Breast Vs. Bottlefeeding Essay

1324 words - 5 pages

Once a woman is, pregnant the big questions are will she breastfeed or bottle-feed the baby? Although this answer may seem easy to some the answer is fairly a complex issue. Why is breast said to be better than bottle? In the '70s, formula was the new it and almost gave women a sense of relief. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum of one-year breast-feeding with continued feeding after that depending on mother and child. Some of this argument comes with culture our culture in particular, where a women's breast is seen as a sexual object and not a source of nutrition. You see the nursing mother sitting in a booth at restaurant having a 100 eyes staring at her. This paper will discuss the positive sides of both ways of feeding. This paper will also discuss the impact medical professionals have on this decision and other factors that lead to the mothers choice to breastfeed or bottle-feed her baby.Support BreastfeedingAlthough people do not know the implication of the many physiological differences between breastfed and formula-fed babies, the fact that a difference exist seems significant in terms of species-specific development. In other words, the milk of each species is designed to further the optimal development of the young of that species. What then, are some of the differences between babies fed human milk and babies fed with them milk of other animals?Breastfed babies grow differently.The bacteria in baby's intestinal tracts are noticeably different. Those in the tracts of breastfed babies consist mainly of Lactobacillus bifidus, a useful organism that stops the growth of particular harmful bacteria and that is present in only small numbers in the stools of bottle-fed babies. Lysozyme, another substance found only in the stools of breastfed infants, also protects against harmful microorganisms. The ration of vitamins in their systems is different.Human milk contains more cholesterol than does formula, and animal studies suggest that exposure to cholesterol early in life may help program the individual to metabolize cholesterol more efficiently in adulthood, offering some protection against heart disease. Breastfed infants have higher cholesterol levels at first than do bottle-fed babies, but this difference appears after weaning. In any case, the higher levels are not unhealthy.Support Bottle-FeedingBottle-feeding is less supported than breast-feeding, LA Leche League is a well know organization that helps breastfeeding mothers learn the advantages of breastfeeding as well as how to properly breastfeed. At the time, no known organizations exist that help and or support parents who decide to bottle-feed their infants. According to an article written by Alain Joffe, MD and Susan M. Radius PHD, breast-feeding has increased as the preferred method of infant feeding since the 1970s. It was learned that certain populations prefer bottle-feeding, such populations include poor, young, black and less educated woman. Studies...

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