Breast May Be Best but Formula is Just Fine

Myths Surrounding Formula and Its "adverse" Affects on Babies Have Recently Been Found to Be False

Tashia M. Heath
Tashia M. Heath, Yahoo! Contributor Network
May 17, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
Walking through the halls of the Labor and Delivery floor in the local hospital I work at, I find so many of the posters promoting breast milk over formula very one sided and discouraging. One that I dislike the most reads "Say no to formula, bottles and pacifiers". I cannot help but to think that it isn't fair to the Mothers, like myself who debated long and hard about which option she would choose to nurture her baby. Breast Milk is the best choice for your baby, that has been proven fact for years now, however; formula runs a very close second. Formula has been fed to humans for many years and a great majority of those people grew up to live healthy, normal lives. Many of the myths surrounding Formula and its "adverse" affects on babies has recently been found to be false.

One myth surrounding Formula is that, babies who are given formula are more likely to become obese. One of the newer studies surrounding this issue was done just over a year ago by.Dr.Hillary Burdette, a nutrition specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr.Burdette says, "We found that there were no differences in body fat at age 5 between breast-fed and formula-fed infants,".The new study was published in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Burdette hopes her study will put an end to the debate that formula fed infants are more likely to become obese.

Another myth you may have heard is that babies who are fed infant formula are not as intelligent as those who are breast-fed, this is another myth that is not true. Old studies showed that babies who were breast-fed became more intelligent than those who were formula-fed. New studies showed this to be false. In the largest study ever done on this controversial subject, babies who were breast-fed were only found to be more intelligent when other factors were involved. Those factors being the Mother's IQ and the parent's educational and economic status. When these variables were considered, breast-feeding had little to no overall impact on a child's IQ. Researcher Geoff Der says that "The Mother's IQ was by far the most important variable, accounting for 70% to75% of the difference [between children who were and were not breast-fed]".

I am sure many parents have heard that formula will have adverse affects on the babies development. This is an older myth with some truth, however, with newer fortified formulas this is no longer an issue. Research has shown that babies who receive fortified formulas with omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (for arachidonic acid) do in fact boost babies development. One new study has shown that full term babies who were given the fortified formulas were shown to have enhanced brain development, visual development and were able to gain weight faster than those given formula that was not fortified with the essential omega-3 fatty acids. Dr. Eileen Birch says "These studies strongly suggest that babies who are entirely formula-fed do better when they are fed supplemented formulas", Dr.Birch goes on to say "They developed more like the breast-fed kids".

It is safe to say that breast is best, it is a scientific fact. In comparison, it's also safe to say that fortified infant formulas are a very close second. Will we ever manufacture an infant formula that will replace breast milk, probably not. If you can't breast-feed however, take comfort in the fact that you are doing the 2nd best thing for your baby and that is giving him or her fortified infant formula.

Published by Tashia M. Heath

I'm a Mother, a wife and a baby photographer. I love art, writing, drawing... using my creativity when I can, which isn't often.  View profile

5 Comments

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  • Lina Gerova-Wilson4/9/2008

    Yeah, in hospitals breastfeeding really is promoted more than breastfeeding and it sure should be. Problem is that then you get home and your mail is loaded with formula ads and formula cans that you did not ask for.And then you are tired, sore, your breasts hurt and then you decide - 'Well it seems formula is just fine, why bother nursing'.A lot of women just quit all for the wrong reasons.It is one thing not heaving milk (which doesn't really happen that often) or your baby does not latch (even less often) or even having to go to work and not being able to pump, and completely different when you just decide the fake milk is easier. I agree - if for you breastfeeding is not possible,promoting it will make you feel unjustified anguish.The problem is that too many women that can breastfeed give up on it way too easy.That is all what formula manufacturers want - more moms that quit = more business for them.That is why formula does not need further promoting and mother's conscious doe

  • Tashia Heath4/4/2008

    I really have to disagree with you Lina. I work in labor and delivery 5 days a week at 2 different hospitals and I know for a fact that breast feeding is promoted way more than formula. I also know that 9 out of 10 Moms will opt to try and breast feed. I rarely encounter Moms who have chosen to formula feed before they try to breast feed. When it comes down to it, it's a personal choice. Sometimes I really feel as though breast feeding has become a fad because of the way people spam and judge as to almost say "I'm such a better Mom than you because I breast feed". It's really those people who give breast feeding mothers a bad name and ultimately in my opinion detour future breast feeding Moms by their opinions.

  • Lina Gerova-Wilson4/4/2008

    I agree formula is the second best choice for feeding infants but since there is only two choices when it comes to baby nutrition ( if you do not count feeding cow's milk from day one), it is actually the worst one, right? It is Ok to feed formula without guilt if there is no other option but in my opinion there is too many women that never even bothered to try breastfeeding cause they were appeased by statements like the 'formula is just fine ' one. It is just not fair to the babies.Also - I just had a baby and can tell for my own experience FORMULA IS PROMOTED WAY MORE THAN BREASTFEEDING! I wish Enfamil would stop sending me 'free' samples of their products so you, guys, don't have to pay for their aggressive marketing campaign.

  • Amy Weekley5/21/2007

    Not to be argumentative, because I know a lot of moms who use formula and have healthy kids... but if you acknowledge that formula is second best, why would you want to give your child anything less than the absolute best?

  • Heather B.5/17/2007

    I agree that some of these are myths, though studies have indeed shown that breastfed babies are ahead developmentally and show higher IQs, but I don't agree that formula is "just fine." Formula is a substitute for mother milk that should be used only as a last resort according to every medical organization in the entire world. Formula fed babies health care costs average $1400 more than breastfed babies. Formula doesn't protect a child from any illnesses whatsoever, unlike breastmilk which lowers the risk of HUNDREDS of illnesses. It is not as easily digestible. Formula has been recalled for being contaminated or for lacking crucial nutrients. Formula fed infants are 14 times more likely to be hospitalized and 3-4 times more like to have a diarrheal disease. Risk of meningitis is 4 times higher; their risk of respiratory ailments is increased by 80%. They're 5x more likely to get rotavirus and gastroenteritis, 5-8 times more likely tohave lymphomas, and more likely to die of SIDS. Tho

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