Breast Feeding vs. Bottle Feeding

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The advantages of bottle feeding:

• In some circumstances, bottle feeding can be much more convenient than breast feeding. Once the formula is prepared, you can feed your baby in just about any location at any time.

• Mothers do not have to worry about their own diet as much as their breast feeding counterparts do.

• With bottle feeding the father can play a very active role in the feeding of the baby, as opposed to with breast feeding normally only the mother can provide this function (unless the mother pumps her breasts for milk). This can help the father to feel more involved in the development of the child and helps with the baby/father bonding.

• With bottle feeding it is easier to monitor how much food the baby is eating and, because the milk formula is harder to digest than breast milk, it is likely that your baby will not need to eat as often.

Disadvantages to bottle feeding:

• Despite the advanced formulas available on the market today, formula milk doesn’t quite match the nutrients and antibodies that breastfeeding can provide.

• Bottles need to be constantly cleaned and, for the first 6 months or so, the water needs to be boiled and then allowed to cool. This can be very time consuming (it pays to have three or four bottles for this reason).

• Some babies prefer to have the bottled milk formula warmed up before feeding. This is not always possible, particularly when away from home.

• You may find that your baby has a more upset stomach on formula milk (although this is not a ‘hard and fast’ rule).

• Bottle feeding is obviously more expensive than breast feeding. The costs of course will vary depending on what kind of formula you choose for your baby.

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