Discount Infant Formula » Breastfeeding .vs Formula

Mom Starts Breast Feeding

Guest Writer — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:31:44 +0000

How to start breast feeding properly?While holding your newborn in the delivery room, you should put his lips to your breast. Although your mature milk hasn't come in yet, your breasts are producing a substance called colostrum. It will help to protect your baby from many infection.

First of all try not to panic if your newborn seems to have trouble finding or staying on your nipple. Breastfeedings requires patience and lots of practice. No one will expect you to be an expert in the beginning, so don't hesitate to ask a nurse to show you what to do while you're in the hospital. Remember - every mother has the potential to succeed in such an art as breastfeeding
If you have a premature baby, you may not be able to nurse right away. So you should start pumping your milk. Your baby will receive this milk through a tube or a bottle until he's strong enough to nurse.

Remember that nursing shouldn't be painful. When your baby latches on, pay much ssattention to how your breasts feel. Baby’s mouth should cover a big part of the areola below the nipple, and your nipple should be far back in your baby's mouth. If latch-on hurts, break the suction — by inserting your little finger between your baby's gums and your nipple — and try again. Once your baby latches on properly, he'll do the rest.

What are breast feeding benefits? Both babies and mothers can get use and pleasure from breastfeeding. You won’t find another magic liquid in the world like breast milk! It is easy to digest. Besides it contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. Research indicates that women who breastfeed may have lower rates of certain breast and ovarian cancers.
So let’s find out these benefits in details:
• First of all breastfeeding is normal and healthy for infants and moms.
• Breast milk has disease-fighting cells called antibodies that help protect infants from germs, illness, and even SIDS. Infant formula cannot match the exact chemical makeup of human milk, especially the cells, hormones, and antibodies that fight disease.
• Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of such infant health problems as Ear infections, stomach viruses, diarrhea, respiratory infections, atopic dermatitis, asthma, obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS) and childhood leukemia. Moreover breast milk can help to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in pre-term infants.
• Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of such health problems in moms as Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, postpartum depression (PPD) and ovarian cancer
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• Studies are still looking at the effects of breastfeeding on osteoporosis and weight loss after birth.
• Breast milk differs from infant formula. There is no better start at life that you can give your baby than Colostrum (the thick yellow first breast milk that woman makes during pregnancy and just after birth). It is often called "liquid gold." Colostrum is very rich in nutrients and antibodies to protect your baby as he or she first enters the world. Although your baby only gets a small amount of colostrum at each feeding, it matches the amount his or her tiny stomach can hold.
• Don’t worry, your milk changes over time to meet your baby's needs. Your breast milk that begins to be made by the third to fifth day after birth has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth. It will be a thinner type of milk, but just as full of all of the nutrients and antibodies for your baby.
• Premature babies do better when breastfed compared to premature babies who are fed formula.
• For most babies, breast milk is easier to digest than formula. It takes time for their stomachs to adjust to digesting the proteins in formula because they are made from cow's milk.
• When you breastfeed, there are no bottles and nipples to sterilize. So it is convenient! Unlike human milk straight from the breast, infant formula has a chance of being contaminated.
• Breastfeeding makes your life easier. You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formula. There are no bottles to warm in the middle of the night!
• Breastfeeding can save your money (between $1,160 and $3,915 per year, depending on the brand of formula).
• A mother can satisfy her baby's hunger right away with breastfeeding.
• Physical contact is very important to newborns. It helps them feel more secure, warm, and comforted. Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness and bonding with their infants. Besides breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time for herself and her baby, helping them bond.
• Breastfeeding during an emergency can save lives.
So as a mother, one of the best things that only you can do for your baby is to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is not only a lifestyle choice. It is an important health choice. Any amount of time that you can do it will help both you and your baby. Although breastfeeding isn't the only option for feeding your baby, every mother has the potential to succeed and gain a wonderful experience.

Are You Feeding Your Baby A Infant Formula

brwilson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:56:13 +0000

There are several reasons why new mothers, or even women who have given birth many times, do not breastfeed their babies. There could be a medical reason why breastfeeding is not an option. In today's world there are also economical or social reasons why mothers choose not to breastfeed.

Whatever the reasons are, many mothers look to infant formulas as an alternative to breastfeeding. Baby formula feeding comes with advantages and disadvantages that should be taken note of.

Let's begin with the plus points. Some of the advantages of feeding a baby with infant formulas are the following:

The proteins in infant formula are slower to metabolize, feeding the baby is less frequent compared to breastfeeding.
One can easily measure how much milk the baby has consumed
A mother can resume her normal life since she does not need to be present at all times when feeding her baby.
This can be an alternative for mothers who experience pain when breastfeeding.
A great alternative when the mammary glands do not produce natural milk.

