Thursday 11 February 2010

Breast Feeding v Bottle Feeding

Breast Feeding or Bottle Feeding

Decide how you are going to feed your baby before birth. Breast-feeding has many benefits for the baby and many think it is best for the mother too, but the ultimate decision is the mother's. A few rare medical conditions, such as severe breast infections or infant with a cleft palate, may make breast-feeding more difficult.

Most drugs taken by the mother will be passed to the infant through breast milk. Therefore, you should never take any drug without consulting your doctor first. Also, infections can be transmitted through breast milk, this includes HIV.

Similarly, mothers should not allow other women to breast-feed their infants because of the risk of infection of any transmittable agent. Many myths about breast-feeding make parents more anxious about this choice than they should be. Some include:

• Breast-feeding doesn't depend on your breast size. Large breasts contain mostly fatty tissue and in no way increase the ability to breast feed

• Breast feeding does not interfere with poliovirus immunization

• Breast feeding does not cause more jaundice in newborns.

• Breast feeding does not cause sagging breast

• Although breast-feeding suppresses ovulation, it is not a reliable method of contraception

As mentioned, there are many benefits to breast feeding. Some benefits include:

• The baby receives nutrients in the proper proportion if the mother is eating a balanced diet. Iron and vitamin D are only occasionally need as supplements

• Breast feeding cost less than bottles and baby formula, and is more convenient.

• There is a less chance of contaminating the milk than with bottle-feeding

• Babies tend not to become fat as frequently as bottle-fed babies do. The composition and taste of breast changes during the course of feeding, so the baby will reject a breast after several minutes and move to the other, even though the first still contains milk

• Breast-fed babies may have fewer ear infections

• Breast-fed babies are less constipated, and have fewer irritations, also they have diarrhea less often

But there are also benefits to formula- or bottle-feeding. The father can become involved in feeding very early. There is also more freedom of movement for the mother. Also, today's commercial formulas are high quality. Great efforts have been made to produce formulas that are as close breast milk as possible.

Where tap water is safe for you, it is safe for the baby. Sterilization is no longer necessary, but parents wishing to prepare several days' worth of feedings in advance should consider it, because bacteria can grow in the formula after it has been fixed.

Boil new nipples in water for a few minutes several times before using. This will remove any bacteria or nitrosamides that some nipples may contain. Infants suck naturally by squeezing their lower jaws and gums using their tongues to push up on the nipple and keep it securely on the roof of their mouth.

The usual bottle nipple permits milk flow more easily than the breast does. This causes infants to exercise their jaws less and to stick their tongues outward instead of upward to slow the rush of milk.

Alvaro Castillo has been writing health articles for five years. One of his specializations has been on parenting and pregnancy. If you would like to learn more, then visit his website at http://www.myhomeparent.com or visit his blog at http://myhomeparent.blogspot.com to share your opinion.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvaro_Castillo

Breast Feeding Vs Bottle Feeding

Breast Feeding or Bottle Feeding

Choosing whether to feed your baby from the breast or from the bottle is a choice every parent/parents will have to make. While it is usually said that "breast is best" with scientific research backing up this statement, it is not always so simple a choice. In certain cases, breastfeeding is not possible for mothers like those who are on certain medications, for instance. Another example of why mothers might choose against breastfeeding might be practicality, depending on their situation or lifestyle or also their own personal comfort level with breastfeeding.

Human breast milk is the healthiest form of milk for babies. It also has many medical benefits for the baby such as passed on antibodies from mother to child, defending against illness as well as a lowered risk of allergies. A mother nursing her child can also help strengthen the bond of attachment and can be a very special experience for mothers. Some put forward the argument that facial muscles used in breastfeeding are different from those used in bottle fed babies and are better in developing speech. Breast milk can also expressed for any occasions where dad is minding baby or for feeding baby at night.

Bottle feeding has many advantages for parents, the main one of these being the fact that either parent can feed baby. This means that it is not always, poor over tired, mom that has to get up in the middle of the night to feed baby and the workload can be made a little fairer. Although the sterilisation of bottles can be of annoyance, bottles can be easy to make when mom is away.

Whichever you choose breast or bottle in baby feeding, you should take time and consideration in doing so. You can also seek advise from a medical professional on the matter. If you decide to go down the path of bottle feeding, there are many baby feeding products on the market that can help reduce colic and wind. So whatever your decision, make sure it is an informed one.

