Is breastfed really bestfed???

Question

You know how all the "health officials" are always saying that breastfed babies are almost always healthier. Well I have to argue that point. I could not breatfeed my son for health reasons and he has grown into a strapping 2 year old who is 3ft tall and 2st 10lbs. Yes he has been ill a few times with colds and an ear infection but that is all. Now my nephew has been breastfed since he was born and is now 10 months old and he has had more infections in his short life than I care to remember. He has now been diagnosed with hayfever. So explain that to me!!!

Answer 1

The only thing I can't stand is, why do people say it creates better bonds with your child. Every parent and or mother is BONDED with their child no matter how they are fed!!! The style in which you feed your child doesn't create a bond it enhances it! That is soo irritating......I agree with you 100%......A lot of children are strapping lil lads. They are perfectly developed and normal without being breastfed.

People act like we don't know that there is a difference between the two, as the other answerers are explaining "well breast milk has antibodies that is not found in formula" DUH!

Answer 2

There are no legitimate claims out there that breastfed babies WON'T get sick, nor that bottlefed babies will be basically invalids.

If you listen to some people (usually mothers), you'll get the impression that if you don't breastfeed, your child will be destined to doctor visits, antibiotics, allergy meds, and short busses.

It's probably best for the baby to be breastfed. While they're being fed, they are less likely to have allergic reactions that can sometimes occur with formula, and they are less succeptible to ear infections and those kinds of things.

But breastfeeding and bottle feeding are FACTORS, not guarantees.

For example, I have two sisters. My kids and my nephew were all bottlefed. They all have allergies, and my two have asthma. My nieces were breastfed exclusively. Guess what. They have allergies, and one of them have asthma. Know why? Because no kid born to anyone in my family is going to be able to escape the unbelievably strong "allergy" gene my sisters and I posess. I have seven first cousins. Five of them have allergies and asthma. The other two are adopted. The twist: all of the five were breastfed, but since the other two were adopted, they were bottlefed.

Breastfeed if you can. If you can't, or you don't want to, you aren't signing an I Hate My Child proclamation.

Answer 3

Only my firstborn of 6 children was formula fed. She had to have Nutramagen because she is allergic to milk. She is 14 now and 5 ft 9. My other children were all breastfed, only have seasonal allergies, and are of normal growth. My firstborn was from my first husband, and the others are from my husband now.

I believe breastfed is bestfed, but if a mother can't breastfeed for some reason, then formula is also pretty good. It will get the job done until regular food is used.

Breastfed babies don't need regular food as soon as formula fed babies do. Breastmilk has things that cannot be duplicated in formula.

Answer 4

I am one of those "health officials" you are referring to. I think the choice to breastfeed or not is completely up to the mother. I do however, strongly encourage mothers to try to breastfeed because of the many benefits for both mother and child. In the rare instances where a mother is not able to lactate she should not be judged, or if a mom tries it or even just decides it is not for her. Breastfeeding mothers should also not be judged for their feeding practices.

Now to answer your question:
Formula does not come with antibodies, and cannot duplicate human milk. Breast milk is specifically made for human babies, it is the right temperature and is the right composition of fat, carbs, vitamins that changes in composition with the age of the child. Formula does not do that, formula will never be able to do that.

The reason why "health officials" make the claim breast is best is because we see more formula fed babies with reflux, allergies, diarrhea, constipation, colds & weakened immune systems.

The majority of breastfed babies I saw were very healthy and rarely ill. I did see many, sick formula fed babies who had issues with digesting formula (ranging from reflux, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting & bloody stools). These babies were also sick more often than breastfed babies (with colds, flu, ear infections etc).

I would hate to see how sick your nephew could possibly be if your sis had not breastfed.

It is wonderful that your son is healthy. Good luck to you, your son, your sis, and your nephew.

Answer 5

My son was breastfed, he is 13 months and he hasn't ever been sick. Not a cold, not an ear infection, nothing! He is 2'9" tall and 28 lbs. Can I prove in any way that his good health is a result of breastfeeding? no, not really.

