Compare formula and breast milk to make the right choice for your baby

Are you going to return to work after maternity leave and are wondering whether to continue breastfeeding or formula? aFamilyToday Health offers a comparison between formula and breast milk to help you make the right choice.

Health experts believe that breastfeeding is the best option for babies. Infants should be exclusively breastfed for about the first six months. Once your baby has gotten used to the foods, you should still continue to breastfeed throughout the first year of life or even longer if you wish.

However, not everyone can breastfeed and breastmilk is not always good and suitable for your baby. The decision to breastfeed or breastfeed normally is based on whether your baby is suitable for breastfeeding and whether your lifestyle is suitable for breastfeeding. Remember, your baby's nutritional and emotional needs are fully met whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding.

Benefits of breast milk

Breast milk is very useful for babies because:

Breast milk provides natural antibodies to help fight diseases such as ear infections;

Breast milk is usually easier to digest than formula. Therefore, breastfed babies are less likely to experience constipation and bloating;

Breast milk can reduce the baby's risk of sudden infant death syndrome in the first year of life;

Breast milk even helps your baby reduce the risk of being overweight, developing asthma , type 1 and type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, lymphoma and leukemia for many years to come.

Breastfeeding also has many benefits for you. Breastfeeding women have a reduced risk of breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and ovarian cancer. Aside from that, another benefit of breastfeeding is the feeling of a close connection with the baby. This is also the reason that many mothers want to breastfeed their babies for the first time. If you return to work, you can express breastmilk and preserve it carefully to preserve its full nutrition.

Bottle milk also has many benefits

The benefits of bottle milk include:

Convenience. Formula fed babies can be fed at any time.

Flexibility. Your baby can be fed easily without affecting your schedule. You just need to leave the formula for the babysitter or the baby care nursery and be assured that your baby will be fed on time and fully.

Your husband can feed your baby at night while sharing a sense of connection with him.

It is easier to feed your baby. Powdered milk is not digested as quickly as breast milk, so babies who drink formula don't need to be fed often, especially during the first few months.

There is no need to worry about what you eat as nursing mothers may have to avoid foods allergic to their baby.

You can have wine or cocktails during this time. Breastfeeding women should not drink alcohol because the baby may ingest contaminated alcohol in the mother's milk.

You can choose to feed your baby with breastmilk, formula, or a combination of both, but the most important thing is that your baby is fed, received love and care from his or her parents.