Pregnancy Lounge

Tag: nursing

  • Should I Breastfeed or Bottle-Feed?

    Experts agree that choosing to breastfeed your baby is the best choice for both mother and child. Here are six great reasons to choose breastfeeding.

    • Breast milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk or commercial formulas. The proportion of protein is lower in mother’s milk, making it easier for babies to handle. Breast milk also contains one-third less mineral salt, making it easier on baby’s kidneys.
    • Because of the easier digestibility of breast milk, babies that are breastfed are almost never constipated and they also rarely have diarrhea.
    • Breast milk is less likely to cause your infant to become overweight and also decreases the chances of obesity later in life.
    • Virtually no baby is allergic to breast milk (although some babies can have allergic reactions to certain foods in their mother’s diets). Breastfeeding can actually protect your baby from allergies, eczema and asthma and can also help make allergies less severe, if they do develop.
    • It is less expensive than bottle-feeding. There are no bottles, sterilizers and expensive formula to buy.
    • Breastfeeding brings mother and baby together, skin to skin, at least six to eight times a day. It can feel warm and comforting to you as well as your baby. The emotional gratification and intimacy, can be very fulfilling. Some believe breastfeeding leads to a closer bond between mother and baby. Also, many women feel a great sense of pride in seeing their baby grow strong and healthy on their milk alone.

    << Advantages of Bottle-feeding >>

  • 6 Advantages of Bottle-feeding

    Bottle-feeding is best when you are advised not to breastfeed because of either your health or the health of your baby. Such health concerns are include serious infections, illnesses or certain medications taken by the mother, abnormal shape of your newborn’s mouth (such as cleft lip or cleft palate), which would make it difficult for your baby to latch on, and rare disorders in your newborn that make digesting breast milk practically impossible.

    • Bottle-feeding doesn’t tie the mother down to her baby. She’s able to work outside the home, shop, go out with friends and even sleep through the night (sometimes), because someone else can feed the baby. Although expressing milk with a breast-pump can enable others to take over some feedings.
    • Bottle-feeding allows the father to share the feeding responsibilities more easily and not feel left out.
    • Bottle-feeding doesn’t interfere with a couple’s sex life (except, of course, when the baby wakes up for a feeding at the wrong time). Breastfeeding can, because the lactation hormones can make the vagina dry and also leaky breasts during lovemaking can be a turn-off for some couples.
    • Bottle-feeding doesn’t cramp your diet or eating habits. You can eat all the garlic, spicy foods and cabbage you want! Whereas with breastfeeding, you are really still eating for two, just as you were during pregnancy, so you still need to continue eating nutritiously.
    • Bottle-feeding may be more preferable for a woman who is more comfortable bottle-feeding than breastfeeding their baby in public. Some women feel squeamish about the possibility of nursing in public and some feel it would be too embarrassing.
    • With bottle-feeding, you can see exactly how much milk your baby has taken, but with breastfeeding, you are merely guessing by how long your baby has nursed & how many wet diapers you have changed.