Breastfeed

by Sapphire Magpie Ravenclaw

Created on: October 17, 2011

Before I begin, I feel it is essential to state that both breast and bottle are perfectly fine. No one should be judged on which they choose and there will be some people who are unable to breastfeed.

In general, breastfed babies tend to be healthier and build up better immune systems. A mother's milk is precisely balanced to give each individual baby exactly what he or she needs. When the feeding needs of the baby change, the mother's milk will changed to ensure the baby always receives the nutrients which are most needed. There are now many different powdered milks which are adapted for various ages. This is, perhaps, a good thing but it sometimes means trying to guess which is the right one for your child whereas breast milk is already perfect for the child.

Apart from the health benefits to the child, there are benefits of convenience and cost. Arguably, breast feeding is more convenient than bottle feeding. Of course, a bottle can be taken out anywhere without worry as to whether it will be accepted whereas breast feeding in certain places is not welcome. However, more and more places nowadays are realising the benefits, accepting breast feeding and, in certain areas, offering breast feeding areas. The convenience of breast feeding on the other hand, is the fact that the milk is already at the ideal temperature for the baby, there are no bottles to be sterilised, prepared and potentially forgotten. There is no wondering whether there will be enough milk made up for a journey or outing. If, say, a bottle fed baby usually has one bottle every hour and an outing is expected to last for two hours, the mother might prepare three bottles. This is probably going to be fine but there are always possibilities of delay or that the baby may be more hungry than usual. However, if the child is breast fed, there is no reason to consider that there may not be enough milk. Of course, for arguments sake, a major advantage of bottle feeding is that the mother can have a rest, someone else can feed the baby or take them out. Although, breast milk can be expressed so that mother and baby can get the best of both worlds.

As for cost, the obvious advantage of breast milk is that is costs absolutely nothing. There may be different types of infant milk available on the market but they are all rather expensive. Also, different types of powdered milk will be suitable for different babies, meaning that some people will end up having to buy the most expensive versions. Then, once a baby "grows out" of one type of milk, there is a potential for a lot of waste, potentially a very costly one.

So, all in all, there are advantages of both bottle and breast feeding but for cost, convenience and, most importantly, health, breast feeding is usually best.

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