There is no second opinion to the fact that mother’s milk is the best for the nutritional needs of the baby and it is also considered to be the perfect food of nature. Breastfeeding helps to protect the baby from various types of allergies, infection and other issues.
Many a times, mothers are not able to breastfeed their babies dues to various reasons like not having enough milk, health conditions and others. In such situations, bottle feeding of formula milk proves to be a healthy alternative.
The present day formula milks are made after lot of research and studies and comes packed with needed nutrients. Though making a decision between breastfeeding and bottle feeding is entirely yours, knowing the benefits of both will help you to make the decision.
Breastfeeding and its Benefits
Breastfeeding is not only healthy but a wonderful experience for the baby as well as the mother. It helps to create a special bond between the two. There is a long list of benefits associated with breastfeeding and the list of the major ones is given below:
- Breastfeeding pass on the natural antibodies to the baby which makes their immune system strong and helps them to resist various health issues like ear infection, respiratory infection, meningitis, diarrhea and others.
- The components present in the breast milk like fat, lactose, protein and others can be easily digested by a new born baby. Thus breastfeeding babies are found to be less constipated and gassy.
- Breast milk is a power house of healthy nutrients including variety of vitamins and minerals.
- The risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is lowered through breastfeeding during the first year of the baby.
- Babies who are on breastfeeding has reduced risk of developing health issues like asthma, lymphoma, diabetes, obesity and others in the later years of life.
- Studies have shown that breastfeeding improves the cognitive functioning of the baby and thus improve their intelligence as well.
- Besides being healthy, breast milk is also cost effective as it is freely available. It is always available fresh and is convenient to feed. Moreover there are no hassles of washing bottles and nipples in breastfeeding.
- Along with babies, breastfeeding is also beneficial for mothers as it helps them to burn calories, lowers down the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes and other health issues.
Bottle Feeding/Formula Feeding and its Benefits
Bottle feeding of formula milk is the best alternative to all those mothers who are not able to breast feed their babies. Some of the major benefits associated with bottle feeding are listed below:
- Convenience is the major benefit associated with bottle feeding. The babies who are given formula milk can be fed by any member of the family and at any time needed.
- Bottle feeding provides flexibility to working moms as they do not have to set their schedules according to baby’s nursing time. The bottles can be made and left at home or day care center to be fed by others.
- Bottle feeding can be conveniently done at any place and like breastfeeding you do not have to search for nursing places in public area.
- Bottle feeding allows the father to have more bonding with the baby by helping with feeding at night and other times of the day.
- It is easier to schedule the feedings through formula milk since it is not as easy to digest like breast milk and thus you do not need to feed the baby at short intervals.
- Bottle feeding also gives the freedom to the moms to eat whatever they want as breastfeeding moms are not allowed to have certain foods that may be not good for the baby.
Thus considering the above given points, it can be concluded that breastfeeding is definitely the best option but there is no need to be guilty if you are bottle feeding your baby. You can even go for the combination of both breast feeding and bottle feeding.
