Even though breast milk is the most natural and safest feeding type for babies, there are absolute contraindications for breastfeeding. Therefore, each mother decides whether to switch to formula depending on the particular situation. In any case, bottle-feeding is not dangerous for the health, immunity, and development of a child.
In today’s rapidly developing world, the manufacturers of infant formula produce food for babies which is as close as possible to breast milk in the content. To properly pick up feeding for a kid, it is better to visit a pediatrician so that the selected diet will fit the peculiarities of the development. In such a way, you can be sure, a child receives the same nutrients together with formula as with breast milk. Most often, organic formula is preferred e.g. Holle. An organic label means crops are grown without GMOs, synthetic pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, or sewage sludge.
Having seen three children of the same age, no one will guess which of them is breastfed and who is bottle-fed. The frequency of respiratory diseases doesn’t depend on the type of feeding. So if there are no concomitant diseases and a child is born full-term, there is absolutely no difference between breastfed and bottle-fed children.
Why do some parents prefer bottle feeding?
To find out the reasons for parents to decide on bottle-feeding, let’s first check what type of feeding exists.
Natural feeding
Exclusively breastfeeding – a baby receives only breast milk.
Mixed feeding
A child gets breast milk in a volume of at least 1/5 of the total diet and is supplemented with formula because of physiological needs.
Bottle-feeding
Breast milk makes up less than 1/5 of the total diet or is completely absent, and infant formula is the only source of food.
The most justified reasons for refusing to breastfeed are various medical problems:
- hereditary metabolic disorders such as galactosemia, which require a lifelong diet
- prematurity
- lactase deficiency which can be treated with special feeding(for example, Kendamil formula range has specialty feeding for those who are lactose intolerant)
- congenital malformation and treatment in intensive care
- women’s diseases incompatible with breastfeeding
What are the types of formulas?
Nowadays, the range of children’s stores has a huge selection of infant milk. There is hypoallergenic formula suitable for kids with lactose intolerance, a specialty diet for spitting up, specialized milk replacers for premature babies, etc. The regular formula can be powder and liquid, adapted and non-adapted. A kid will easily adapt to bottle-feeding if feeding is selected correctly.Â
Pros of formula feeding
Of course, bottle-feeding has both pros and cons so let’s see the most common reasons why parents prefer infant formula. A baby can be fed not only by a mother but also by relatives so that a close relationship can be set by all members of a family. It is easy to monitor and adjust the amount of food a kid consumes. It is possible to quickly identify the cause of allergies in infants unlike breastfeeding because there is no need to thoroughly review the entire diet of a nursing mother. The number of feedings per day is less than during breastfeeding because the infant formula is digested longer than breast milk.
