Breastfeeding is better for your baby Essay Example for Free

Breastfeeding is better for your baby Essay Among the many decision a woman faces when she is pregnant, is whether or not she will breastfeed her child. In our society and in this day and age, this has become a matter of choice as opposed to long ago where formula was nonexistent and the only means of nurturing your baby was to breastfeed. Many women are oblivious to the health risks their baby may endure having not being breastfed. Research and studies show that babies who are breastfed have better health among other things if they are breastfed. To add to that, formula companies tend to obscure the truth and bribe the doctors in to promoting their product. This essay aims to investigate these issues and address the matter at hand by stating why it is a much better choice to breastfeed a baby. As I mentioned above, whether or not a women wants to breastfeed or formula feed is now a matter of choice. Before I move forward, I want to explain about the history of breastfeeding and formula feeding. Before the modern era, breasfeeding was usually the normal procedure for feeding an infant. If a woman had problems breastfeeding her baby, the family would usually hire a wet nurse to nurture the baby in place of the mother. This was considered very normal. As a matter of fact, wet nurses were chosen with the utmost care, because it was vital and essential for a baby to receive the right amount of nutrients. Another alternative to wet nurses was cow’s milk, or in correct terms the process of â€Å"dry nursing† was established. Wet nursing and dry nursing were the common alternatives to breastfeeding during the early 19th century. However, in the turn of events another breast milk substitute had evolved. Formula had been created and was in lieu of breastfeeding. One of the biggest known named companies of today, Nestle was a big contributor to the establishment and creation of formula. Add another century, and formula feeding is not considered the norm in many societies. Because formula is widely accepted as a means of nurturing a baby, production of formula has boomed and many formula manufacturers thrust to advertize their product. Because of this, many doctors have received a cut for promoting formula from these major manufacturers. While the new mother who has just given birth to her baby feels that formula feeding is better since the doctor recommended it, little does she know that the doctor is doing what he was endorsed to do. Could this mean that many doctors are withholding the truth for money? It may very well be and I will further discuss this issue. According to studies done in the US, fewer than half of the babies are exclusively breastfed during their first two days in the hospital. By the time they are six months old, only 19 percent of US babies receive any breast milk† (Coburn, 2000, 1). This is in large part due to the doctor’s orders. Little do these mothers know that the doctors are pushing formula products on these new mothers because they are obliged to do so under a contract. Coburn also states â€Å"To promote artificial feeding, formula manufacturers spend millions of dollars securing exclusive distribution deals for formula samples, at a yearly average of $6,000 to $8,000 per doctor† (p. 2). Many formula companies distribute their products to hospitals to advertize their formula. It is a form of bribery, because if you give the doctors and physicians money they will without a doubt encourage the recommendation of that particular product. Or in some instances, mothers are given a gift basket upon delivery of their new baby. This gift basket has formula in it. In doing this â€Å"research shows this tacit endorsement of the hospitals part is so effective in establishing brand loyalty that 93 percent of mothers who artificially feed continue to use the brand of formula given to them by the hospital† (Coburn, 2000, p. ). There is a lot of brainwashing going on just for a buck. Since these mothers are now formula feeding instead of breastfeeding they begin to see the effect on their income. It is much more costly than breastfeeding. Some mothers even dilute their formula to make it last a little longer before going out and buying some more. This in turn is very nutrition-depleting. I will elaborate further on nutrition, but in the end these formula manufacturers are competing not with their rival companies, but with breastfeeding itself. And because of this, many mothers are caught in the middle of this war not aware that breastfeeding is the best means to nurture her baby. As mentioned above, breastfeeding is the natural way to nurture a baby. It is also better for the baby and there are many studies to prove this. Breastfeeding does help prevent a number of sicknesses a baby may endure. As mentioned by Laura Sterling a pediatrician â€Å"I discuss the impact of breastfeeding on incidence of otisis, media, asthma, obesity and all-cause diarrhea. I also counsel that breast milk may decrease severity of diarrhea because it is much easier on the digestive system than formula† (Sterling, 2003, p. 3). Obesity as Sterling mentions has also been decreased when a child is breastfed rather than formula fed. If a baby is breastfed for at least 3-5 months, obesity in the US will reduce 35 %. Carol Campbell states â€Å"infants who were fed breast milk more than infant formula milk, or who were breast fed for longer periods, had a low risk of being overweight during older childhood and adolescence† (2000, p. 102). If we look at breastfeeding on a global perspective, around the world breastfeeding is encouraged as well. In Bangladesh for example, infant mortality rates are severely high. Penny Van Esterick states that any decrease in breastfeeding would definitely increase infant mortality (2003, p. 57). Also, many countries around the world that use water to create the formula aren’t aware of the toxins the water may contain, thus making the baby very sick. A mother passes on various nutrients to her child when she breastfeeds, something that artificial milk does not do. A random study also concluded that when babies’ breastfeed they are more likely not to experience pain while undergoing minor procedures. We can also look at breastfeeding from an anthropological standpoint. Anthropologist Shannen L. Robson stated â€Å"For most pormate species the period of accelerated growth ends shortly after birth, but for humans it continues for a year postnatally, when infants are nutritionally dependant on breast milk. A pattern of early postnatal brain growth that is unique among mammals must require a unique milk to supply the needs of the developing human infant (2004, p. 19). So as we may see, there are many benefits, an infinite amount of studies concluding that breastfeeding is much better for a baby as opposed to formula feeding. Concluding my essay it is evident I am pro breastfeeding. It is much healthier for your baby as studies are there to prove this. Not only that, it is eye-opening to know that doctors withhold telling their expecting mother patients that breastfeeding is the better choice all for the means of gaining more money. It is also interesting to note, that women who breastfeed are more likely to lose more weight effectively than their formula feeding counterparts. Who doesn’t want to lose weight after giving birth? It is much more advantageous to breastfeed, especially when it is 2 in the morning and your newborn is crying their lungs out because they want to be fed. I think getting up picking up your newborn and breastfeeding them is much better than having to warm and prepare the formula in a zombielike state.