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| Mother2Mother Services |
| Education and Support for Nursing Mothers |
| Why Breast-feed? (continued) |
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| Formula-fed babies are more likely to get sick than their breastfed counterparts. Breastfed babies, thanks to receiving antibodies and other infection-fighting agents from their mom's milk, get less contagious illnesses than their formula-fed counterparts. The AAFP policy statement states, "Babies who are not breastfed have a higher risk of hospitalization in the first year of life due to serious bacterial illness... They develop lower antibody titers in response to immunization..." Yes, they can still get sick, but usually not as often and not as severely as babies who are being formula-fed. Read about How Human Milk Protects from Illness at AskDrSears.com. |
| Breastfeeding is associated with better bonding between mother and child than formula-feeding. Not only as infants, but even as teenagers -- teens who had been breastfed into toddlerhood reported closer relationships with their mothers than teens who had been formula-fed. Fergusson, D.M. & Woodward, L.J. "Breastfeeding and later psychosocial development," Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 1999 Apr; 13(2):144-57. |
| Formula feeding is expensive. Don't just factor in the cost of formula (which can be quite high if your child is one of the many who require a more expensive, hypoallergenic formula), but added medical bills, time you need to take off from work to care for a sick baby, bottles and associated supplies, and even sanitary supplies and medications for mother's returned menses, since breastfeeding often delays the return of menstruation for many months. See the following: Costs of Infant Feeding 2001; Cost Benefits of Breastfeeding; Cost Savings from Breastfeeding; Healthcare Costs of Formula-Feeding in the First Year of Life |
| Breastfeeding benefits mom, too. In addition to the health benefits already mentioned, breastfeeding moms are more likely to return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster than their formula-feeding counterparts, have better cardiovascular health, better emotional health, if diabetic may require less insulin while nursing, may decrease the symptoms of menopause when the mother reaches that stage of her life, and helps with child spacing. Review the links at the Kelly's AP site in the next paragraph for details on these benefits. |
| If after reading all this, does choosing to formula-feed make you a bad mother? No. Only you can know why you made the decision to formula-feed rather than to breastfeed. It is important, however, that the decision be an informed one. The advertising of formula companies and many other influences on our culture have clouded the choice, so that many mothers aren't well-informed before making the decision. If, after learning all you can about the benefits of breastfeeding and the hazards of formula-feeding, you still choose to formula-feed, then you have made an informed choice, for your own reasons. It might not be my choice, but I haven't walked in your shoes. I wish you & your baby well. |
| Do you need more reasons, or would you like to look at more information? Please check out the many links at Kelly's AP site's The Many Benefits of Breastfeeding page. |
| "If a mother decides to feed with formula, the reasons should be explored in case the decision was based on a misconception." - The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in Guidelines for Perinatal Care, published in 1992. |
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| Last Updated February 2, 2004 |
| Formula lacks the cholesterol necessary for the baby to develop a healthy heart. As adults, we think of cholesterol as a "bad" thing in the diet. However, for babies, cholesterol is very important to the development of a healthy heart, and the ability to properly metabolize cholesterol later in live depends on the presence of cholesterol in the infant's diet. William & Martha Sears, "The Breastfeeding Book," Little, Brown, & Co., 2000, p. 6-7. |
| The dental arch of bottle-fed babies is malformed. As Breastfed babies develop a U-shaped arch, but bottle-fed babies develop a V-shaped arch. This increases the likelihood of the bottle-fed baby developing misaligned teeth and a smaller nasal space, which can lead to increased snoring and greater risk for sleep apnea in bottle-fed babies than in breast-fed babies. William & Martha Sears, "The Breastfeeding Book," Little, Brown, & Co., 2000, p. 6. |
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