Most physicians believe that breast feeding is far better than bottle feeding for a baby’s health, and that it enhances the quality of mother child bonding. Each mother’s breast milk is genetically unique, and is therefore tailored to meet her infant’s specific nutritional needs. Besides being more easily digestible than formula, a mother’s milk contains a number of immune boosting elements that can prevent certain childhood diseases. There is no current hard evidence that infants who are formula fed are developmentally at risk, however. The decision on which method to use is a personal one
and ideally should be made by both expectant parents.

Nursing babies are known to have fewer gastrointestinal infections, ear infections, allergic disorders, and respiratory illnesses than those who are formula feed. Recent evidence also suggests that infants who are breast fed have a lower incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SrDS) and juvenile diabetes. There even exists some evidence that breast fed infants have higher levels of intelligence and are less apt to develop learning disorders than those who are bottle fed.

On another tangent, breast feeding enables a woman to establish a psychological “bond” with her child that occurs naturally during the intimacy of the feeding. It is also more convenient than bottle feeding and is less expensive than the cost of bottles and store bought formulas.

Perhaps the only disadvantage to nursing is that the father is unable to directly partake in the process. He can, however, become part of the bonding process in the first few weeks by carrying the infant to the mother for the feeding or by changing the baby’s diapers. After the third week, the mother may also hand express or pump her milk into a bottle so that the father can feed the child.

Underscoring the medical community’s support of breasting feeding, one of the surgeon general’s goals for the year 2000 was for 75% of all mothers to nurse their infants upon discharge from the hospital. As of 1988, when that goal was established, the figure stood at 54%.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all infants be breast fed during the first year of life. However, breast feeding even a shorter period of time can benefit infants for up to a year after nursing has stopped.

Successful breast feeding is a process that must be learned by a mother and child, and it therefore requires practice and patience. Understanding the way in which lactation, or milk secretion, occurs will help you carry out the process. The first step in successful suckling is the ability of the mother to eject her milk, a process known as “let down”. Because the hormone to eject milk originates in the brain, sometimes stress, anxiety, or other stimuli in the environment can interfere with her ability to carry out the process. The length of time between putting the baby to the breast and letting down, therefore, is highly variable. Let down may be accompanied by a tingling sensation or a sharp pain; however, in the beginning, there usually is no sensation at all. Typically, an infant will suckle 90% of the milk in one breast 10 minutes after let down.

The substance emitted from the woman’s breast during the first few days following birth is not actually milk. Rather it is a substance called colostrums, which is a thick, yellow fluid rich in protein and other substances that help to fight infection. Several days after delivery, the body will begin to produce milk and the production of colostrums will subside. The fat content of the milk will increase during the suckling session, often starting out thin and watery and becoming increasingly fatty as the feeding goes on. Given this fact, it is crucial that infants not only be fed when they want to be (usually ranging between 1 ½ – 4 hours), but that they also be allowed to nurse until they are satisfied, rather for an arbitrary period of time.

The baby should suckle on as much of the areola (dark circumference around the nipple) as possible in order to receive enough milk. Also if the infant is being held in a cradle position, he or she should be turned so that the tummy is against the mother’s. During each feeding, the baby should be allowed to feed on both breast, and the mother should alternate which breast she begins with each time. This may reduce some of the pain and soreness that many women often experience as they begin nursing. The infant should be burped once or twice with each feeding.