What are the pros and cons of breast feeding and bottle feeding?
A. Breast feeding really is better, but it is important to remember that some women have difficulty breast feeding and such women should not feel inferior as mothers. Breast milk and feeding has many advantages: 1. Breast milk is an ideally balanced food for baby, and formulas are only an attempt to approximate breast milk. 2. Breast milk is clean. There are no sterilization or storage problems. 3. Breast milk has immunological properties. 4. Iron in breast milk is more easily absorbed and beneficial to the infant. 5. Upset stomach, intestinal difficulties, and allergies are less frequent in breast-fed babies. 6. Breast feeding helps the uterus of the mother to return to its normal state more rapidly. 7. Breast feeding is much more economical and usually more convenient. 8. Bonding takes place between mother and child during nursing. 9. Breast feeding has other emotional benefits as well. Mothers who feed their infants often report, “I feel more like I’m giving my baby what it needs.”
