Breastfeeding vs Bottlefeeding

Breastfeeding vs Bottle-feeding

A new study has found that even the sickest babies can benefit from breast-feeding. Pediatric researchers describe a successful program in which nurses helped mothers attain high rates of breast-feeding in very sick babies-newborns. “Their mother's milk helps to fend off infection and provides easily digestible, nutritious ingredients that can reduce the infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit”. This is only one of the innumerable benefits of breastfeeding. I believe that it is of critical importance that all mothers make the informed decision to provide human milk for their infants in order to protect the baby’s health and to promote a very special bond between mother and child which only a mother can provide. However, in today’s society, breastfeeding is often thought of as unnecessary and therefore formula is chosen instead.

Breast milk is the only natural, complete and complex nutrition for human infants. It has been scientifically proved that breast milk benefits every system in a baby's body. It offers protection against allergies and respiratory infections and its composition keeps pace with the infant's individual growth and changing nutritional needs. It is easily digested and absorbed and therefore abdominal pains are less frequent. Besides, nursing promotes facial structure development, enhanced speech, straighter teeth and it enhances vision. Childhood diabetes is less common among breastfed than bottle fed babies. What is more, breastfeeding enhances a baby's cognitive development; because it allows the baby more control in feeding (it seems that the ability to control one's own actions is essential in human development). The composition of breast milk, too, seems to support optimal brain development. Indeed, research has found that children fed mother's milk as babies have higher IQs, on average, than those fed formula.  

The physical act of nursing promotes bonding between the mother and the child. A...