Advantages of Breastfeeding vs. Formula
March 05, 2022
Many of us have heard that breastfeeding is better for your baby than baby formula. Yet, there are many advantages of breastfeeding with formula too. We think the decision is best made up to the parents, but in this article, we want to provide important information that can help you make the most educated decision for your child’s health.
However, it is worth mentioning that many medical experts strongly recommend breastfeeding exclusively (no formula, water, or juice) for 6 months. In fact, according to research published in the National Library of Medicine: “for infants, not being breastfed is associated with an increased incidence of infectious morbidity, as well as elevated risks of childhood obesity, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome. For mothers, failure to breastfeed is associated with an increased incidence of retained gestational weight gain, type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, and the metabolic syndrome.”
What is Breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process in which you feed your baby directly from your breast. Human breast milk is rich in important nutrients that support your baby’s health and immunity, such as lactose, fat (milk fat globule membrane, essential fatty acids, beta-palmitate), proteins, nucleotides, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals. Newborns often want to feed every 2-3 hours. Feeding every 3-4 hours is usually common by 2 months, and most babies feed every 4-5 hours by six months.
Advantages of Breastfeeding
The biggest advantage of breastfeeding is that breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants. Its designed by nature to give your baby everything that they need to grow, including a near perfect mix of vitamins, protein and fat. These nutrients in breastmilk are also more easily digested than they are in formula.
Breastmilk also contains antibodies that help strengthen your baby’s immune system so they can fight off viruses and bacteria. This is another one of the major advantages of breastfeeding.
According to a study in the National Library of Medicine: “The composition of human milk is the biologic norm for infant nutrition. Human milk also contains many hundreds to thousands of distinct bioactive molecules that protect against infection and inflammation and contribute to immune maturation, organ development, and healthy microbial colonization.”
Breastfeeding vs formula statistics show that babies fed breastmilk exclusively for 6 months have fewer illnesses, infections, and trips to the doctor than babies that are not breastfed exclusively. This boost of immunity early on sets your child up for a healthy immune system well into their later years.
As if that wasn’t enough to show breastfeeding advantages, some studies suggest that breastfeeding has an association with higher IQ scores in later childhood. The skin-to-skin and eye contact also supports your baby emotionally and helps them feel more safe and secure.
Breastfeeding may also lower your child’s risk of developing diseases later in life like diabetes and obesity.
Additionally, breastfeeding has benefits for the mother as well, helping to burn extra calories, which can help you lose pregnancy weight faster, as well as releasing the hormone oxytocin, which provides feelings of love and connection, and also helps your body physically by helping your uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size.
Breastfeeding has also been linked to a decreased risk of developing certain diseases in women like retained gestational weight gain, type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, and the metabolic syndrome.
Furthermore, breastfeeding is free and does not require you to buy expensive formulas or sterilize rubber nipples. It can also be a relaxing time for both you and your baby to bond.
What Is Baby Formula?
Baby formula, also called infant formula or just formula, is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age. It is usually prepared from powder or liquid for bottle or cup feeding.
The three most common types of baby formula available are:
- Cow milk protein-based formulas. The majority of baby formula is made with cow’s milk that’s been altered to resemble breast milk—making it easier to digest and giving it a more specific balance of nutrients for human babies.
- Soy-based formulas. These formulas are useful for avoiding animal proteins in your baby’s diet, which can be helpful if your baby has an allergic reaction or intolerance to dairy, and may also be a good choice for parents with personal beliefs against using animal proteins.
- Protein hydrolysate formulas. These formulas contain protein that's been broken down (hydrolyzed) into smaller sizes than are those in cow's milk and soy-based formulas. These formulas are meant for babies who don't tolerate cow's milk or soy-based formulas well.
Baby formulas can come in three forms – powder, liquid, or ready to use (does not need to be mixed in water.
Advantages of Baby Formula
While many health experts recommend breastfeeding as the best nutritional choice for babies, breastfeeding may not be possible for all women. Certain medical situations, lifestyles, and comfort levels may factor in greatly to a mother’s decision to breastfeed or formula feed.
For mothers that cannot breastfeed or choose not to, baby formula can provide a healthy alternative. Formula is designed to provide babies with all of the essential nutrients that they need to grow and be healthy.
Baby formulas attempt to replicate mother's milk using a complex combination of proteins, sugars, fats, and vitamins. They are also made in sterile conditions and are FDA approved.
