Why is breastfeeding better than formula?

[Lagirl20]

Hi everyone! We are planing to TTC within the next six months, and I'm super excited to breastfeed. Hopefully it will all go ok and be possible for me to do this. In the meantime I've been reading lots, and I'm curious as to the research and evidence behind the claim that breastfeeding is much better than formula - it makes sense but I've failed to actually find any stats and I have lots of friends who think formula is just as good and they never bothered. Sorry if this seems like a silly question but - what's the research/evidence behind this claim? Making no judgement on either method! X

"Fed is best is such a ridiculous phrase"

It's meant as a comeback to the "breast is best" mantra which has made so many women worried and anxious that they are destroying their babies' life by giving formula.

Breast milk is great. Formula is also great. We should all be happy we have a choice and live in a country with clean water so that we can make that choice without harming our babies.

I know so many women who feel like failures or like they are harming their baby because they can't breastfeed.

I wouldn’t think too much on this OP. If you would like to breastfeed and have the opportunity then try it. Some find it easy, some don’t. Don’t get yourself into the mindset that you must do it at all costs. I did and it meant that I nearly lost my mind, felt like a total failure and DC1 lost too much weight. Nobody slept. Everybody cried. For 3 weeks. Horrible start. Just not worth it. Formula was a lifesaver for both of us. I was still able to express some breast milk for him. Nobody tells you that it’s ok to formula feed. Nobody tells you that you can mix feed (expressed for some feeds, formula for others). I mix fed straight away with DC2 and it was easy. Health professionals have to tell you that your milk production will reduce, and I just smiled and nodded and did what I needed to do. Be prepared for both options and have a steriliser and milk in so that you can make a decision in the middle of the night if and when you need to. Good luck TTC.

**Formula milk is NOT junk food by the way

Have you read the ingredients? I wouldn’t drink it!

“Fed is best”

Who doesn’t feed their baby?

Breast milk is superior to formula. But breast feeding isn’t always better than formula feeding. Other factors can come into play.
Love this from @Calmingvibrations which seems to sum it up nicely! There certainly are benefits to breast milk but it doesn’t always work out and if you do end up with formula for whatever reason there are benefits to that too. DS had tongue tie which made BF painful and stressful. His first bottle is one of my favourite memories of him as a baby, utterly stress-free and calming for us both

it is impossible to do a double-blind randomised controlled trial of BF vs FF so hard evidence will always be shakey.

breast milk isn't a single substance. each feed starts with rich nutritious milk containing highest calories and the antibodies that will help keep the baby healthy, then as the feed progresses the balance changes so that it's more watery and is for satisfying the baby's thirst rather than hunger. that seems intuitively good for the baby and can't be reproduced by formula.

but exclusive breastfeeding can be very hard. it doesn't always come naturally and there should be no shame in switching to bottles if you tried your best and couldn't make it work, or if you decide that making it work wouldn't fit with other decisions eg work and childcare arrangements

@ElluesPichulobu I think it's the other way round - the fat content in breastmilk increases as the volume of milk in the breast decreases (ie thoroughout a feed). kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/foremilk-hindmilk

OP - as others have said, breastfeeding is the 'biological norm' and tailor made for your baby. Sometimes formula feeding is a good option for mums / babies who don't want to breastfeed, or who have struggled to establish breastfeeding.

Formula feeding isn't without its risks; research suggests that it may create a slightly higher risk of SIDS, obesity, allergies, digestive issues, some types of infections, and PND and breast cancer for mum. But in some situations, or in the opinion of some mums, these risks are outweighed by the benefits of using formula.

I liked a phrase I saw on here recently (I might be paraphrasing): breast is the biological norm; fed is good enough; informed and supported is best.

There's a chapter in the book Cribsheet on breastfeeding that I think you'd enjoy OP. It's by an economist who analyses academic literature on pregnancy and parenting. I'm just going from memory, but I think she concludes that the only benefits that have been conclusively proven are short term immunity benefits for babies and long-term protection against breast cancer for women. Obviously these benefits aren't to be sniffed at, and other supposed benefits (higher IQ etc) may well be true, she just wasn't convinced they've been conclusively proven. It's an interesting read.

One thing to note is that there are huge, potentially life saving benefits to breast milk for premature babies, although of course it can be very difficult for their mothers to establish supply.

I think for your typical, healthy baby, BFing is great, but not worth your mental health if you find it tough going.

A friend has a theory that both methods are equally difficult, but with formula it's the daily hassle of cleaning, sterilising etc. Whereas with bf, it can be very hard (painful) at the start and end (no one warns pregnant women how hard weaning can be!) but so easy in the middle bit when feeding is established.

