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The Benefits of Breastfeeding
It presently costs upward of $1,200 dollars per year to formula feed an infant in the United States. If you factor in the added medical cost you are statistically likely to incur, that brings the cost up to around $2,500 per year. If your baby happens to require a hypo-allergenic formula, you will have to pay considerably more.
Any way you look at it, you'll spend a lot more money if you choose to formula feed. The added calories a nursing mother must take in are a negligible expense, and nursing clothes are optional. If you need to pump, excellent pumps are available for between $50 and $225. A good pump can be used for more than one child, so they are really an investment. Do be sure to buy a pump manufactured by a company specializing in their manufacture. Beware of pumps made by formula companies. Many woman report these pumps to be inefficient at best, and painful at worst.
Breasts and babies are portable. Diapers are disposable. Travel is simple. With a little practice, mothers can breastfeed anywhere. Breastfeeding requires no mixing, no measuring and no clean-up making nighttime feedings quick and easy.
Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for infants. A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula.
As a result, breastfed infants grow exactly the way they should. They tend to gain less unnecessary weight and to be leaner. This may result in being less overweight later in life.
Breastfeeding infants causes the release of oxtocin, a hormone produced in the body which makes the uterus contract. This limits the amount of vaginal bleeding and returns the uterus to its non-pregnant size sooner.
Moms tend to lose weight faster
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.
Reduces chances for breast cancer
If all women who do not breastfeed or who breastfeed for less than 3 months were to do so for 4 to 12 months, breast cancer among parous premenopausal women could be reduced by 11 percent, judging from current rates. If all women with children lactated for 24 months or longer, however, then the incidence might be reduced by nearly 25 percent. This reduction would be even greater among women who first lactate at an early age
Women who were formula-fed as infants have higher rates of breast cancer as adults. For both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer, women who were breastfed as children, even if only for a short time, had a 25 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who were bottle-fed as infants.
Breastmilk contains important nutrients as well as special protective enzymes, nature's way of safeguarding the immature newborn against infections. As a result, breastfed babies have fewer illnesses, fewer doctor visits, and fewer hospitalizations. It lowers the risk of asthma, colic, food allergy and eczema in those infants with a family history of allergy.
Sadly, as of now, researchers have not yet discovered any one factor to account for SIDS. However, there are a number of studies showing a possible link between lack of breastfeeding and SIDS. A Swedish study has found that babies who were breastfed exclusively for less than 8 weeks had a 3 - 5 times greater risk of dying from SIDS than babies who were breastfed exclusively for four months.
Human breast milk enhances brain development and improves cognitive development in ways that formula cannot. One study has found that the average I.Q. of 7 and 8 year old children who had been breastfed as babies was 10 points higher than their bottle fed peers. All of the children involved had been born prematurely and tube fed the human milk, indicating that the milk itself, not the act of breastfeeding, caused this difference in I.Q. level. Another study to support this statement was done in New Zealand. Here an 18 year longitudinal study of over 1,000 children found that those who were breastfed as infants had both higher intelligence and greater academic achievement than children who were infant-formula fed.
Feeding your infant provides more than just good nutrition. It also gives you a chance to hold your newborn close, cuddle him, and make eye contact. These are relaxing and enjoyable moments for you both, and they bring you closer together emotionally.
There are no disadvantages to breastfeeding. However, there are certain factors which some women may find bothersome. Because of this, some mothers choose to breastfeed for a shorter period of time. Remember, any amount of breastfeeding will benefit you and your baby.
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Breastfeeding may limit your freedom for the first 4-6 weeks while you are building a milk supply and learning to breastfeed. However, this gives you a chance to rest and get to know your baby.
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Leaking can be annoying in the early weeks when babies are feeding at irregular times, however, leaking is a good sign of milk production and milk release.
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Breast nipples may be tender in the beginning when the baby first attaches to the breast. This is normal. However, do not confuse tenderness with pain. Breastfeeding should not be painful if the baby is positioned correctly on the breast.
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The quantity of milk taken at each feeding cannot be measured. However, frequent, watery stools let you know that your baby is getting enough to eat.
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Because breast milk is easily digested, breastfed babies may feed more often and may not sleep through the night for several weeks or months. However, the same is true of many formula-fed babies. When your baby is 6-12 weeks old you can begin to lengthen the nighttime sleep period if necessary. You can delay nighttime feedings by diapering, walking and rocking.
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You will need to limit your alcohol intake. However, you do not need to avoid certain foods unless they make your baby fussy or you have a family history of allergies.
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Natural child spacing can be achieved with unrestricted, unsupplemented breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding schedules and routines that delay or decrease breastfeedings or include early fertility (ability to get pregnant). If pregnancy is not desired, birth control is recommended. Methods of birth control include birth control pills (progestin only), condom, diaphragm, IUD (intrauterine device), vaginal sponge, cervical cap, spermicidal cream, foam or jelly, Norplant (implant) and Depo-Provera (injection). Birth control pills that contain estrogen and progestin (combination pills) are not recommended. Estrogen decreases breast milk production and may affect growth and development of babies. However, birth control pills that contain progestin only are safe and may be taken by nursing mothers.