Some of the advantages of formula feeding include:
- With a baby formula, you, your partner, or caregiver can feed your baby at any time (though this is also possible with a breast milk pump).
- Frequency of feedings. Baby formulas often take longer to digest than breast milk, which means your baby will likely need to feed less often than if they are breastfed.
- Baby formula allows for more flexibility in a mother’s schedule. Instead of needing to pump or schedule around the baby’s feeding schedule, formula bottles can be made easily in advance.
- Diet & lifestyle. A breastfeeding mother needs to be more careful about what she consumes as she can pass things on to her baby through breastmilk. When using baby formula, a mother does not have to be as careful about what she is eating or consuming.
Some mothers worry that if they formula feed they won’t be able to bond with their child the same as if they breastfeed. While breastfeeding does foster emotional connection due to the intimate skin-to-skin contact and release of oxytocin, an emotional connection can still be fostered while using baby formula.
There will always be an emotional connection between mother and child. Besides, this emotional connection depends on much more than just breastfeeding, but on the love and care that you consistently give to your child.
Additionally, bottle feeding, whether with breast milk or baby formula, allows for an opportunity for the father to share in feeding the child to foster their emotional connection as well.
Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding vs. Formula
As we have seen there are many breastfeeding advantages and many baby formula-feeding advantages. Let’s take a closer look at some of the pros and cons of breastfeeding vs formula.
|
Breastfeeding Pros |
Breastfeeding Cons |
|
Ideal nutrition for babies |
May not be possible for some mothers |
|
Near perfect mix of proteins, fats, vitamins |
Must be more careful about your diet and medication use |
|
Easier for babies to digest |
Can be physically demanding |
|
Contains antibodies that strengthen immunity |
May feel discomfort |
|
Linked to benefits later in life |
Difficult to measure how much your baby is eating |
|
Can strengthen emotional connection between mother and baby |
Can be more time consuming and inconvenient |
|
Baby Formula Pros |
Baby Formula Cons |
|
Convenient |
Does not contain antibodies |
|
A family member or caregiver can feed your baby when you aren’t there |
Does not provide the same protection against infections and diseases as breast milk |
|
Do not need to feed as often |
Need to mix and prepare to make sure it is the right temperature |
|
Provides a chance for the father or other family members to bond |
More difficult for the baby to digest |
|
Do not have to worry as much about diet and medication use |
Can be expensive |
When it comes to baby formula vs breastfeeding, there are pros and cons to both. The pros and cons of breastfeeding vs formula feeding is something that parents will have to determine themselves, but we hope that this article has given you some more insight on the advantages of breastfeeding and the advantages of formula feeding.
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of baby formula is that it does not offer the same immune support to your baby that breastfeeding does. Breast milk contains important antibodies that strengthen a child’s immune system from their infant years well into their later years of life.
Summary
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process in which you feed your baby directly from your breast. Human breast milk is rich in important nutrients that support your baby’s health and immunity, such as lactose, fat (milk fat globule membrane, essential fatty acids, beta-palmitate), proteins, nucleotides, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals.
Baby formula, also called infant formula or just formula, is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age. It is usually prepared from powder or liquid for bottle or cup feeding. Baby formulas attempt to replicate mother's milk using a complex combination of proteins, sugars, fats, and vitamins. They are also made in sterile conditions and are FDA approved.
The biggest advantage of breastfeeding is that breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants. It is designed by nature to give your baby everything that they need to grow, including a near perfect mix of vitamins, protein and fat. These nutrients in breastmilk are also more easily digested than they are in formula. Breastmilk also contains antibodies that help strengthen your baby’s immune system so they can fight off viruses and bacteria.
While many health experts recommend breastfeeding as the best nutritional choice for babies, breastfeeding may not be possible for all women. Certain medical situations, lifestyles, and comfort levels may factor in greatly to a mother’s decision to breastfeed or formula feed. For mothers that cannot breastfeed or choose not to, baby formula can provide a healthy alternative. Formula is designed to provide babies with all of the essential nutrients that they need to grow and be healthy.
When it comes to baby formula vs breastfeeding, there are pros and cons to both. Weighing the pros and cons of breastfeeding vs formula feeding will help parents make the right decision for them and for their child’s health. We hope that this article has given you some more insight on the advantages of breastfeeding and formula feeding, and helps you determine the choice that is best for you.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882692/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215837/
True Health Starts with Feeding the Body