I have a good friend who was unable to breastfeed (inverted nipples!) her daughter suffered from gastric reflux, she was termed "failure to thrive" and she had dropped off the growth charts by 3 months of age.

I was formula fed and so was my sister (my mom had a brain tumor on her pituitary that prevented her from lactating.) I have always been healthy, although I did suffer ear infections as a child and had to have tubes in my ears. My sister, on the other had, has been sick pretty much her entire life. She spend her whole fourth grade year in the hospital with an undiagnosed illness that almost took her life. She has reoccurring yeast infections as an adult and a "under-active immune system" which makes even a common cold miserable for her.

It just depends on who you talk to. Everyone has stories from their own personal experiences.

Answer 6

Mothers breast milk carries important antibodies for the first few months of life...it does not however give immunity to the child against hereditary or predispositioned traits. The child you speak of who has been ill frequently and now has hay fever is likely prone to it simply because one of the parents or a sibling perhaps or even a grandparent...has this problem.

Breast milk is most important for the first 6 months of life...after this period the infant begins to adapt and depend upon his own immune system. The little one you speak of may possibly have been a premature baby thus premature infants most often have a high susceptibility to their environmental exposures. They cannot fight things off as easily as say your son who has been a healthy little fellow (good that you enjoy this with him...)

Breast milk tends to not be good for an infant when a mother abuses the right to nourish her child, by putting all manner of poor things into her body (nicotine, drugs, even some of the things she eats)...but 9 times out of 10 a breast fed baby thrives while a forumla fed infant can sometimes develop illnesses and health issues at a later age. All of my children were breast fed and it has been very rare that they were sick...even now as teens and young adults they are rarely ill. For me, breast was indeed best...but, it isn't for everyone and that needs to be respected from both sides of the fence.

Enjoy your healthy little guy

Answer 7

Their point is that breastmilk has immunities and antibodies in it that formula does not.

My only problem with the statement "breast is best" is that it is NOT always best for the child and sayign that makes it seem as if mothers that can not breastfeed are somehow less than other mothers.

I have a thing in my breastmilk that causes jaundice and causes my children to get failure to thrive. I try each time hoping that the contents will adapt but it never does. The longest time I have been able to breast feed was 3 months.

So not in all cases is it best, but yes, on a good day, it is better than formula because it is specifically designed for humans.

Answer 8

when you first have your baby and you start to breast feed, and the baby takes in the colostrum, it's not really milk at first, you are giving your child all these antibodies, that boosts their immune system, could you imagine how much sicker your nephew would be if he wasn't breastfeed? I breastfed for a little while just so my daughter could have that colostrum, she didn't get sick for the first year of her life. She is also two. All kids are different, and there are more factors then just being breast or bottle fed. If your house is drafty you get a cold, if you go outside with your head wet, I just bet you get a cold, things like that. Although I was unable to breastfeed for a really long period of time, I still think breast is best.

Answer 9

Nobody said formula fed babies can't be healthy. As for your nephew, allergies are hereditary, it has nothing to do with breastfeeding. My daughter was never sick a day until she was weaned, so his ear infections aren't caused by breastfeeding. It's just that every baby is different. Breastfeeding also helps the mother lose weight, and encourages strong bonds. Best of all, it's free!

Answer 10

There is more than one factor that goes into the health of a child-for example, was your nephew a premie? Does he live in a different climate than you? Does he have more contact with other people than your child (eg he goes to daycare and your child stays home or gets babysat by grandparents)? This is not even mentioning internal factors such as a person's individual make-up.

Breastfeeding is the most NATURAL way to feed your baby. However there are things that could effect breast milk and make it worse than formula (if the mother drinks, is on medication, does not have a proper diet, etc.). It depends on the lifestyle of the family (mostly the mother) whether or not breastfeeding is the best option.

However, under ideal circumstances in both cases, breastfeeding is better.