Shelby K
Feeding Preferences
20 February 2013

There are many advantages and disadvantages to breast feeding for the baby and the mother as well. Babies tend to have less risk for ear infections, respiratory illness, allergies, diarrhea and vomiting. Breast milk is also more digestible so the baby will be less constipated. The IQ levels of babies that were breast fed is an average of 8 points higher. Baby girls are also at less risk for breast cancer. Finally, the bond between and mother and her baby seems to be a lot stronger when you breast feed.
For the mother, the fertility levels decrease when she breast feeds. The uterus will also return to its pre pregnancy size faster, which means you get skinnier quicker. Breast milk is always healthy, clean, at the right temperature and available whenever. It’s cheaper too; the cost of formula for a year would be about $1,000-$1,200. Mothers just feel a special feeling knowing that they are meeting the needs for their baby, like providing protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and sugars.
Some disadvantages of breast feeding for the mother are that she must always provide pumped milk if she intends on being absent for a long time. Early breast feeding may be very uncomfortable. Also if the mother is on any medications, she shouldn’t breast feed because that can cause the milk to be unhealthy. It really takes a lot of energy to pump milk, so a lot of rest is needed. Also you will not be able to measure the amount of milk your baby has consumed. There are no disadvantages of breast feeding for the baby.
There also are many advantages and disadvantages to bottle feeding. Some advantages are it gives the mom more time in her schedule for herself. The dad or grandparents can easily step in, give the baby a bottle and set their own bonding time with the baby. It’s easy to tell how much milk the baby is actually getting. Baby also digest formula slower than breast milk which means the baby can go longer between feedings during the day and especially at night. Formula offers all the basic nutrition that a