He was then asked how he felt about bottle feeding and breastfeeding. His response was, in today's society women are stressed about breastfeeding and although breastfeeding is best, if women are stressed about it, then they should just go ahead and bottlefeed. I believe there are two main reasons woman do not breastfeed or quit breastfeeding. 1. Society, women are basically required to work to make ends meet, relying on a one family income, often is not enough. 2. Lack of knowledge and Laziness.
In today's world we support breastfeeding, we encourage it...but we do NOTHING to help women be able to do it. Our finances are so whirlwind that most women do not have the ability to stay home, whether they are single (which is a whole nother topic) or their husband doesnt make enough to sustain off one income. Society simply will not let women stay at home and take care of their children. One reason this is is because of "Womens Rights", women fought so hard, to hard in fact that they not only became equal to men, they are expected to be able to take on the workload of a man and also take care of the children. I'm all for women working, but there needs to be some kind of balance. Women are simply not given much of a choice and unfortunetly, that was caused mostly BY WOMEN.
The second main reason is because women are just simply uneducated or lazy. Uneducation comes from the last 50+ years that bottle feeding has become a norm....women just dont know HOW to breastfeed let alone HOW LONG they should and etc. Take uneducated women and stack working full time on top of that and we have a serious problem. And then there is laziness...some women just simply do not like that breastfeeding takes them away from other things they enjoy. For instance, since I don't give my children bottles, I take them with me EVERYWHERE for the first 6 months- year of their lives. Occasionally I get to run to the store or whatever, but for the most part, they are with me. Sure you can leave them with pumped milk to go out for a couple hours, thats not going to make you a bad mom, but for the most part, you are at their beck-and-call. Women do not like giving up their time.
When nursing often time your strapped to a couch until they are 5 months old and even then you are lugging 15 pounds around with you anyways! Nursing, whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom is a lot of work. But the "work" is outdone every time by the joy. Breastfeeding is suppose to be a joyous time, a time you get to cuddle your baby and talk to him and touch his soft skin and just enjoy him. Because someday he won't want your hugs and kisses! Nursing is natural and healthy and is a bonding experience no bottle will ever give a child. Breastfeeding is not just food, where formula is JUST food. Your never going to find bugs in your breastmilk or have it pulled off the shelves because something bad got into it. Your never going to have to pay $40 for a small can of it at Walmart every week. Its free and priceless. Whether your a stay at home mom or a working mom you CAN breastfeed. There are always exceptions and although those are few and far between because mostly women just make excuses we are in a sense lucky to have an alternative so that unlike babies who would die back in the day, babies have a way to eat. I strongly believe that until you have tried EVERYTHING, formula should be a last resort.
I have talked to several lactation consultants recently and apparently they are taking formula out of the hospital rooms. Formula will still be there to feed the babies, but it will not be advertised or given away for free like in the past. I think that is GREAT! It doesnt mean that the women no longer has a choice, it just means that doctors are going to stop PUSHING formula. I remember going to a pediatrician when my oldest was a baby and them handing out formula and the same with the OB. I am so glad that they are seeing that advertisement in the establishment also plays a part in womens decision making.
I believe that there needs to be a breastfeeding revolution. If women have to work, they should be able to take time to pump at work. People get cigarette breaks and thats definetly NOT productive. There needs to be more education and more advertisement supporting breastfeeding. Even if we cant change everyone, getting as many as we can to take the natural way is better than doing nothing. Here's an idea...WIC gives low income women formula...what about giving low income women nursing bra's? I know its not food, but they give out free breastfeeding support, why not give out BREASTFEEDING support! :P
| Breastfeeding | Bottle-feeding | |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrition | ||
| Perfect balance of nutrients | Not as efficiently utilized as breast milk | |
| Contains high levels of nutrients | Nutritional content depends on proper preparation | |
| Easily digested and absorbed | Some babies have difficulty tolerating certain nutrients | |
| Content varies according to milk production stage, which meets the changing nutritional requirements | Pediatrician/care-giver determines amount | |
| Infant determines amount | ||
| Costs | ||
| Free | Formula ranges from $54 to $198 per month depending on brand | |
| Nursing pads, nursing bras, etc. | Bottles, nipples, etc. | |
| Breast pump (optional) | ||
| Advantages | ||
| Always the perfect temperature | Anyone can feed the baby | |
| No preparation time | ||
| Milk is readily available at any time and any place | ||
| Disadvantages | ||
| Mother must be available for feeding or to provide pumped milk if she is absent | Warming formula | |
| Mother must pump if feeding is missed | Preparation time varies | |
| Early breastfeeding may be uncomfortable | ||
| Certain medications can interrupt breastfeeding | ||
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/breastfeedingandbottle.html
No comments:
Post a Comment