and many other problems. Even if you are going to feed a baby other than at the breast there are far better methods of feeding a baby.
However if you mean breastmilk feeding vs formula feeding that is a whole other kettle of fish. Absolutely nothing says that what is in a bottle has to be formula.
Breastfeeding, when it is done properly, is less work than formula feeding. Admittedly for working moms because of the pumping formula feeding may be slightly less work. On the other hand you are more likely to miss more work days if you formula feed.
Then there are all the benefits of breastfeeding for mom. Reduced risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other cancers, reduced rates of heart disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes.
No matter what you make sacrifices when you have a baby, you may as well at least see if breastfeeding works with your “lifestyle” before you give up on it!http://www.bobrow.net/kimberly/birth/BFL…
“The truth is, breastfeeding is nothing more than normal. Artificial feeding, which is neither the same nor superior, is therefore deficient, incomplete, and inferior. These are difficult words, but they have an appropriate place in our vocabulary.”
The lactation consultant says, “You have the best chance to provide your baby with the best possible start in life, through the special bond of breastfeeding. The wonderful advantages to you and your baby will last a lifetime.” And then the mother bottlefeeds. Why?
In part because that sales pitch could just as easily have come from a commercial baby milk pamphlet. When our phrasing and that of the baby milk industry are interchangeable, one of us is going about it wrong…and it probably isn’t the multinationals. Here is some of the language that I think subverts our good intentions every time we use it.
Best possible, ideal, optimal, perfect. Are you the best possible parent? Is your home life ideal? Do you provide optimal meals? Of course not. Those are admirable goals, not minimum standards. Let’s rephrase. Is your parenting inadequate? Is your home life subnormal? Do you provide deficient meals? Now it hurts. You may not expect to be far above normal, but you certainly don’t want to be below normal.
When we (and the artificial milk manufacturers) say that breastfeeding is the best possible way to feed babies because it provides their ideal food, perfectly balanced for optimal infant nutrition, the logical response is, “So what?” Our own experience tells us that optimal is not necessary. Normal is fine, and implied in this language is the absolute normalcy–and thus safety and adequacy–of artificial feeding. The truth is, breastfeeding is nothing more than normal. Artificial feeding, which is neither the same nor superior, is therefore deficient, incomplete, and inferior. Those are difficult words, but they have an appropriate place in our vocabulary.
Advantages. When we talk about the advantages of breastfeeding–the “lower rates” of cancer, the “reduced risk” of allergies, the “enhanced” bonding, the “stronger” immune system–we reinforce bottlefeeding yet again as the accepted, acceptable norm.
[...]
Inverting reality becomes even more misleading when we use percentages, because the numbers change depending on what we choose as our standard. If B is 3/4 of A, then a is 4/3 of B. Choose A as the standard, and B is 25% less. Choose B as the standard, and A is 33 1/3% more. Thus, if an item costing 100 units is put on sale for “25% less,”the price becomes 75. When the sale is over, and the item is marked back up, it must be marked up 33 1/3% to get the price up to 100. Those same figures appear in a recent study (3), which found a “25% decrease” in breast cancer rates among women who were breastfed as infants. Restated using breastfed health as the norm, there was a 33-1/3% increase in breast cancer rates among women who were artificially fed. Imagine the different impact those two statements would have on the public.http://www.promom.org/101/index.html
101 Reasons to Breastfeed
14. Nursing helps mom lose weight after baby is born
Breastfeeding requires an average of 500 extra calories per day and breastfeeding mothers who eat a normal diet lose the extra weight they gained during pregnancy faster than moms who choose to bottle feed. In one study, mothers who breastfed exclusively or partially had significantly larger reductions in hip circumference and were less above their pre-pregnancy weights at 1 month postpartum than mothers who fed formula exclusively.
Other studies have also shown that women who were overweight when they began their pregnancies can safely get closer to their ideal weight by breastfeeding in conjunction with a moderate exercise program.
DC.A. Lovelady et al “The effect of weight loss in overweight lactating women on the growth of their infants.” New Eng Journal of Med, 2000;