PARENTS
Breastmilk vs Formula: Help for Your Decision
Different moms have different needs, but consider this when you make your choice.
Escrito por
Dr. Harvey Karp
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PARENTS
Escrito por
Dr. Harvey Karp
COMPARTIR ESTE ARTÍCULO
Más vendidos
Different mums have different needs. For some, breastfeeding is not an option, for either medical or personal reasons.
If you do not breastfeed, there are several good formulas available. Formula is easy to work around your sleep schedule. (At bedtime, just put a thermos of clean warm water and a baby bottle with pre-measured formula powder by your bed. Then, when your baby gets hungry, mix them together and voilà! You have fresh formula without having to totter down to the kitchen and start from scratch.) Formula also allows your partner to give a feeding, giving you the chance to catch up on a little sleep.
But if you can breastfeed, this is definitely the way to go. Breastmilk has hundreds of ingredients to build strong bodies and brains, and scores of special immune boosters (even white blood cells) to enhance immunity and prevent illness…and it reduces SIDS.
In addition, breastmilk is always clean, warm and available (which will save you hours of time and hundreds of dollars). Breastfeeding can also help you lose weight (your baby sucks out of you as many calories as you would consume running 3-5 miles a day).
Supplementing breastmilk with formula is perfectly fine—in fact, it is preferable to dropping breastfeeding altogether. It is especially helpful if you have difficulty expressing breastmilk. Keep in mind that your body will adjust to the number of times you breastfeed, so as you breastfeed less, you will start to produce less breastmilk. However, combining breastmilk and formula is recommended over completely dropping breastfeeding altogether.
The discussion about whether to breastfeed or formula feed has sparked an ongoing debate. Ultimately, the best way to feed a baby depends on what a mum needs. If breastfeeding is not an option because of medical or personal reasons, then fresh formula is a great alternative. What really matters is that baby is getting fed, and breastfeeding is not causing undue physical or emotional stress on Mum.
Descargo de responsabilidad: La información en nuestro sitio NO es un consejo médico para ninguna persona o condición específica. Solo se proporciona como información general. Si tiene alguna pregunta o preocupación médica sobre su hijo o sobre usted mismo, por favor contacte a su proveedor de salud. La leche materna es la mejor fuente de nutrición para los bebés. Es importante que, en preparación para la lactancia y durante la misma, las madres lleven una dieta saludable y equilibrada. La combinación de lactancia materna y alimentación con biberón en las primeras semanas de vida puede reducir la producción de leche materna y es difícil revertir la decisión de no amamantar. Si decide utilizar fórmula infantil, debe seguir las instrucciones cuidadosamente.
