Modern Day and Breastfeeding

Back in the day, this was not even a question. The answer was plain clear and simple, breastfeeding and nursing were just what you did.

But things have changed and are constantly changing. Although bottle feeding is much more convenient, what most every mom is thinking about is, what is best for my baby.

Breast-feeding. “Breastfeeding is the best possible start towards good health and nutrition,” advises the report. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “over 1 million infant lives a year could be saved if all babies were exclusively breast fed for about the first six months.” Isn’t that interesting? With all these advantages, you would expect breast-feeding to be booming. Yet, health workers in the Philippines report that breast-feeding there is “gravely threatened with extinction,” and a study in Brazil showed that one of the main factors associated with infants dying from respiratory infection is “lack of breastfeeding.”

If you are pregnant and are thinking about breastfeeding there is something to think about- eating healthy and taking good care of yourself. During pregnancy and afterward, it is important that you get enough rest. Make sure you eat sufficient food. Breastfeeding, a WHO publication, states: “Poor nutrition before or during pregnancy can be the cause of poor growth of the baby in the uterus. It can also mean that the mother is unable to store enough fat to produce sufficient milk later. The mother therefore needs, throughout the pregnancy and breastfeeding period, to eat a balanced diet based on a variety of foods.”

Not to give formula a bad rap. Formula bottle feeding provides your child with all the nutrients and nourishment your baby needs to start their life healthy and strong. The convenience of bottle feeding especially for working moms is a growing popularity. Something to keep in mind when bottle feeding is to make sure your bottles are kept clean to avoid the painful and hard to get rid of fungus called- THRUSH(Candida).Thrush is a yeast infection of the mucus membrane lining of the mouth

and tongue. Thrush appears as whitish, velvety lesions in the mouth

and on the tongue. You can tell the difference between THRUSH and formula milk stain by- if you scrape the white and the white scrapes off… it is not thrush. If it will not scrape off easily, leave it alone and see your child’s DR. You can really hurt your child by trying to scrape off thrush.

No doubt, you are a like every mom out there and want the best for your baby, so weather you choose to bottle feed or breastfeed do your research and put serious thought into making your decision. Whatever you do, take advantage of the precious moments with your little one, they go by so fast!