Since baby formula first came on the scene in the 1860s, it offered an alternative to breast milk. The popularity of baby formula surged at the end of World War 2.
There are many arguments in favour of baby formula. Some are convincing:
Eg:
“Breast milk is not the purest form of food source for babies as humans reside at the top of the food chain. Hence, our bodies are the most contaminated – from the ingestion of mercurial seafood to pesticide infested veggies and meat. Inevitably the poisons will pass into our breast milk and are fed to our babies. Formula on the other hand, is manufactured in a controlled environment where toxins are eliminated and nutritional benefits are optimised”.
Others are not so convincing:
Eg:
“I don’t want to get saggy breasts through breast feeding.”
“It’s not acceptable in our culture to breast feed and the bottle less likely to offend”.
“Mastitis hurts, and I don’t want to go through that.”
I am a mother of 2. Both babies have been breast fed. My son was breast fed until he was 9 months old and I would have continued to do so had he not decide to wean himself from the breast. He was on solids and he preferred the taste of ‘real food’. My daughter was breast fed until she was 19 months old. She loved the breast milk, it took some doing for me to wean her off the breast in time for pre-kindy! Besides, she was already drinking cow’s milk.
A paediatrician once asked me whether I breast fed my daughter and when I replied yes, he whole heartedly approved. He told me that breast milk is comprised of “living tissues” from the mother and nothing is more perfect for the baby than the food the mother produces specifically for the baby. This validated my resolve to breast feed as long as I could.
In the 21st century, mothers are encouraged to breast feed. This begins a resurgence in breast feeding.
If you are considering the breast feeding, consider these benefits:
(1) It is more convenient that bottle feeding. There is no need to sterilize bottles, boil and cool water, pack formula and related paraphernalia as the milk comes out in the right consistency and at the right temperature all the time.
(2) Experts say that breast fed babies don’t get sick as often. I tend to agree. My daughter (the one who was breast fed until 19 months) was only sick once, when she had her first major inoculation. She recovered quickly and is still not a sickly child, even when she is quite petite.
A girlfriend of mine had a baby who was prone to ‘wind’. She was mixing bottle feeds with breast feeds and then she decided to drop the bottle altogether in favour of the breast. The occurrence of tummy pains due to winds reduced significantly.
Scientifically speaking, breast milk includes a mother's immunoglobulins that help the baby fight infections. The baby’s immune system is still largely undeveloped and these anitibodies help the baby’s system to recognise and combat the illness that the mother has been exposed to.
(4) There is nothing like the bond you feel when you hold a baby in your arms and when you’re breast feeding. It is special, tender and warm and I looked forward to those tender moments (especially amidst a hectic working life) when it was just me and the baby. The world was shut out and it was our special time together.
(5) There is also the theory that breast fed babies are smarter. In my experience, I think that this could be true!
Scientifically, it is a proven fact that a mother's breast milk changes in response to the feeding habits of her baby and over time, the make-up of the breast milk adjusts to the baby’s individual growth and development.
I am biased towards breast feeding as I have personally experienced all of the benefits.
However, there are also real disadvantages. Mastitis is one of them. Mastitis is caused by the inflammation of milk ducts and is quite painful. There are steps to take to minimize incidences (future article) of mastitis. Another disadvantage which I felt was that it excluded my partner from the “feeding experience”. It is important for the father to feel involved in the early stages. As the baby sleeps and feeds almost 24 hours in the first few months, it may be an idea to ‘express’ breast milk into a bottle so that dad can participate in the feeding.
Some women may be averse to the thought of breast feeding in public. In Australia, there are special rooms in shopping centres for breastfeeding. I was pleasantly surprised when I found similar set-ups in Singapore whilst traveling there. Generally, I think that people are more accepting of the idea of breast feeding in public places.
As for saggy breasts, that can’t be prevented if you intend on breastfeeding. There are good bras on the market. There are push-ups and other exercises that you can do to build pectoral muscles. Pregnancy, weight gain and weight loss, age and time will all contribute to the loss of shape. The way that I see it, you can’t defy gravity forever anyway. As long as our children are happy and healthy, don’t sweat this little detail.
Breast is still best.
