subject: Breast Milk Or Formula - The Choice Is Yours [print this page] Breast Milk Or Formula - The Choice Is Yours
It's totally up to you whether you want to breastfeed your baby or give him a formula. If you are still in doubts, please read through this article, take some time to think about it, before making a decision.
Breastfeeding can be divided into two stages : colostrum and regular breast milk.
Colostrum is the very first milk produced and it's very important and good for your baby, as it's enriched with proteins, carbohydrates and most of all antibodies and leukocytes. That helps baby's immune system, which is very immature, to fight off diseases, bacterias and viruses. Colostrum is produced in the first three days and it's a thick, whitish liquid, that is easily digestive. Colostrum also acts as a good laxative and helps your baby to pass the meconium, which is usually quite thick. Also colostrum can prevent jaundice by clearing the excess of bilirubin.
By the third or fourth day after birth, colostrum is replaced by a regular milk. Breast milk is not as thick as colostrum, but is composed of all nutrients that are needed for your baby's growth. It is still contains the required antibodies to keep the immune system strong to fight off the diseases. But don't get confused by thinking that breastfed babies never get sick. Of course they do, but it's been proven that they recover from illnesses much quicker than babies being fed with formula.
There are much more benefits of breastfeeding than providing required antibodies. Many studies around the world, showed that breastfeeding reduces the risk of getting e-coli infections, diebetes, arthritis, meningitis, colds, ear infections, allergies, pneumonia and other infections and illnesses.
Breastfeeding isn't only beneficial for babies, it also improves mothers health. It helps you to lose weight more quickly after having a baby. It also reduces the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. But that's only in case of a long-term breastfeeding process.
These are just a few of the greatest things that mother's milk can do for a baby. We have to agree that nowadays there are plenty of good formulas available. But nothing can be better that a breast milk.
It's amazing if you decide to breastfeed your baby. That's the best start you can give to your precious one. But please don't blame yourself if for some reason you decide to feed your baby with a formula. Remember, the decision is yours and no one else's. Just think of all cons and prons before rushing to any decision.