As a breast feeder, one benefit I didn't know was revealed last year when my son was 2weeks old and admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis. As he had a virus the doctors could not treat him with any medicine, they could just give him oxygen and wait for his tiny new body to fight for its self. The first thing all the consultants asked was 'is he breast fed?'. This was because I probably would have caught the same virus being so close to him, my own antibodies would be produced and passed on to him in my breast milk giving him an extra army of antibodies to help him get better quicker. I never had a problem breastfeeding (yes it's tough at first but I guess I'm pretty determined and luckily I didn't have any problems to deal with), I find it much easier than all the bottle faff personally!

It's not necessarily the nutrition side as formula is getting pretty good in modern times.

The mother passing antibodies on is a massive plus, especially while baby is a newborn.

Secondly the bonding and comfort. My nearly 2yo is still breastfeeding (only at nap and bedtime thankfully now) and it helps him to feel connected to me when he needs closeness I think.

The SIDS risk is lower in breastfed babies and another plus is that you can bed share safely if you breastfeed (and dont smoke drink etc) also make sure to read lullaby trust website if you go down that route for safe sleep guidelines

Congrats

Aside from the points made im a PP, in the first few days of breastfeeding you'll produce colostrum which is pretty essential to babies, even mothers who FF still express colostrum for baby.

Among a whole bunch of other benefits...
"Colostrum has an especially important role in protecting your baby's gastrointestinal tract. A newborn's intestines are very permeable (leaky). Colostrum seals the holes by “painting” the gastrointestinal tract with a barrier which prevents most foreign proteins (from food the mother has eaten or from formula) from penetrating the gut and possibly sensitizing your baby to an allergy"

As a substance breast milk contains hormones, antibodies, immune molecules, stem cells and other things that formula will never replicate.

As a feeding method both have their pros and cons depending on the mother and baby. I imagine FF works best for organised mums and babies who fall into a regular feeding pattern and sleep through at an early age.

By PP*

I'd always encourage someone to BF as when your child's immunity is vulnerable and they cannot have jabs etc. Breastfeeding can be a real commodity.
It's also extremely beneficial for mothers and protects against breast cancer.

I don't have anything against Formula but you have to remember that formula is trying to recreate the real thing, which is Breast milk. As it doesn't come from your body, for your baby it couldn't possibly be as beneficial for a child. So it will always be the better option. That's not to say that formula isn't a viable option however.

kellymom.com/

Breast feeding is biologically normal and formula is the alternative.

If you breast feed you're likely to be stuck to the sofa for a few months so get snacks and a netflix subscription.

I gave small amounts of formula from the ready made bottles to take the edge off for the first couple of weeks then stopped the formula and breast fed for over a year. Those bottles are about 70ml and I gave maybe 10 - 15ml and binned the rest.

If you think you aren't producing enough and give formula, the baby demands less so you produce less. I gave a bit to give DD an energy boost so we could relax a bit.

If you end up giving formula it makes no difference once they're toddlers anyway and when DD is in a fussy stage I end up letting her eat so much crap that any health benefits are long gone.

Other people have handled the scientific bits a lot better than I would, but the advantages for me were:

1. Being able to leave the house with a muslin, rather than little pots of powder, boiled water flasks, cooled water etc. So much easier!
2. The bond - DS always was and still is, incredibly close to me.
3. Being able to get up in the night and pull out a boob instead of having to make bottles.
4. Knowing that ultimately, you're doing the best you can for your baby. I would never criticise a formula feeder, but the science is there, that breastfeeding is best. My BFF is a doctor and FF hers but will tell anyone who listens that breastfed is better.

However, it's not a walk in the park at times, I really struggled to get going. I was discharged almost as soon as he was born as there were no beds in postnatal, so I got no hospital midwife support, but found a wonderful support group.

Breast milk is the bees knees. It's more watery on hot days to help keep baby hydrated and all the other fantastic reasons above!
One thing I remembered from a pregnancy class was if baby has a bug, mum will make antibodies to fight it in her milk. so it is always perfectly suited for baby.

All that being said, formula is freaking amazing stuff. They've managed to make an alternative breast milk! For example, a mother who has had a mastectomy is physically unable to breastfeed. Without formula, what would her options be? Wet nurse or death really.
Okay, that is an extreme example but for many women, breast feeding just doesn't work out. I loved it, but I will say that I cannot abide my breasts being touched during sex now. If DH goes anywhere near them I wriggle away. I cant actually explain why!

I can tell you how it was for me and maybe that will help you decide on possible benefits/what will work for you.

