Let go of the guilt dear Mama!! ‘Breast is best’ is not for everyone and that is okay. You breastfeed or formula feed, you’ll still be the Best mom you can be.
Breastfeeding is one big decision you need to make during pregnancy or after giving birth. It’s a difficult decision for some first time moms. New-age mommies find it easy not to breastfeed their little ones. There are other reasons too, like, health, money, temporal or emotional, etc.
Let’s make this clear how a new mommy gets affected by these questioning rounds put up by friends and family. Is it making any difference in the baby’s nutrition? Should you be worried about breastfeeding or not?
Breastfeeding on its own is a great blessing and it is a fact that not all women are blessed with this natural process. As long as your little champ is feeding, you need not worry about anything else in the world.
What Do The Doctors Say?
While most experts and doctors recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months. One thing to understand here is that your baby needs to be fed. It doesn’t matter it’s your breastmilk or the best brand formula milk. If you cannot produce milk, what’s the next option in your hand? Formula- right? The mother needs to decide for herself what is best for her child.
Benefits Of Breastfeeding
- Breastmilk has the right number of balanced vitamins and nutrients needed for a baby’s growth and development.
- Breastmilk is loaded with antibodies that protect the baby from infections, germs, and illnesses. Breast-fed babies get lesser allergies as compared to bottle-fed babies.
- Breastmilk doesn’t cost, formula milk is expensive for some.
- Babies can digest breastmilk easily.
- Breastfed babies find feeding more convenient and relaxing.
- Breastfeeding can help you lose those extra kilos.
- Breastfeeding can shrink your uterus to its normal size after your delivery with the hormone oxytocin.
Drawbacks of Breastfeeding
- Mothers need to be available for their babies all the time to feed them. Infants need to be fed 8-10 times a day. Whether you pump the milk out and feed it regularly or feed by breast, you will be engaged in breastfeeding.
- Breastmilk gets digested easily so babies need milk more often. Bottle-fed babies can go for hours and the time duration between feeds is longer.
- Bottle feeding can let you measure what quantity of milk your baby requires.
- Mothers need to be cautious in their diet and medication because it can get through their milk into the baby’s tummy and cause serious health problems.
Why Formula Milk Came Into Picture
Some of the most common reasons are listed below as to why women choose not to breastfeed.
- As compared to the older times, breastfeeding is practiced more now by new mothers. Earlier, formula milk was appreciated more as of today. Mothers in the past used formula milk for their babies rather than breastfeeding as they considered it old-fashioned and not beneficial.
- Different communities have different opinions regarding breastfeeding and some of them have bigotry up against nursing.
- At times, couples and friends are seen to have insufficient knowledge regarding whether or not to breastfeed. With confusion and lack of knowledge, they go towards formula feeding, which is fine. Most partners believe that with breastfeeding, there might come disturbances in their relationship because there will be a lot of involvement with the baby.
- When formula milk was introduced in the market back in time, mothers might have thought this baby food is worth trying and as it has been made by the best brands, must give it a try, that way they will be away from so much hardship of breastfeeding the baby.
- When a baby comes into a family, the involvement of all the family members tends to get more and mothers might think with the lack of family support breastfeeding is not possible, so they chose formula milk instead.
Why Formula Is Better Than Breastmilk?
Getting Back To Work
Handling a new baby is incredibly exciting but along with household chores, responsibilities, and further stress of getting back to the job life can be hectic as it sounds.
Some women find it discouraging to go through all of these and then sit in the room and pump milk for the baby. This is the major cause of quitting breastfeeding and begin with formula milk instead.
The choice is yours, lady, whatever you decide should go in your and baby’s favor. Regularly sitting around the house corner with the breast pump is exhausting as well and doesn’t go feasible with work life.
Lack Of Support From Healthcare Experts
Because of the lack of support from healthcare suppliers, many women are not encouraged to breastfeeding. A lot of healthcare providers have no educational qualification regarding the techniques and benefits of breastfeeding a baby.
Getting breastfeeding to function is a difficult process and without proper guidance and skills such as latching, stopping the nipple pain and inflammation, positioning the baby, new moms can’t get things going on their own.
Monetary Issues
When you think of getting pump rentals or lactation specialists, they will make a hole in your wallet. If you need to pump your breastmilk and have no idea where you can get help regarding this or you do not have WIC certification, you might find it difficult to go with breastfeeding.
However, mothers need to know that breastfeeding can be beneficial in the long run as it gets easier to feed in the later period and is a less money-consuming method as compared to formula feeding.
