Why is Breastfeeding Better Than Bottle-Feeding?

The benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the benefits of bottle-feeding your infant. What kind of benefits does an infant receive by breast milk that s/he does not get from formula? How long should you continue breastfeeding your infant? These are both common questions posed by new mothers, and I can give you the answers.

For one, breast milk contains important nutrition to help build your infants' immune system. It was proven that breastfed babies suffer from less sicknesses throughout their lives than bottle fed infants. They also experience every sniffle and sneeze that the mother has through her breast milk, in turn giving the baby the antibodies to help ward off illnesses that the mother has had. Breastfeeding is also believed to help fight obesity later in life and to contain more 'good fats' for the baby.

Breast milk is also rich in nutrients that formula just can't replicate. It has many of the same ingredients as breast milk, but every mother produces breast milk for their child differently. Every persons breast milk is different, it even differs from child to child. The milk you produce is made uniquely for that child. It changes as the baby grows to accomodate the new needs. You also can change how breast milk tastes with what you eat. If you eat a lot of garlic, your breast milk will have more of a garlic taste to it. It is recommended that every breastfeeding mother stay away from drugs and alcohol, as everything you consume passes through the milk.

Breast milk is also detectable by babies even before they can see you. Babies know their mother by their scent long before they can picture them. Babies can smell their mother out of a crowd of breasts! If you put two used breast pads down next to your baby, one of yours and one of someone else's, the baby will naturally turn towards their mother's milk. Babies have a very sensitive sense of smell and can determine the difference shortly after birth.