When I first got pregnant, I was absolutely certain that I wanted to breast feed. However, as it gets closer and closer to my baby's arrival, I am thinking I would prefer formula over the breast. The reasons for it are a mixture of things, mainly medication and diet. I wanted to ask, however, are there any known health problems or issues caused by formula?
if you have a local WIC office they have tons of information on breast feeding and formula. but i list off the main points in one of the phamplets she gave me. i hope it helps and im not trying to lean you either way this is just what they gave me.
breast milk is easier, and always warm and ready. breast milk is pure, clean, and safe. breast milk changes to meet the needs of your growing baby. babies need different amounts of food, breast feeding gives just the right amount.
breast feeding gives you a special bond with your baby. breast milk is the purfect nurtition for your baby. each time you breast feed it helps your baby fight germs.
breastfed babies have: fewer ear infections, less diarrhea and constipation, fewer illnesses. when BF babies do get sick its usually milder and dosent last as long.
BF helps protect against: allergies, asthma, some childhood cancers, and diabetes. formula is expensive (which i know is true, i used to work for stater bros, about 2 years ago and each can was about $21, and it usually wont last a week).you will spend more on bottles, nipples, and other such things with formula.
there is no landfill waste from breast feeding. BF is good for mommy too. you will not need to heat or wash bottles. you wont have to stumble around and make the baby wait for the bottle, the milk is always ready. BF babies smell sweeter and diapers smell less.
BF babies are less likely to spit up. and when they do it wont stain like formula. BF will make your uterus shrink faster. BF reduces some types of breast and ovarian cancer. BF hormomes will help you relax.
Trust me, I really don't want the ups of breast feeding. More, I want to know the downs of bottle feeding. I take a lot of medications for health issues and, before I got prego, was on a very strict and non-baby-friendly doctor-imposed diet to lose weight (which they've encouraged me to take up after giving birth). I don't think it'd be good for my baby to have inadequate nutrition on top of six different meds that make MY heartrate soar.
Downsides to bottle feeding - Reflux for one. It is almost unheard of in BF babies. It seemed like almost half the babies in my gymboree class that were bottle fed had it. Even with medication they have to take babies are still fussy and spit up often. And I mean projectile spitting up. Having had reflux I would imagine those poor little ones are miserable.
Then you had the babies that couldn't take any of the regular formulas and ended up on the special ones that costed $40 can - that they went through in one day. I really don't know how those parents afforded it.
Of course - there is the recurrent illnesses that can occur with formula. When my daughter went to her 12 month well-baby appointment and had never been sick or had an ear infection (still hasn't) the doctor was amazed until she read she was a BF baby. Considering that she had half my genes - I have horrible allergies and had ear infections every month until I was 6 years old - I consider it exceptional.
I don't know what medicines you take, but I would first confirm that they are incompatible with breastfeeding. Honestly I had surgery and was told I couldn't nurse for 48 hours after I woke up. My baby was hysterical and refused a bottle so I tried it anyway. I gave her a little and watched for the lethargy. And nothing. THe same thing when they gave me muscle relaxers. SHe was fine. The problem is that it is much easier to just tell women they can't BF with medicine than it is to spend the money to find out if it is safe. I would contact someone with La Leche League and ask them about your medication. You might find someone with experience who can tell you.
I've already asked. My medicines are not safe with breastfeeding, due to the fact that they can have massive effects on the heart and are known to cause extremely high heart rates in both adults and infants. I'm required to be on some of the medications while pregnant, but only because I'd be dead without them. `
Hey girl, don't you worry one second if you don't BF. None of my three boys touched a drop of breast milk and are healthy horses all around. I never did and neither did my brother. Bottle feeding is fabulous for you...you will rest more, have more energy to take care of yourself, your family and friends can help out and the baby will most likely (unless there's an allergy) thrive! Please don't feel guilty...it's very hard not to....trust me I delivered in a hospital filled with what I call BF ****s. Makes it stressful all around. My theory is, if women are gung-ho and it works for them and comes easily, then GO for it. If not, then GO for bottlefeeding. Let's not judge one another...we all have to do what's best for ourselves and our situation. As for me, I will stick with bottle feeding when number 4 comes in January...no sweat!
