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Feeding a baby
introduction
| benefits for the baby
|
advantages
for the mother | feeding
by another mother | bottle-feeding:
are there any advantages?
Introduction
One of the most important decisions we
can make for the development of a baby is whether to breastfeed
or bottlefeed. (By
bottlefeeding we mean giving baby anything that is NOT
the mother's milk.) If you are undecided, then start off
with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has many hidden advantages
and many, many babies get ill because they were bottlefed
rather than breastfed. Bottlefeeding has its conveniences,
but you should know about the disadvantages and potential
dangers.
Benefits
for the baby
Breastfeeding
gives a baby nutrition that nothing else can.
It provides everything that a baby needs to eat or drink.
It gives immunity against illness and it helps to make
the baby intelligent.
It enables a magical bond to grow between mother and
the baby which lasts for a lifetime and it is a wonderful
pleasure to provide, it is also good for the mother's
body.
It is always available, it has no storage problems and
it is always at the correct temperature, natural, clean,
and free!
Advantages
for the mother
Breastfeeding can help mothers keep a safe time period
between one pregnancy and the next. Even without other
forms of family planning, a woman who is exclusively and
frequently breastfeeding is unlikley to become pregnant
again during this time. Breastfeeding also helps a mother's
body recover from childbirth.
Possibly the best thing about breastfeeding is bonding,
the link that is made between mothers and their babies.
The bonding effect of breastfeeding is so strong that
mothers who breastfeed are very unlikely to suffer from
feelings of wanting to abandon or reject their baby. In
fact, a mother can suffer psychological problems if she
does not breastfeed.
Feeding by another mother
Many mothers feel that it would be horrible to have
another woman feed their babies, and they would prefer
to give formula milk, if they are unable to breast feed
themselves.
Perhaps
this is because mothers feel anxious that their baby
may bond with someone else. In fact, you needn't worry.
Breastfeeding by another woman, even someone who is
not a member of our own family, has absolutely no harm
in it at all. In fact, people in the past used to employ
special childminders, called "wet nurses", to breastfeed
their children for them.
Bottle-feeding
- are there any advantages?
Many
women feed their babies formula milk. Some women do
it because they feel they are too busy to breastfeed.
Others do it because they were not able to get the help
they needed to breastfeed. Almost no mothers are physically
unable to breastfeed.
As long as you bottlefeed correctly with strict hygiene,
use safe ingredients and provide extra nutrition like
iron and vitamin D after six months, the baby will receive
sufficient nutrition. But it's hard work to bottlefeed.
If
you are going to give your baby formula milk instead
of breastfeeding, you are going to need a lot of money
and a lot of time. Otherwise, you can make the baby
ill or undernourished.
Communicating
with a Baby
Feeding a Baby
How to Breastfeed
How to Bottlefeed
Feelings after having
a Baby
Postnatal Depression
Families with New
Babies
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