Personal Problems
Fear, anxiety, change in physical shape, awkwardness feeding in public gatherings, stigma, hesitation are some reasons that stop women from breastfeeding. Chastity is a personal thing and there are several ways you can do to feel comfortable in breastfeeding such as using cloth covering to breastfeed in public or feeding it in private.
If you are concerned that nursing your baby will expose your breasts, you may feel uncomfortable. Well, there is no shame in breastfeeding, still, If you get thoughts like nursing can get embarrassing, infamous, disgraceful, unworthy, uncomfortable, then you can surely opt for formula milk without much ado.
Health Issues
Although women with numerous health concerns still want to breastfeed and are determined to do so, it can be very stressful and demanding at times. According to research, women often confuse breastfeeding obstacles as contraindications.
Breastfeeding can be a challenging task for women with health problems. Problems such as insufficient milk production, the medication you take can impact your baby, the baby’s demand for feeding can get intimidating at times, etc.
Breastfeeding is not recommended if a woman has had breast cancer and has undergone radiation therapy.
Other health concerns like women with an HIV infection, mastectomy, will not allow mothers to breastfeed. These are the times the doctors suggest feeding formula milk without hesitation without getting into stressful situations.
Women tend to overthink at all times especially when it comes to their baby, but when you have health issues, you need to look for the best options for both you and your baby.
Reasons Why You Can Choose Formula Feed
Too often, it is seen that women who refuse to breastfeed are looked down on and mocked. Nobody wants to know the reason behind their no and blame them for not being a good mother. Women have to go through a lot physically, emotionally, and socially to cross the hurdles in their path to gain acceptance.
It is not required; you don’t need to certify others what is best for you. It is your decision how you want to parent your child and how much love and care you have for the child.
Not Everyone Can Produce Breastmilk
Breastmilk is the best milk, as the saying goes; needs to be stopped. These little slogans cannot mean anything to a breastfeeding mother but this is a big thing for a mother who doesn’t breastfeed to deal with.
It makes the formula-feeding mothers feel as if they are misguiding their babies or not giving the right food to the baby which is not true.
Burdening constantly to make them guilty for not breastfeeding their babies cannot be more stressful and depressing for a new mother.
Feeding your baby should not be a competition with others so it is best to stop encouraging one option to be the best and the other one not even in the category. Nobody is going to get you a trophy for breastfeeding so let’s not label things on your own.
Formula Milk Is Important
The benefits of breastfeeding are indeed undeniable but formula milk comes with several benefits too.
It is loaded with essential vitamins and nutrients that are best for a baby’s brain and overall development.
It is the best alternative that can be given to babies in place of breastfeeding. It also gives mothers some free time for their own as anybody can feed formula milk to babies which is highly needed for all.
Give Your Partner Some Work!
In the case of a breastfeeding woman, it is impossible for your partner to feel the importance of nursing the child. You are the one who takes the entire feeding responsibility on your shoulders. Go out and give some work to your partner, girls!
When you are formula feeding, you get a chance to share the feeding time with your spouse. This will again help your baby to bond with your partner and you get a much-needed break.
You Decide What To Feed Your Baby
This is not surely a mandatory option that everyone can rely upon, it should be a choice. The reason to which you want to formula feed your child should be yours and not anyone else’s, come on!
The reason can be anything and that is personal and nobody is supposed to take charge of it. There are many more ways where you can prove to be the best mom, why this?
The baby needs to be fed the best
Your baby is just urging for good nutritious food and there is nothing wrong with providing formula to the baby. It has all the nutritional values the baby needs in its initial days.
Baby will never judge you for what you are feeding him, he just needs a fuller tummy and be in your arms for all the cuddles and care.
Bottom line
It is very important to understand and respect the decision of a woman when she doesn’t want to breastfeed her child. It is completely her decision and reason can be anything. It is her child and it is her right to decide what is best.
In some conditions, there are Reasons that women need to overcome to breastfeed effectively. But this doesn’t happen always and that should be respected as well. Women also need assistance when they want to formula feed their child.
It is crucial to guide women towards breastfeeding and explain to them its benefits, but at the same time, formula-feeding mothers should also be emphasized if they do not want to breastfeed.
It is very unfair for women who breastfeed to pass judgemental comments on women who want to breastfeed or likewise. It is not the 1800s ladies! Without pointing out fingers at one another, mothers need to understand each other’s decisions and choices and provide a helping hand who needs it.
There are two types of feeding, it doesn’t matter which one a mother chooses. In the end, every mother desire one thing- healthy and cheerful children.
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