Breast Feeding – Yes? Or No?

Everybody knows breast feeding is best for the baby and best for the mother’s health. This is supported by extensive research. Yet there are many mothers who don’t breast feed but who rely on formula milk as food for their baby. The reasons are many and varied. Sometimes it is a lack of time or a lack of opportunity or a simple desire to not submit themselves to breast feeding their baby.

The decision needs to be made before your baby is born. You can’t start bottle feeding and then switch to the breast after a number of weeks or months, without a lot of difficulty and drug intervention.

There are many benefits of breastfeeding

Breast milk is highly recommended by the American Academy of Paediatrics especially for those babies who are born premature or become sick in the early days or weeks. Babies who have a family history of allergies are best fed breast milk as it is less likely to trigger allergic reactions from a newborn baby – breast milk is designed for babies. It is part of both the baby and her mother.

An important benefit of breast milk is it contains natural antibodies, these antibodies are passed from the mother to the baby and boost and support the baby’s immune system against bacteria and viruses.

Breast milk is the most readily digestible baby food. Very little of it is wasted and all the nutrients are readily absorbed. It is highly nutritious for the baby.

Breast feeding has health benefits to the mother – it uses up calories and helps to trim the figure, and it helps reduce the uterus back to its original size. Breast feeding also protects the mother against breast and ovarian cancer.

When breast feeding is not possible

Despite all the advantages of breastfeeding and despite all the will in the world, sometimes mothers are either not able to breast feed successfully or decide not to do it. Common reasons are:

• Some mothers may not produce sufficient milk to satisfy the baby’s requirements. Despite all attempts to boost milk supply some mothers have to give up breast feeding or feed the baby a combination of breast and formula food.
• Breast feeding and the suck reflex can be very uncomfortable or painful, especially in the early weeks, and some mothers dislike the pain or discomfort so much they decide to stop.
• Many women go back to work soon after their baby is born. If there are no baby minding facilities nearby, this means the mother either has to express milk for her baby during work hours or she has to give up breast feeding. Expressing breast milk often becomes a chore and some women give up.
• Sometimes a mother may become ill or have a specific medical condition or disease which prevents her from breast feeding, or she may take prescription drugs that could be dangerous to her baby.

Whatever the reasons, the decision to breast feed or not to breast feed is the mothers and she should not feel guilty if she decides not to breast feed.