Bottle Feeding Your Baby: Facts To Know
Most mothers feed their baby by direct breastfeeding. In some situations, it may become essential to feed infant formula from a bottle. If choosing to feed the baby using a bottle, he or she will need to know about how to feed from the bottle. It can take more periods for the baby to get used for that.
Bottle Feeding – Advantages
1. Anyone can feed the baby.
The best benefit of bottle feeding is that either one of the parents can feed the baby. Feeding is a beautiful and important bonding moment. Breastfeeding will not give the daddy an opportunity to connect with the baby. Bottle feeding creates the bond with siblings, father and other family members to spend more periods of time with the newborn baby.
2. It can be done in public.
Most of the mothers are not comfortable with breastfeeding their babies in public places. If the mother doesn’t want to feed in a public place in absence of a private area for breastfeeding, then bottle feeding is the best way to go.
3. Keeping a track of the baby’s intake is easy.
It isn’t easy to keep track of how much milk the baby is drinking when the mother breastfeeds. Bottle feedings help to find out the baby’s daily milk intake.
4. Don’t have to worry if the breast milk supply is low.
Some mothers worry that their baby will remain fed less if their breast milk supply is insufficient or low. In such a case, many parents change to bottle feeding. This ensures that the baby gets all the milk which helps to grow and develop health. However, because of this, the baby does not suck on breasts, which develop to a lack of milk supply.
5. Don’t have to worry about making changes to your diet.
A mother who is giving formula milk to her baby will not have to worry about extra specific fruits and vegetables to her diet. She can take anything she likes.
6. Bottle feeding helps the baby who is having lactose intolerance.
In some rare cases, babies cannot digest breast milk or animal milk. This situation is otherwise called lactose intolerance. Then, suitable formula milk, such as soy protein, can be given to the baby by bottle feed.
7. The mother’s health condition doesn’t affect the baby.
If the mother falls sick after childbirth or faces health issues that don’t give the breastfeed means, a bottle can be used to feed the baby.
Bottle feeding – Disadvantages:
1. Formula milk is not as nutritious as compared to breast milk.
Breast milk has all the nutrients which the baby wants to grow and develop. It is also light to digest in the stomach compared with formula milk. Bottle-feeding will also increase the risk of obesity in early childhood.
2. Bottle feeding takes time and effort.
They can breastfeed the baby at any time. But if the baby is habituated to bottle feeding, then needs to wash and sterilize the bottle, pour fresh boiled milk into the bottle then warm it. It’s a big process. Improper sterilization can also put the baby at risk.
3. Bottle feeding equipment is an extra expense.
Bottle feeding the baby can be more costly. If a mother chooses to bottle feed formula milk to the baby, the mother will need to get feeding bottles, a brush for cleaning and also a sterilizer. You’ll also have to spend money on a best-quality breast pump or formula milk powder. All this will be an extra expense to the monthly budget.
4. Bottle-feeding may compromise the baby’s immune system.
Some studies tell that breast milk develops and improves the baby’s immune system. Formula milk may not have the efficient vital and natural nutrients to the baby. Formula-fed babies are also associated with the risk of causing certain illnesses such as chest infection, ear infection, urine infection or diarrhea.
5. It affects the mother-baby bonding.
As said before, feeding is a connecting moment for the mother and her baby. When the baby sucks the mother’s breast milk, skin-to-skin contact is established. Bottle-feeding may break this connection.
6. Bottle feeding can be inconvenient.
If you are planning for travel then need to take clean bottles, formula milk, baby nipples, and other necessities. It can be a long process to manage the things as well as the baby at the same periods of time. Bottle feeding is also inconvenient if the baby needs midnight feeding sessions as you have to disturb and get up and prepare the milk every time.
7. Breastfeeding keeps the mother healthy.
Some studies have proved that mothers who take breastfeed rather than bottle-feed have reduced risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis.
8. The baby may not take formula milk.
For more babies, formula milk-feed from the bottle will not be suitable for them. They may have diarrhea and reduce fluids from the body.
Bottle feeding has its own advantages and disadvantages. You need to be careful to consider both sides of the situation before making a decision which method of feeding to give to the baby. The priority is to ensure that the baby is neither underfeed nor overfeed and needs to get the essential vitamins and nutrients from the feeding.
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