Breastfeeding support is mostly down to volunteers who have specialist training. Some are amazing, some are bf zealots. I was very lucky to have a lactation nurse at my hospital after birth but I was her last patient as she was made redundant and it was her last week (over five years ago).

In pregnancy you hear nothing but breast is best but after your baby is here the focus moves on to bottles if you have any concerns about your baby. Midwives, drs, gps, health visitors - bottles are the norm. This is difficult as you might feel like it's your fault as a mum (it's not of course!)

In the western world with clean water, sanitary conditions, manufacturing standards and money to buy milk the difference between breast vs bottle is not massive in the long run. However, it sets expectations for the rest of the world and those formula companies are all about profit. The culture of bottle feeding is pretty strong and has a lot of money behind it and I'll leave it there as it gets messy quickly and I really, honestly don't want anyone to feel like this observation is specific to their circumstances and there is anything negative attached.

Looking back the reasons I did it were; biologically normal, immune benefits, lazy so didn't want to do bottles, thought it would help me lose weight (it didn't), my baby latched easy, baby was exorcist-level sick when I gave him formula, it was a sense of real comfort to the baby and it stayed down when they were sick/had to have an operation, my mum breastfed and so did my sister and I'm competitive and a bit of a nob at times and it was free. All my friends bottle fed, I marvelled at their babies timekeeping and sleep. But I still marvel at their children's sleep patterns now!

Just to add to all the nutritional and other information, according to friends (I don't have children) it calms mum down as a well as baby if the baby is upset.

But not everyone can bf, if you can't then you are still doing what is best for your baby.

I am sure that I will get slated for this but here goes. While breast milk is amazing and I am not denying that please don’t get too hung up on breast feeding. I really struggled to feed my little boy despite lots of help and support. At 6 weeks we made the switch to combo feeding with expressed milk via the bottle and formula alongside it. I was a mess- stressed and feed times were a disaster. He is now thriving with the mix but all via a bottle. I felt guilty (and still do at times) that I wasn’t able to exclusively breast feed him. However since reading about the research into the benefits of it I have realised that alot of it isn’t as conclusive as we are led to believe. It probably doesn’t affect IQ, baby bond, or even obesity rates. The evidence for PND is shakey and one theory is that woman who ended up unable to breast feed end up with PND due to guilt rather than breast feeding itself protecting from it. I can explain it all and as others have stated it is mainly down to lack of randomised control trials meaning the findings may be confounded by other things such as maternal educational background, attitude to food and exercise etc. I would suggest if you have time read a book on breast feeding, attend classes but also balance it by reading a book called ‘guilt free bottle feeding’ for balance. It is by a journalist but also had input from a paediatrician and talks about the evidence as well as giving tips if you do find yourself needing to formula feed if things don’t work out. It really helped me when I was in my darkest days. 100% give breast feeding a go, I would never say don’t try if you can and if you are struggling get support as that can make a world of difference if it works. BUT if it doesn’t work out despite that please don’t feel like a failure. It wasn’t the only one but one of the reasons I got PND was because I was struggling to breast feed and felt pressure to keep going despite it clearly not working for us. My mood improved immensely since switching to bottle and my bond with my little boy is better than it ever was when we were trying to get him to latch. So please whatever you decide to do know that you are doing the right thing for you and your baby.

I really want to EBF but have heard that breastfeeding can be very painful. Is that the case?

Do what is right for you.

@wondering7777 it can be. It was for me, for the first few weeks, but you can have paracetamol and lasinoh nipple cream and for me that reduced the pain to a level at which I couldn't feel it. It's pain free after the first few weeks and some people don't have pain at all. Let-down is initially toe-curling but that pain only lasts about ten seconds and once breastfeeding is established that goes away too.

Some people will tell you, 'If it hurts, you're doing it wrong.' These people, in my opinion, are wrong. If feeding is agony then check the latch, but I found a lot of soreness just from the experience of having my nipple powerfully sucked on for hours at a time, despite a good latch. The right support is often essential for getting breastfeeding established.

I really want to EBF but have heard that breastfeeding can be very painful. Is that the case? I found it far less painful than I would have found getting up in the middle of the night to make a bottle.

Thanks @TheClausSeason - that’s good to know. How come the pain goes away - is it just that your body gets used to it or something?

Also, TMI but I have really small, soft nipples. I wonder if that means I won’t be able to BF?

I agree that what kept me breastfeeding in the difficult early days wasn't so much the health benefits but the thought of having to prep or warm up formula in the night. I've heard horror stories of FF babies who insist on drinking an oz every hour all through the night.