While there are advantages to infant formula feeding, there are also some disadvantages:

Since baby's formula has a lesser amount of fat content than breast milk, the baby may gain weight more slowly.
Milk formula does not contain the immunoglobulin's, which have been shown to boost a baby's immune system and provide better protection against common childhood illnesses.
Breastfeeding is free while infant formulas can be costly.
Baby formula feeding will not create the same bond as breastfeeding.

It can be argued that there are more advantages on either side of this debate. While infant's formulas will never be an exact match to natural breastmilk, they can be a viable replacement when dictated by medical or social necessity.

Nurturing Your Baby

brwilson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:50:22 +0000

Having a baby is an exciting phase in a parent’s life. Mom and Dad start dreaming dreams for their baby. In raising their precious joy, they acknowledge the power of nurturing that is brought by giving the baby’s physical needs and emotional needs.
The primary consideration for a new born is whether the mother will breastfeed the baby. In some cases, breastfeeding is not possible because of some health condition of the mother, that medications will alter the formulation of the breast milk, and it will no longer be safe for the baby. In these cases, babies formula can be used instead. There are infant formula available with varying formulation depending on the baby’s age, specific nutritional needs and health condition. Babies that develop allergies from cow’s milk may instead take milk made with soy protein. Today, most babies formula have fortified vitamins and minerals that covers the recommended daily intake of certain vitamins and minerals, and supplements are no longer needed. For premature babies, there are special infant formula that are appropriate for these children.
Now that the baby is at home, the next consideration is its home environment. Parents prepare the baby’s crib, bedroom and bath and make sure that the little one is always warm and comfortable. Play things are provided to encourage the baby’s brain development, and start up its motor skills. It is exciting to see how a baby reacts to toys that move and make sounds. Sometimes, the baby would either startle or laugh, which is a delight to the parents.
Babies clothes is also a big consideration especially if the family will go on a trip. Usually, a whole day’s trip to another city would need more than three changes of clothes. The same goes for diapers, baby bottles and babies formula. All these should be prepared a head of time, and should be more than what the baby is expected to use and drink.
Baby walkers are useful when the little one has started to stand up. Other educational toys will help the child develop his motor skills. Play time should be supervised by parents, and it is also encouraged that parents themselves play with their babies to have that emotional bonding – nurturing with the heart.
In a few months, baby will be learning colors, associate things with words, and will be able to identify the letters and numbers. At this stage, reading a picture book to a baby will help him develop a passion for reading, at the same time is a good way to spend quality time between parent and child. It is always a delight to see a child’s eyes twinkle when they correctly identify a drawing, picture or object and recite the right word.
Before long, the parents will start looking for schools to enroll their child, and soon after, the child will be exploring the world. From choosing babies formula to choosing schools, the parents continuously nurture their children and lovingly guide them all throughout.

An Instant Way To Feed Your Baby

brwilson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:21:07 +0000

Mothers nowadays are getting more and more involved in the “run and rush” of the modern world. That is why many are choosing not to breastfeed their babies. To compromise this responsibility means opening up more opportunities for the baby to have poor growth and development, as well as by putting more risks on their over-all health.
To combat such dilemma, many mothers nowadays, especially the young professionals, are turning towards the use of a ready to feed formula to nourish their babies. These baby milk products are widely available in supermarkets and baby stores in the United States. In fact, the annual sale of these products can reach to millions or even billions of dollars every year, which only shows that many mothers patronize these products instead of going into the natural process of breastfeeding.
So what are the advantages or benefits of using ready to feed formula as substitute to breast milk? The first is of course it can save time in the part of the mother. If you are a working mom, like those who are going to offices early in the morning, you do not have time to stay for at least thirty minutes to breastfeed your baby. With these new baby milk products, you can rush to your office and let your baby’s care giver to do the job for you of feeding your son or daughter.
The second advantage is that you can be assured that your baby will receive the perfect combination of milk nutrients. A ready to feed formula has been researched thoroughly in the laboratory and was enriched with essential nutrients, such as calcium, iron, ARA, DHA and many more, which can also be found naturally on a mother’s milk. In other words, these infant formulas were designed to mimic the nutritional components of breast milk.
The third benefit that an instant infant or baby formula can give is that it will lessen the fear of some mothers who are afraid to have drooping breast or painful nipples due to breastfeeding. With these ready to feed formula, they can nourish their babies without a thought of a negative body image, since there is no close physical contact to their breasts.
Moreover, since it is an instant product, there is no need to prepare, there is no need to look for the ingredients, and there is no need worry about the exact measurements of the ingredients. Just open it up and let the baby consume it.
But then again, it is a must that mothers should put in mind that these artificially prepared baby foods also have disadvantages that go with them. And one of these is the fact that it is an unnatural product unlike breast milk of a mother. And since it is twisted from what is naturally made, these ready to feed formulas will cause side effects on the baby, such as indigestion of milk proteins, diarrhea, vomiting, and other chronic disease conditions, such as kidney problems.