Not all mothers can breastfeed. And there are some who choose not to nurse for various reasons, one being they aren’t comfortable with the idea. While there are arguments for breastfeeding being the better option for nourishing a baby, mother’s who can’t breastfeed shouldn’t worry about bottle feeding their child at all.
Now, there are many formulas to choose from that provide just the right nutrition your baby needs. But even if this is the case, some still take issue with women who prefer not to breastfeed their child. Is it wrong for a mother to opt to bottle feed her newborn? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:
List of Pros of Bottle Feeding
1. It is convenient.
This is particularly true in the case of working mothers. For one, they can be confident that their child won’t run out of milk while they are at work. This way, they can pump what they could and if the baby needs more, the caregiver or person assigned to take care of the infant can provide them with formula.
2. It provides opportunities for partners to assist with feedings.
Breastfeeding is a bond between a mother and a child. However, bonding can still be achieved even when bottle feeding. Holding an infant close and talking to them while they feed from a bottle can be akin to cuddling a young one close to your breast.
Because breastfeeding is so much an activity between mother and child, the partner is left with simple assisting (like taking the child to be breastfed and such). With bottle feeding, the other parent can share a bond with their young one.
3. It serves as an added supplement for the baby.
This is true when a mother is both breastfeeding and bottle feeding their baby. As such, an infant is given the best of both worlds when they have two feeding sources.
Mothers also benefit from providing breast milk and formula, particularly if they leave their child in the care of someone else while they go to work. Having two options lessens the fear of a child going hungry as formula can be turned to when pre-pumped breast milk has been consumed.
List of Cons of Bottle Feeding
1. It can be a hassle.
Breast milk is readily available. There is nothing else you need to do to make sure it is safe for a child to drink. But when it comes to formula, you have to make sure everything is right before serving it to a hungry infant.
Formula needs to be prepared. Not only that, it needs to be stored safely until it will be needed. Also, formula needs to be warmed because not a lot of babies willingly accept cold formula.
2. It is costly.
Breast milk comes naturally. With formula, you not only need to buy the milk, but you also have to purchase a whole lot of items. You will need bottles and nipples as well as a bottled sterilizer, bottle cleaning brushes and sterilized water.
3. It lacks in quality compared to breast milk.
Yes, a child will get sufficient nutrition from formula but it isn’t comparable to breast milk. One of the biggest advantages of breast milk is it provides antibodies that protect a baby against illness and infection. Then again, most of the baby formulas that are commercially available today have vastly improved and contain nutrition needed by a baby.
Crystal Lombardo is a contributing editor for Vision Launch. Crystal is a seasoned writer and researcher with over 10 years of experience. She has been an editor of three popular blogs that each have had over 500,000 monthly readers.
