Choosing to Breast-Feed or Bottle-Feed

One of the first and most important decisions that new mothers make is whether to breast-feed or bottle-feed their babies. In fact, you should make this decision before giving birth, because the first feeding should happen immediately after delivery. While the decision is a personal one that may include many factors, it is almost universally agreed by health authorities all over the world that breast-feeding is the healthiest choice for mothers and their babies. Here’s why.

Breast milk offers more advantages to babies than infant formula can. The widespread recognition that breast milk is best for babies is based on extensive research about the role of breast-feeding and health.

• The best nutrients. Breast milk is naturally suited for an infant’s nutritional needs. It has the right mix of nutrients that babies need to grow and develop. It contains the right proportion of proteins, and its proteins are made of the right “building blocks” -- amino acids -- that are needed to construct the tissues of your baby’s growing body. Breast milk also has the healthiest carbohydrates including some large, slowly digested carbohydrates that help to moderate blood sugar levels. These carbohydrates also serve as food for good bacteria, encouraging them to grow in a baby’s digestive tract, which is a critical part of setting up a healthy digestive system. Breast milk also has a lot of good fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, which may have benefits for a baby’s brain development.
• Tailor-made nutrition. The contents of breast milk change as the baby gets older, and they even change from the beginning of a feeding to the end. Instead of a standardized formula, the baby receives nutrition suited to his special nutritional needs.
• Immune protection. Breast milk contains several factors that are thought to help a baby’s naturally weak immune system. It contains proteins and antibodies that help to fight infections and promote immune system development. It even contains live cells and chemicals from a mother’s immune system that can help protect her baby. Several studies have found that breast-feeding offers protection against certain infections as well as allergies.
• Closeness with Mom. Another, often overlooked, advantage of breast-feeding is the bond it produces between mother and child. Though it is difficult to study the effects that early experiences in infanthood have on child development, the close contact and interaction between mother and child that takes place during breast-feeding may help encourage emotional and cognitive development. Several different studies have found that breast-fed babies perform slightly better in cognitive tests even after infancy.

Breast-feeding offers some important benefits for mothers, too.

• Faster recovery. Lactation -- the production of milk -- is the natural completion of the reproductive cycle after pregnancy and birth. The suckling of your baby shortly after delivery stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone that contracts the uterus and reduces bleeding, helping your body recover faster from delivery.
• Easier weight loss. During pregnancy, the body adds about six to eight pounds of body weight in anticipation of the energy requirements of breast-feeding. The production of milk in a lactating woman burns about 500 calories a day. Not all studies have shown that breast-feeding promotes weight loss -- it also depends on a woman’s food intake and physical activity level -- but the added energy expenditure of nursing may help you lose your pregnancy weight.
• Psychological benefits. The hormones released during breast-feeding -- oxytocin and prolactin -- have been shown to stimulate maternal feelings and a sense of well-being.
• Reduced disease risk. Women who breast-feed have lower incidences of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers. Lactation lowers estrogen levels in the body, and lifetime exposure to estrogen is a risk factor for these cancers. The longer you nurse, the greater the benefit. Breast-feeding also increases bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures later in life.
• Less guesswork. Women who breast-feed generally have an easier time knowing when their baby is full and has had enough. Studies have shown that bottle-fed infants consume more calories than they need, an early example of overeating that may be linked to overweight later in life. When you nurse, your breasts have a natural mechanism for stimulating and shutting off milk production. The contents of your breast milk even change as your feeding progresses, matching your baby’s nutritional needs. With breast-feeding, you don’t have to worry about choosing a formula and measuring the right amount. And it saves you the sizable expense and hassle of buying formulas, bottles, and nipples.

The federal government listed as one of its goals in its Healthy People 2010 report to have 75 percent of women breast-feeding in the United States. Recent polls by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) show that we are close to that goal: More than 71 percent of children have ever been breast-fed. However, our population is behind the goal on maintaining breast-feeding for the long term. The AAP recommends breast-feeding babies exclusively (without supplemental formula) for twelve months of life. Breast milk is enough to sustain them by itself until they are four to six months old, after which solid foods can be fed.

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What a woman eats during pregnancy can have an important effect on her health and the health of her baby -- even when the baby becomes an adult. For more information on nutrition during and after pregnancy for yourself and your baby, read The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy.

 
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