When you give birth to your first child, newborn care is the one and only thing on your mind. After all, you want to do everything right for your baby to ensure that they get to every doctor's appointment, receive the best care possible at home, and grow up to be healthy and happy in the future. One of the biggest decisions that you will have to make when it comes to newborn care is how you feed your baby. Some women find breastfeeding easy while others find it challenging or even impossible. Get to know some important facts about the options for feeding your baby so you can make the right decision for you and your child.
Breastfeeding
If it is an option for you, breastfeeding provides your newborn baby with invaluable nutrients. It is also what the newborn baby's body is designed to ingest. This means that your baby will not have the digestive problems such as diarrhea or constipation that may be associated with other choices for feeding your baby.
Because you fed your baby every day that you carried him or her, it is a natural extension to breastfeed. However, some women have difficulty breastfeeding because of nipple pain, low milk production, or other health issues. As such, sometimes it is necessary to consider alternative options.
Formula
Formula is a store-bought alternative to breast milk that comes in either liquid or powder form. Baby formula is designed to provide the same basic nutrients that are found in breast milk.The natural hormones that a woman secretes in her breast milk, though, are absent from formula. This means that the disease prevention benefits of breastfeeding are lacking when formula is used.
In spite of this, if you are unable to breastfeed for whatever reason, or need to supplement breast milk with formula, it is a viable option. Formula can run on the expensive side, though. So, be sure you keep that in mind when considering this option.
Donated (or Purchased) Breast Milk
Another option for feeding your newborn baby is through donated or purchased breast milk. While some women produce too little milk, some others produce more than they can use. These women will often give away or sell their frozen extra breast milk to women less fortunate in the lactation department.
While this seems like the ideal solution for women who can't or do not want to breastfeed, there are potential consequences. You may not know much about the health status of the milk donor for instance. This means you may not be giving your child the proper antibodies and hormones they need.
It can be particularly dangerous if you purchase breast milk online as it may be contaminated with bacteria, animal milk and other substances. If you personally know the donor and have talked to your newborn's pediatrician, though, this may be a viable and helpful option for you.
What to feed your newborn baby is one of the most important decisions you will have to make for your newborn. Be sure to consider all of your options carefully and choose wisely for you and your child.
Share16 July 2015
When my mother fell at home and broke her hip, we all thought that we were going to have no choice to put her in a nursing home when she got out of the hospital. My mother had always asked us kids to avoid putting her in any kind of home, but we didn’t know what else we could do. None of us were capable of giving her the kind of rehabilitation and care that she needed. Then her doctor suggested that we find out if her insurance covered in-home care. I didn’t even know that that was an option. I was pleased to discover that in-home care was covered by her plan. Now she gets great care from nurses and nurse assistants that come right to her in her home, where she wants to be. It’s a great option, and I’m so glad we have it.
