Woman World Web

August 12th, 2009 by Jennifer Ramsey

Making the decision to breastfeed or use formula is an important decision for your young newborn. You want to make the right decision for your family. The leading trend right now is to choose formula because of the ease, but I find that there are better reasons to choose breastfeeding

Every womans breast milk is designed specifically for their newborn and no substitute will be able to fully provide all that the breast milk does. The AAP says that babies should only be breastfed for the first 6 months of their lives.

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. Ive 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 wasnt educated very well on the dos and dont of breastfeeding, and she told me how she wishes so bad 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 are or arent a good mother.

If you have questions about breastfeeding, talk with a friend, doctor, or nurse. They will be able to help answer your questions. If you have chosen to use formula for other reasons, become educated in the different kinds because every child reacts differently to each type of formula.

Breast milk has so many things in it that arent 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.

Formulas are becoming better at imitating breast milk but have yet to duplicate it. Because of the complexity of natural breast milk, some nutrition for young ones has yet to be put into a formula.

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.