By Jennifer Ramsey
You always want to make the best decision when it comes to your newborn. The decision between using breast milk and formula is an important one. A leading trend lately has been to use formula because it can be easier, but its important to understand how special breast milk is and what it can provide to your child.
A woman’s body is made to give her child all the things that it stands in need of. As such, breast milk is designed especially for your newborn, no substitute will give it all the things that your body inherently knows it needs. Actually, the AAP encourages that babies are only breastfed for the first 6 months.
I think they do this because of all the wonderful nutrients found in breast milk that are missing from everything else. Also, breastfeeding is a bonding period for the mother and the baby. I’ve talked to so many mothers who have done both and prefer breastfeeding because of this bond alone.
I had one mother tell me about how she still has feelings of regret for not feeding one of her daughters. She wasn’t educated very well on the dos and don’ts of breastfeeding, and she told me how she wishes she could have breastfeed that daughter like she had with her other children because she loved the bonding feeling it created with them.
Breastfeeding is a personal decision. Some women for one reason or another were never able to breastfeed. This at times can bring feelings or guilt or failure. You should never have to feel as if you aren’t a good mother.
Talk to your doctor, nurse, or friends to make sure that you are educated properly on how to breastfeed your children. Or if you make the decision to use formula, make sure you are educated properly on the differences of the formula types.
Breast milk has so many things in it that aren’t found anywhere else. Breast milk can help strengthen your baby as well as help it fight off infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, obesity, and asthma. The list goes on.
Price is an excellent reason why some choose breast milk over formula. Formula will start adding up after a while and become really expensive.
If you are a penny pincher like I am, this is just another reason why you will want to choose breast feeding. Formula can be very expensive but breast milk is free and you will always have enough.
Breastfeeding also helps the mother out. It will help her burn calories so she can go back to her pre-pregnancy shape. Breastfeeding will also help her shrink her uterus back to its natural size.
About the Author:
While formula continues to gain popularity, breastfeeding still stands as the healthier choice. Jennifer Ramsey recommends browsing BabyBecause.com for breastfeeding supplies that will make the experience more enjoyable and comfortable for you and your baby.