Have there been studies to determine if breast or bottle feed babies sleep better?

Answer 1

Actually, yes. Breastfed babies sleep better. Bottle fed babies sleep longer and more deeply. Good sleep for a baby is sleep they wake up from, and breastfeeding protects against SIDS, primarily because it *doesn't* encourage the baby to sleep too long or too deeply.

Answer 2

There's no question that breastfeeding does require a substantial time commitment from mothers. Then again, many things in parenting do. Some women may be concerned that nursing will make it hard for them to work, run errands, or travel because of a breastfeeding schedule or a need to pump breast milk during the day.

And breastfed babies do need to eat more often than babies who are fed formula, because breast milk digests faster than formula. This means Mom may find herself in demand every 2 or 3 hours (maybe more, maybe less) in the first few weeks.

This can be tiring, but once breastfeeding has been established (usually in about a month), other family members may be able to help out by giving the baby pumped breast milk if Mom needs a break or has to get back to work outside the home. And it's not long before babies feed less frequently and sleep through the night (usually around 3 months). Also, with a little organization and time management, it becomes easier to work out a schedule to breastfeed and/or pump.

Answer 3

I have a lactose consultant and because I work and go to school full time I wanted to breast feed but out of bottle and she gave me a book that showed the pros and cons. It says in the book that whether it is on the bottle or breast it is still better to feed with breast milk.But they do recommend you strictly breast feed for 6-8 weeks. Then if I was you I was use a good bottle like Dr. Brown's or those new Gerber ones that help with colic and gas. I used the bottle after about 3 weeks, He has a hard time getting used to the different nipple but he eventually got it right. I had to use those Gerber ones they look and feel like you... But they say breast fed sleep more sound.And so does Mom because it reduces the risks of SIDS. Hope I was of some help.

Answer 4

Yes there have been studies and some show that formula fed babies do sleep a little better sometimes. Its not the case with all babies though. I know many women who breastfed and their babies slept through the night around 6 weeks or sooner. Besides you don't want to sacrifice whats better for your baby just so you can get more sleep. Thats how I tried to look at it at first anyways.

Breastfeeding is always better if you can. I breastfed for 3 weeks and stopped because I was hospitalized for a week after I had the baby so I have done both.

Answer 5

I dont know about studies but from personal experience bottle fed. They seem to be more full and sleep longer, breast fed babies are never over fed so obviously they wake up more often to feed. I am not however saying that formula is better, breast milk is the most healthy.

Answer 6

They say to breast feed your babys instead of bottle feed, well what if your baby doesn't eat from the breast, then you have no choice but to bottle feed. My daughter was breast feed when she was born but she wouldn't lacth on. So she is on the bottle and is 8 months old and weights 20 pounds and 5 oz. She is really healthy but some nights she will wake up maybe one time to eat.

Answer 7

I think it depends on the baby but I will share what I know. I am currently breastfeeding my 10-month-old and she still wakes 3-9 times a night to nurse. This is unrelated to hunger, she just likes to nurse most of the night which doesn't bother me at all. The way I see it, some babies use a pacifier and my baby uses the real thing. Bottle fed babies may sleep more through because they don't long for the closeness with their mother. My daughter recently went on a 10-day nursing strike and slept through the night during that period, when the nursing resumed so did the night time nursing.

Answer 8

don't know if there are studies done, but a breast fed baby seems to be healthier and end up with less ear infections if any.
breast-fed all 3 of my kids and they hardly ever got sick yes, they seemed to get up a more often than a bottle-fed baby might but i would not bottle feed if I had the choice again. besides breast feeding was a lot easier.

Answer 9

there have been many studies done,but it all comes out the same. it depends on whether the baby's system accepts or rejects being bottle feed or breast feed. one other thing could be if breast feed ,what the mother eats or drinks. the thing to remember is that the baby will sleep when needed,and you don't have total control of that.

Answer 10

I agree it does depend on the baby HOWEVER, my opinion is, a baby who is getting enough milk be it breast or bottle, will sleep good...just like us, when we eat enough and we're full, we get sleepy and usually sleep well after a good meal.

I've been exclusively breastfeeding my son since birth and in the beginning you do get up about every 2-4 hours to feed baby but once your milk comes in and baby is able to get more milk, the hours grow until eventually you're getting about 6-8 hours of sleep. My son is now 6mths old and sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hrs.