Thank you

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gemma_Greene

Breast Feeding or Bottle Feeding

Breast or bottle?

Some mothers for health and other reasons are unable to successfully breast feed their baby. While breast feeding is the ultimate option for your baby, it is sometimes just not possible. Babies who are bottle fed, like breast fed babies, also grow up to be happy, healthy and smart. This article looks at some of the advantages of breast feeding over bottle feeding.

When it comes to the debate of breast feeding versus bottle feeding almost every expert in the field of child care will recommend breast feeding. Recent research has shown that babies who are breast fed have higher intelligent quotient scores (IQs) by around ten points, than children who were bottle fed. Many studies of thousands of children have also show that those who were breastfed consistently get higher grades in school.

Breast milk benefits

One key ingredient in breast milk is a brain-boosting fat called DHA (docasahexaenoic acid). This is an omega-3 fatty acid. DHA is crucial for the growth and development of brain tissue. The brains of breast fed babies have a higher concentration of DHA. Formula or cows milk generally lacks DHA unless it is added as a supplement. Soy milk is also not good to use to bottle feed a baby under the age of one as it is missing this essential nutrient and can also cause your baby to have wind.

DHA levels are highest in babies who are breast fed the longest, which creates an argument for feeding a baby for a longer period of time. Breast milk ingredients are also essential for healthy eye development. DHA also happens to be one of the prime structural components of the eye. (Infant formulas made in the United States do not contain the ingredient DHA.)

Babies also require cholesterol to help their brains develop. Breast milk contains cholesterol, while infant formulas currently contain none. "Low in cholesterol" may be good news for adult diets, but this is not true for babies! Cholesterol helps cells grow essential nerve tissue in young brains.

Babies that are bottle fed may also be more nervous or sensitive than children who are breast fed. This is because both DHA and cholesterol are the building blocks of a substance called myelin. Myelin acts as insulation for nerves, making it possible for nerves to carry information from one part of the brain or body to another.

Bottle feeding downside

A downside of bottle feeding are those smelly poos! The stools of a bottle fed infant tend to be more smelly because cows milk does not contain enough lactose to allow the infant to digest the milk properly. A baby that is breast fed may also have less gas, colic, and burping episodes, and as a result be more good-natured and sleep better.

Breast feeding can also help your baby build healthy fat and tissue. The skin of babies who are breast-fed can be softer and firmer to the touch. The skin of bottle fed babies can sometimes become rough, scaly and have red patches due to mild allergies caused by the bottled milk.

The process of breastfeeding itself, with its skin-to-skin contact is a more intimate and interactive experience between mother and baby than bottle feeding. This is another way of helping babies get the stimulation they need for optimal brain development.

So, yes, breast feeding is best, but bottle feeding is sometimes the only option mothers have at the time. If you are unable to breast feed, don't be harsh on yourself and feel guilty for the rest of your life. Your baby will still receive nourishment and goodness, and has every chance to grow up to be smart happy and healthy!

http://www.newbornbaby.com.au
Free baby photo gallery and resources for mothers and expectant mothers

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carrie_Webster

Monday 8 February 2010

Breast Feeding or Bottle Feeding

The decision to breastfeed or bottle feed your baby is a very personal one and should be based on your comfort level as well as your lifestyle. Breastfeeding (or nursing) can be a wonderful experience for both mother and baby as it provides a special bonding experience, however, breastfeeding may not be possible or preferable for all women.

I want to play devil's advocate and give you differing views on both methods so that you can make your own decision on how you want to feed your baby. Please understand that you and only you can make this very personal decision.

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "I don't want to breastfeed because it is embarrassing to breastfeed baby in public."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "If you wear the right clothes you can breastfeed without exposing your breasts, in fact nobody will even notice that you are breastfeeding."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "Putting the baby on the breasts will cause engorged breasts and sore nipples. Most times baby sucks non stop all day long which can be very tiring for the mother."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "You will have engorged breasts even without breast feeding as nature is preparing you to breast feed. With adequate support and practice, most moms are able to get baby to latch on properly without having sore nipples. I know breast feeding can be very tiring in the early days but once baby knows how to latch on it is so easy. In fact I can do other things like caressing baby or eating whilst my baby is feeding as one hand is free, so sometimes we actually have our meals together. You cannot do this with bottle feeding because you need to hold baby with one hand and the bottle with the other."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Breast milk is the perfect food for baby as the components - lactose, protein (whey and casein), and fat - are easily digested by a newborn's immature system."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "Nowadays most infant formula have been modified to resemble breast milk as closely as possible with the correct amount of protein, fats, vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals and other nutrients that babies need."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Breast milk is more easily digested so breastfed babies have fewer incidences of diarrhea or constipation"

