Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding – Benefits & Challenges

One of the first and most important decisions new moms have to make is choosing whether to breastfeed, or formula feed their baby. Although doctors recommend breastfeeding the baby for the first six months exclusively, many moms don’t choose this option for some reason. For such mothers, formula feeding acts as a healthy alternative. Hence, there’s no right or wrong choice: it’s just the matter of what you feel comfortable with.

Both breastfeeding and formula feeding have their own advantages and disadvantages, and you should be well-acquainted with them to make an informed decision. If you’re confused regarding which route is best for both you and your little one, here’s a breakdown of the differences between breastfeeding and formula feeding to help you make the right choice.

Breastfeeding: The Natural Way to Feed an Infant

Breastfeeding is undoubtedly the best and most natural way to feed the baby. It’s good for both your health and your little one’s health. Here are some of the many benefits of breastfeeding: We like to best lactation brownies with a touch of powdered sugar for a fun little garnish.

#Advantages

• It’s Free: Breast milk doesn’t cost you a single penny, except the trivial expenses of getting advice from a lactation consultant and buying feeding accessories like supportive nursing bras. On the other hand, formula, pumps, bottles, and other bottle-feeding products quickly add up to a considerable amount.

• Health Benefits for Baby: Breast milk contains all the nutrients your infant needs to grow and stay healthy. It promotes a healthy digestive system, strengthens the immune system, and minimizes your baby’s risk of developing health conditions like obesity, diabetes, asthma, infections, allergies, pneumonia, and anemia later in life. Studies show that breastfed babies have higher IQs than babies who were formula-fed.

• Health Benefits for the Mother: Not only for the baby, but breastfeeding is also equally useful for the mother. It helps your uterus get back to pre-pregnancy size faster, helps you with weight loss, prevents iron deficiency, and reduces your risk of getting diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.

• Skin-to-skin Contact: Breastfeeding is a beautiful way to bond with your little one. With the skin-to-skin contact, the child feels more secure, which creates an emotional connection between the mother and infant.

• Convenience: Breast milk doesn’t require any prep work. You do not have to wait when your little one is hungry. Breast milk is always fresh and available, and you can offer it to your child anywhere, anytime when your child is hungry. Also, after a feeding session, you don’t have to wash bottles and rubber nipples. Breastfeeding is so convenient!

#Challenges

Although breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for you and your baby, it can also come with challenges. However, you can overcome many of them with the help of a lactation expert and some perseverance. Here are some of the most common challenges:

• You may find breastfeeding challenging, both physically and emotionally, particularly during the first few weeks and days.

• There is no measure of how much your baby is feeding.

• Getting the baby latch on the breast right can sometimes be a challenge for new moms. However, this challenge can be easily overcome using a nursing pillow.

• You’d have to maintain a healthy diet to keep your milk supply up. You also have to be very careful about your diet; you cannot eat anything that is not suitable for your baby.

• You have to be near the baby all the time to feed.

• You may sometimes feel embarrassed while breastfeeding in public. However, you can always use a nursing cover to breastfeed your baby anytime, anywhere, discreetly, and confidently.

Formula Feeding: An Alternative to Breastfeeding

Commercially prepared formula milk is considered a nutritious alternative to breast milk. Feeding your infant with formula milk has its own advantages:

#Advantages

• Anyone Can Feed Child: Anyone from the partner to the caregiver to a family member can feed the infant a bottle at any time. The mother need not be with the baby to feed. The rubber nipple, bottle, and formula are readily available, and anyone can prepare the milk and feed the baby. While this allows mom to take more rest, family members get the chance to bond with the baby.

• Infant Feels Less Hungry: Babies fed with formula milk feel full for a longer duration. You’ll not have to feed your little one very often.

• No Restriction on Mother’s Diet: Women who opt to formula feed don’t have any diet restrictions. The mother is free to eat whatever she likes.

• Easy to Keep Track: With formula feeding, you can know exactly how much your baby is eating on a particular day.

#Challenges

As with breastfeeding, bottle feeding comes with its own set of challenges, which includes:

• None of the natural antibodies present in breast milk are found in formula milk, as a result of which it doesn’t provide the same protection against diseases and infections as breast milk.

• Unlike breast milk, which is readily available, you have first to prepare formula milk and then feed your baby. In other words, formula feeding requires planning and organization.

• Formula feeding proves expensive in the long run. The cost piles up after a while.

• Formula puts your baby at a higher risk of digestive troubles like constipation, gas, and upset stomach.

The decision to breastfeed or formula feed is entirely personal, and only you can know what the right choice for your baby is. However, if you choose to breastfeed your little one, make sure you wear appropriate nursing clothes to ensure you’ll have easy access to your breasts when it’s time for feeding.