Added: 12/12/2005 |
Feeding Newborns - Different Techniques Stir Debate Among ProfessionalsFeeding newborns is a very important matter to decide upon, that is why it is crucial that parents consider this issue from a well-informed perspective. It is necessary to give the decision on this issue a good deal of thinking as it is crucial for giving the child a great start in life.
It is impossible to state conclusively which method of newborn feeding is the best and in order to choose one, it is only efficient to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of all existing ways of feeding newborns.
From time immemorial breast feeding has been regarded as the most beneficial for babies. There is still a great deal of advocates of this newborn feeding method, which they regard as much preferable when compared to bottle feeding. It has been claimed that it is crucial to breast feed babies for the period of at least first 4 months and only then it will be safe to transfer to bottle-feeding.
However, it is a well-known fact that breast-feeding is not an acceptable alternative for all women. Whether they are ready to make breast feeding their main method of feeding newborns depends first of all on the woman's lifestyle and personality. Some women express concern that if they don't breast feed their babies there is considerable risk that they will fail to establish the emotional bond with their babies. But in fact these concerns don't actually have sound grounding.
There have been numerous reports that even if women exclusively bottle-feed their babies with special formula, they efficiently establish the desired bond. It is not only for commercial purposes that professionals claim that baby formula is certain to meet the baby's nutritional requirements and emotional needs.
But it is still necessary to state the objective advantages of breast-feeding over bottle feeding. First of all, woman's milk is highly digestible by the baby's immature digestive system. Similar components can be found in goat's milk, but certainly not in the same quantity and of a slightly different quality. The same can be said about the commercial baby formula, which has come very close to exact imitating the natural components of woman's milk, but still cannot be called absolutely identical.
Breast milk is not only a source of nourishment for the baby, it is also a treasure house of minerals and vitamins, which serve to strengthen the immune system of the baby early in life and reduce the risk of development of allergies and various chronic diseases.
Besides, it goes without saying that feeding newborns with breast milk is much more cost effective than constant buying baby formula.
Another advantage is that newborn feeding with her own milk can make a woman feel more confident about and implant in her certainty about her ability to take care of her child. While commercial formula is manufactured to contain all the required nutritious elements and vitamins, it can not provide the skin contact that has so much emotional value and is very much appreciated by both babies and their breast-feeding mothers.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