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "If you eat the wrong food your baby can have diarrhea and a lot of wind too and, if the feeds are made up hygienically, the risk of diarrhea is reduced and constipation can be prevented by giving extra water."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "A nursing mother passes antibodies to her baby to protect or lower the occurrence of many conditions such as ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory infections and meningitis. Antibodies cannot be added to formula milk"

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "I have passed antibodies to my baby via the placenta during pregnancy so my baby has some immunity for about 6 months."

Mrs. Breast: "Those antibodies are for infection that you have been exposed to before your baby was born. Breast feeding will give your baby new antibodies against infection that you are exposed to now." "It also protect baby against allergies, asthma, diabetes, obesity and SIDS."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "In that case, I can give my baby expressed breast milk."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Yes, but why create extra work for yourself? If you give your baby expressed breast milk, you will have to spend money buying feeding bottles, sterilisers etc and think of the time spent washing and sterilising them when you can just let the baby suck directly from the breast."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "If I use bottle feeding my husband or someone else can feed the baby while I rest and it will help my husband to bond with baby."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Daddy can still bond with baby without actually feeding the baby. I understand that if daddy changes diapers and bathe the baby it will also help them bond."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "Mothers can leave baby at home with daddy or another care taker and go out shopping or run errands on her own without having to bring baby along or rushing back to breastfeed."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "It's also easy for breastfeeding mothers to be active and go out with their babies knowing that they'll have instant food available whenever their little one is hungry and they don't have to carry an extra bag of bottle feeding paraphernalia. There will be times when you need to go out on an urgent matter and if there is no-one available, you will have to take baby with you."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: It is easier to determine when baby needs feeding so mothers can work out some sort of feeding schedule and plan her day around this schedule.

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "There's no question that breastfeeding does require a substantial time commitment from mothers like many things in parenting, but with a little organization and time management, it is easy to work out a schedule to breastfeed. The skin-to-skin contact enhances the emotional connection between mother and infant and many nursing mothers enjoy the experience of bonding so closely with their babies."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "With bottle feeding I can get someone else to feed baby in the night therefore I don't have to get up at all."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Breast milk is always fresh and available and at the right temperature, so there's no need to warm up bottles in the middle of the night. It is fantastic because I can nurse baby lying down so there is minimal interruption to my sleep."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "I am going back to work after 2 months leave and I would rather start feeding with a bottle so that it will be easier when the time comes."

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "You need to let baby suckle on the breast to stimulate the let down reflex. Milk production will diminish if baby does not suckle. You can start offering the bottle when baby is 6 weeks old. That should give you 2 weeks to adjust to bottle feeding."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "What if my baby does not want to take the bottle by that time?"

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Don't worry all babies will suck on anything if they are really hungry."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "I was told that I have to eat more in order to make milk. Won't that make me put on more weight?"

Mrs. Breast Feeding "A nursing mother needs extra 500 calories per day to produce breast milk but breastfeeding also burns calories and helps shrink the uterus, so nursing moms are able to return to their pre-pregnancy shape and weight quicker. You need to eat a wide variety of well-balanced foods as this introduces breastfed babies to different tastes through the breast milk which will have different flavors depending on what their mothers have eaten."

Mrs. Bottle Feeding: "What other benefits are there to breastfeeding?

Mrs. Breast Feeding: "Recent studies indicate that breastfeeding might help prevent childhood and adult obesity. According to the National Women's Health Information Center, babies who are breastfed tend to gain less unnecessary weight, which may help them be less overweight later."
"Recent studies suggest that children who were exclusively breastfed for 6 months have IQs 5 to 10 points higher than children who were formula fed."
"The ability to nourish a baby totally can also help a new mother feel confident in her ability to care for her baby. In addition, studies show that breastfeeding helps lower the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and also may help decrease the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer."

So there you are! I hope that the above debate has helped you to make the choice between breast and bottle feeding.

Cecilia Koh is a British trained nurse/midwife with over 30 years working experience. If you want to know more baby care topics go to http://www.Babiesconsult.com

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