Many women choose to feed formula to their babies in bottles instead of breastfeeding. A small percentage of women are unable to breastfeed due to a health condition. When breastfeeding is not possible or you choose not to breastfeed, you can still gain many of its benefits: - Breastfed babies are held, often skin-to-skin, and make eye contact with their mothers while nursing. A formula-fed baby can also be held during feeding, receiving the same close contact and socialization.
- Breastfed babies eat according to their appetite, rather than on a schedule. Doing so may have long-term benefits in controlling appetite and preventing obesity. You can also feed your formula-fed baby when she is hungry and only as much as she wants, rather than pushing her to finish a bottle of formula after she's already full. Learning to eat according to individual appetite, rather than beyond a full feeling, may help develop healthy eating habits.
If you do feed formula to your baby, don't fret that you didn't breastfeed. The vast majority of babies, formula-fed and breastfed, grow up healthy. There are 2 types of formula: cows-milk formula (such as Enfamil) and protein-hydrolysate formula (such as Nutramigen). A 2011-published study found that cows-milk-formula babies had higher weight gain and greater length than average for their age, while the hydrolysate-formula group gained weight at the average rate. Babies fed hydrolysate formula also seemed satisfied after drinking less. However, hydrolysate formulas are more expensive. |