I come from a family and community of breast feeding enthusiasts, shall we say. So I suffered an incredible amount of guilt when I quit breast feeding when she was 3 weeks old. But guess what? When I switched her over to the bottle she stopped screaming, started gaining weight, and started sleeping through the night immediately. Then and there I knew it was the right choice for us. Go with whatever decision you feel is right for you and your baby and live GUILT FREE. The bf guilt trips people can put you on can suck the joy right out of your first months of being a mom.
Take care and best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy!
Diana
P.S. If you don't want your bottle fed baby to suffer ear infections, simply don't lay them down while they are having the bottle, and don't put them to bed with the bottle. Easy as that.
i am not trying to give you a guilt trip, that was just the info packet she gave me. the few things she said about it was that most things wont go thru your breast milk, the lady said your diet for the most part didnt really effect the baby.also that ist can take several weeks for both you and the baby to be comfortable with BF. but i wish you to go with whatever option makes you happy, im not trying to push my position, as im not 100% that i will myself when the time comes. i have seen alot of stomache problems with infants who have been on a bottle the WHOLE time, but every kid is different. my DH has always (still does) had stomache problems, and no one else in his family does. his mom wasnt able to breast feed at all. but again, these are just my experiences and im not trying to push you either way.dont feel guilty either way! have a good day God bless
I wanted to breastfeed SO BADLY. I literally made myself sick trying to do it. My daughter ended up back in the hospital at nine days old and had to be bottle fed, and after that, simply would NOT go back to the breast. I tried for about three weeks, and finally threw in the towel. I still wish I would have been able to breastfeed, but I try and realize that all babies are different, and some take to BF easier than others. After I gave up breastfeeding I felt so guilty, I went through some depression. I don't think it was worth all of that stress.
That being said, my daughter is healthy and happy. She knows she is loved and cared for, regardless if I am offering her my breast. I still hold her to my skin sometimes when I feed her, and I love her just as much as any mother who is breastfeeding, and I know she feels that.
My point is, that the most important thing in your child's life is to have a healthy mommy. I think if it were me, and Bfeeding was going to make me sick (because I couldn't take meds etc) then I probably wouldn't.
Whatever you decide, your little one will know she is loved!
You've been given a lot of good information! Just remember that this is YOUR DECISION that you are making for YOUR baby. People are very much for breast feeding (and for GREAT reason) but sometimes it's not a possibility for some moms to do, so please take the advice from an earlier poster and DO NOT FEEL GUILTY if you are unable to breastfeed. I, unfortunatly, cannot breast feed my little girl either. There are a number of reasons why I am unable to do this, so I have accepted that fact. She's due in less than 2 weeks now and I cannot tell you how often people have criticized, questioned, made me feel guilty...like an idiot...like a bad mom. And they don't even know the circumstances related! I've been polite so far, but I've been told to watch out for the ladies at the hospital...good luck with your decision!!
I tried to BF with my first child since he had a health issue when he was born but it hurt too much for me. It felt like someone was sticking a needle through my nipple.
With my 2nd, I didn't even bother with BF and he had no problems (he's 13 now).
I had a breast reduction/lift in 2005 where they disconnected everything so I couldn't BF anymore even if I wanted to.
I was convinced that I was going to breastfeed with my first. After 1 extremely awful week I gave it up and went to formula. I felt so guilty because they had pushed breastfeeding so hard at the Hospital. After I found a formula that worked well for my dd it was wonderful. Second baby came along, tried breastfeeding again, didn't work and I didn't like it and she did fine on formula. Both my girls are healthy and survived formula feeding. I think for my third I might breastfeed while I am in the hospital and then probably switch to formula.
