Advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding
Benefits of breastfeeding:
It is the most useful product for normal growth and weight gain of baby
Breast milk is the source of the immunity for the child, he rarely catches illnesses
It is convenient for the mother because the milk is always with her; it is warm, fresh and ready for use around the clock
It is harder for the kid to become overweight
It is easy to calm a crying baby with the help of breast milk
The baby vomits less (or doesn’t vomit at all) because smaller amount of air enters the stomach (Melissa Conrad, 2015).
Disadvantages of breastfeeding:
The breast may lose its former shape
A woman is forced to eat more and it can lead to undesirable additional weight
The kid strongly depends on the mother: she cannot leave for a long time
A child may bite the breast painfully
The breast can "leak"
The mom cannot eat a variety of products in order to prevent the appearance of allergies
It is difficult to feed in public places (Melissa Conrad, 2015).
Advantages and disadvantages of bottle-feeding
Benefits of bottle-feeding include:
Bottle-feeding successfully replaces problematic breastfeeding in many relations (lack of milk, stomach problems of the child, etc.). Finally, it is much more useful for a baby when a mother is kind and calm instead of exhausted and nervous
Modern technologies of the food industry allow producing high-quality adapted mixtures guarantee that your child will harmoniously grow and develop
Bottle-feeding is an affordable alternative if a mother cannot feed for medical reasons. Mixtures allow feeding the child in the absence of his mother. In this case a mom can safely be absent for a long time without the risk of lactostasis or even mastitis. To feed the baby with a mixture is very comfortable because you can do it anywhere you like: on the street, in the store, even in the subway
Often children on bottle-feeding sleep better because infant formula is heavier than breast milk for stomach and it takes more time to digest
Disadvantages of bottle-feeding are evident:
Endless tinkering with the preparation of mixture: bottle sterilization, boiling the water, cooling the mixture, etc. Just imagine how hard it is to do this procedure at night
Even a very good mixture is far in its composition from the breast milk. That’s why it may take a very long time to choose the right mixture for your child
With bottle-feeding there is a risk of overfeeding the child, the risk of obesity at an early age. Furthermore, most mixtures include synthetic vitamins (which may cause allergies)
And, of course, the financial aspect - a good mixture (which is suitable for your child) is not cheap (Melissa Conrad, 2015).
Breastfeeding and a working mother
Any work requires the appearance of stress. Let’s discuss the relation between stress and breastfeeding.
How does stress influence the production of breast milk?
On this question the scientists give a definite answer: “Doesn’t influence at all”. That means, even in times of severe stress the breast milk continues to be produced in the same amount. However, stress affects the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for the allocation of milk from the breast. So the situation when a mother is nervous and the child starts to cry at her breast because he did not receive enough milk is quite common. Does this mean that in such a situation it is necessary to give the additional feeding to the baby in the form of mixture? No, because in this way we will only contribute to the reduction of milk production. On the contrary, it is necessary to calm down, relax - and breast-feeding will completely restore. In such situation a mother should remember that she has enough breast milk, but the child cannot get it until his mother calms down.
The impact of breastfeeding on mother’s stress
Sometimes occurs the opposite question: how breastfeeding affects the flow of stress of the mother. In this case scientists give an answer in favor of the baby. Even the most severe stress which a breastfeeding women experiences proceeds much easier than if she didn’t feed with her breast. On the one hand, the woman recognizes her responsibility to the baby, so she just cannot afford to “plunge into the depths of suffering”. While her friend by misfortune gives the baby to relatives or nannies and begins to enthusiastically suffer, a breastfeeding mother several times a day puts the baby to the breast and completely immerses into the communion with the child. A stimulation of the breast and nipple during sucking triggers a number of interrelated processes in the woman’s body. Those women who consistently feed with breast, during feeding (especially after the first few months of uncertainty) experience the feeling of peace and gentleness that leaves no chance to the appearance of stress (William Sears).
Breastfeeding Laws
USA
Forty nine states have a law which says that women may feed their children with breast milk at any private or public place, for example, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, etc.
Twenty seven states have laws concerning breastfeeding at work, such as Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma and others.
Five states and Puerto Rico have implemented or encouraged the development of a breastfeeding awareness education campaign (California, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Vermont).
Unique laws
In California, New York and Texas there are laws that say about distribution, procurement and use of breast milk.
In Puerto Rico exists a law that says about specific places which should be designed in public areas for comfortable breastfeeding.
• In Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates government adopted an amendment to the law on the protection of children's rights - it requires female citizens of the country to breastfeed the child up to two years. According to the developers of the law, the right of breastfeeding is the inalienable right of every child (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2015).
References
Conrad, M. (2015). Breastfeeding and Formula Feeding. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/breastfeeding/page2.htm
National Conference of State Legislatures. (2015). Breastfeeding State Laws. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx
Sears, W. (n.d). Working and Breastfeeding. Retrieved from http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/breastfeeding/while-working/working-and-breastfeeding
