New parents want to give their babies the very best. When it comes to nutrition, the best first food for babies is breast milk.
More than two decades of research have established that breast milk is perfectly suited to nourish infants and protect them from illness. Breast-fed infants have lower rates of hospital admissions, ear infections, diarrhea, rashes, allergies, and other medical problems than bottle-fed babies.
“There are 4,000 species of mammals, and they all make a different milk. Human milk is made for human infants, and it meets all their specific nutrient needs,” says Ruth Lawrence, M.D., professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y., and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Health experts say increased breastfeeding rates would save consumers money, spent both on infant formula and in health-care dollars. It could save lives as well. This shocking skyrocketting of the price of baby formula is a strong argument for breastfeeding. It is better for your wallet without a doubt!
Another strong argument for breastfeeding is the recent recalls of baby formulas because they had potentially harmful bacterias in them. Even more scary were those baby,s deaths possibly related to baby formula!
The other strong argument for breastfeeding over formula use is the shortage that can happen any time like it happened in 2021 and 2022. A mother breastfeeding her baby has sufficient milk and is nto at the mercy of such shortage and high prices.
“We’ve known for years that the death rates in Third World countries are lower among breast-fed babies,” says Lawrence. “Breast-fed babies are healthier and have fewer infections than formula-fed babies.”
Although breast-feeding is still the best nourishment for infants, infant formula is a close enough second that babies not only survive but thrive.