Whatever you decide, don't let anyone guilt you one way or the other. It is not worth getting depressed over if you can't breastfeed, you will have a beautiful new baby and it will thrive on formula as well as it would on breastmilk.
Believe you me, I will not feel guilty over the decision. I, myself, was bottle fed and I turned out just fine. I'm very curious as to others experiences with it. Many thanks for the support!
I wanted to breastfeed SO BADLY. I literally made myself sick trying to do it. My daughter ended up back in the hospital at nine days old and had to be bottle fed, and after that, simply would NOT go back to the breast. I tried for about three weeks, and finally threw in the towel. I still wish I would have been able to breastfeed, but I try and realize that all babies are different, and some take to BF easier than others. After I gave up breastfeeding I felt so guilty, I went through some depression. I don't think it was worth all of that stress.
That being said, my daughter is healthy and happy. She knows she is loved and cared for, regardless if I am offering her my breast. I still hold her to my skin sometimes when I feed her, and I love her just as much as any mother who is breastfeeding, and I know she feels that.
My point is, that the most important thing in your child's life is to have a healthy mommy. I think if it were me, and Bfeeding was going to make me sick (because I couldn't take meds etc) then I probably wouldn't.
Whatever you decide, your little one will know she is loved!
You have to do what is best for you. And you wont know for sure until the baby is here. I breastfed my daughter for 6 months... and guess what, she slept through the night at 3 WEEKS!!! There is nothing wrong with formula, and there is nothing wrong with BF. My only advice is that you at least TRY BF. Even if your baby only gets the colostrum from the first few days, that is still beneficial! And it is not true that breastfed babies don't get reflux... it is less common, but it does happen. Sadly, no matter what you choose, you will hear some unwanted opinions.
It seems like there are so many people who push breastfeeding and think it's their job to tell everyone else what to do and put false info out there trying to convince everyone that formula is a terrible choice. I've heard everything from your baby will have more ear infections, be sickly, have reflux, etc. My first 2 were on formula (I'm still pregnant with my 3rd who will also be formula-fed) and neither has ever had an ear infection, reflux, etc., and when colds/flu/infections go around, they never seem to pick anything up and have always been healthy, while some of their BF friends seem to catch everything that goes around. Neither had jaundice, which is a common problem with BF babies. A friend of mine BF all 3 of her children and they are always sickly, in and out of the doctor/hospital, have asthma, allergies and all sorts of health problems, despite being BF. So, not all formula babies have problems, but not all BF babies are healthier either. BF is easier since you don't have to pack bottles and formula for outings, but you are the only one who can feed your baby (or have to worry about pumping enough for someone else to feed). I think the first few months are rougher when you're already sleep-deprived and are the only one who can feed the baby, and I commend those women who are able to do it (I'm not against BF, just oposed to those who push their choices on everyone else and make other people feel inadequate - that's not right for anyone to do). Formula is nice because DH can take over some of the feedings or you can drop them off at grandma's without having to worry about pumping. But, formula is also expensive. Either way, you'll make it work. I think the key is don't let anyone push you into a decision you're not comfortable with, and don't let anyone guilt-trip you because of your personal choice. It's YOUR choice, and the bottom line is that formula is an acceptable method of feeding your baby, and as long as your baby is being fed, you're still a good mom whether or not you choose to BF and regardless of your reasons for your choice.
BTW, I have not heard of any actual downsides to formula, only the upsides promoting BF, which are skewed towards trying to get moms who have a choice to BF. When the mom doesn't have a choice and can't BF, I've NEVER heard any medical professional tell her she shouldn't feed her baby formula and that formula is a bad alternative. Some moms don't have a choice but that doesn't mean their kids are automatically doomed from the start. The statistics are only slightly in favor of BF anyway if you look at the actual numbers. Most babies do well either way and some would have problems regardless.
I breastfed for 4 months and went exclusively to formula because I was working FT and couldn't pump enough during the day. I am thankful I nursed as long as I did, and DD didn't get sick on formula. She was just as healthy to me as she was when I nursed. She never got her first cold until 9 months old when she first started going to daycare.
Breastfeeding has many more health benefits, long and short term, I do know, but you have to decide what works best for you. Both are healthy and will provide your baby with the nutrients he/she needs to grow up healthy.
My situation made it hard to BF because I was working all the time. If I was SAHM it would'ce been way different. Just think about what's right for you and your situation. Good luck with everything!!!
A lot of women give up or don't start breastfeeding for reasons that don't make much sense, and simply because they don't want to. We make women feel bad because they smoke, drink, do drugs while pregnant, but when it comes to breastfeeding it is suddenly OK to do what we want to??? I don't get it. Bottle feeding does hurt or kill babies all the time. It leaves them open to infections that they wouldn't be if breast fed. It leaves them with chronic gut problems. Bottle really isn't the safest route for most babies. The WHO (world health organization) list of safest feeding routes is
1. breast milk from mom
2. breast milk from wet nurse
3. breast milk from milk bank
4. formula
Most medications are safe with breastfeeding, the meds usually not excreted into the milk or excreted in micro milligrams, and usually don't even show up in the babies systems, there are some that you can't bf with, but they are few. Doctors don't want you to bf with meds because they would be liable if something happened.
Anyway, formula is here for situations exactly like the OP's. I don't understand why she is even asking, if the medications aren't compatible with breastfeeding (and I mean really not compatible), and you need them to live, then you will have to bottle feed. End of story. Don't feel guilty about it.
Sorry if this offends anyone, but it is not just IMO. Countless studies have said the same thing. Formula is not the safest thing to be giving your baby, and should only be done as a last resort.
All that being said, I do understand the difficulties faced when one has to return to work. America sucks at being supportive of new moms, and sometimes pumping isn't an option. We need some changes.
Thus far, I think everyones experiences with bottle feeding are right on par with what I've experienced when taking care of other peoples kids, which is great. I've had to take care of a bunch of my young cousins and one of my roommates kids for several years, and never had a problem with any of them... but you never know what other people run into, and since this boy'll be my first, I want to know what other women think.
Truth be told, I think it's rather assinine that some women are all for breast feeding regardless of the fact that in my case it would include large amounts of dangerous medication to regulate several medical problems, including bipolar disorder and severe asthma. Medications for both are, to my understanding, highly dangerous for babies in the doses that my doctors have prescribed. And the attitude that they recieve here are "Well, who cares what's IN your milk, it comes from your body there for it must automatically be good!" It's that kind of idiotic thinking that causes mothers to be to drink and smoke without a second consideration as to what it does for their child. I find it rather ironic that two of the things I am required to take medicine for were caused by that very problem! If other women feel the need to neglect the possibility of exposing their child to high levels of potentially harmful medication, then that is there decision, but they have no room to tell me that I must do the same.
Last edited by DesperationGirl; 07-02-2007 at 02:33 PM.
Bottle feeding does hurt or kill babies all the time. It leaves them open to infections that they wouldn't be if breast fed. It leaves them with chronic gut problems. Bottle really isn't the safest route for most babies.
Are you kidding me? Nobody is disputing that breast is best, but to tell somebody that bottle feeding kills babies is ridiculous and extreme.
To the OP, there is nothing wrong with giving your baby formula. Especially since you are on meds. I find it odd that people always say that very tiny, hardly traceable amounts of medications would be passed through the breastmilk, and would not affect the baby. Then how is it that foods can change the taste of the breastmilk, and give the baby an upset stomach? If things aren't passed through the breastmilk, why, when my preemie had reflux, was I told to cut out dairy products from my diet, since it was highly possible that the milk proteins that I was ingesting were contributing to my ds's reflux?
You are making the right decision for you and your baby. That is all you need to know, or concern yourself with.
and im not trying to lean you either way this is just what they gave me.
