Breast milk versus infant formula
The perfect food for your baby is breast milk; it is convenient, ready-to-serve, sterile, and tailor-made to meet all the nutritional needs of a baby until six months of age. Already at the proper temperature, breast milk does not require heating.
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Giving breast milk also benefits the mother - its production burns up calories, allowing you to return more quickly to your pre-pregnancy weight. It also confers some protection against developing certain disorders, including breast and ovarian cancer. However, for one reason or another, you may decide that breast-feeding is not for you and choose to give your baby formula instead. Most formulas are based on cow's milk or soya milk and have to be prepared with freshly boiled and cooled tap water. Your baby will still need the same amount of calories as a breast-fed baby, but since formula takes three to four hours to pass through your baby's digestive system, compared to two hours for breast milk, he or she will need fewer feedings of formula a day.
Before you decide whether you want to breast-feed or bottle-feed with infant formula, consider the points here covering nutritional and health aspects and convenience.
| Breast milk | Infant formula |
|---|---|
| The nutrient content of breast milk varies during each feed, and the more your baby nurses, the more milk you produce. | Infant formula always has the same nutrients, and you can estimate your baby’s needs. |
| Antibodies and living cells in breast milk help protect your baby against infections. | Infant formula does not contain protective antibodies and living cells. |
| Because breast milk contains antibodies, it is more protective against infections such as gastroenteritis. | Formula may introduce infection through contaminated water or dirty bottles, so ensure that everything is clean. |
| Breast milk contains the fatty acids docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ALA), vital for brain and vision development. | Some formulas do contain these fatty acids. However, they all contain vitamin B12, so if you are a vegetarian, your baby is much less likely to develop vitamin B12 deficiency, which is found naturally only in foods of animal origin. |
| The iron in breast milk is more easily absorbed than the iron in infant formula. | Formula contains more iron and more vitamin K, which is necessary for blood clotting, than breast milk. |
| A breast-fed baby is unlikely to be overfed because breast milk is supplied on demand. | It is easier to overfeed formula-fed babies because carers may try to get the baby to take more. |
| Your health, your diet, stress levels, any medications, or alcohol intake can affect breast milk. | Quality of infant formula is not affected by your diet or state of health. |
| Breast milk reduces the risk of your child developing asthma, eczema, other allergies, and intolerance to cow’s milk later. There is a lower incidence of many other disorders, from ear infections and colitis (inflammation of the colon) to diabetes, immune disorders, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and the cancer lymphoma in breast-fed babies. | Formula has not been shown to reduce the risk of these disorders in babies. |
| Breast milk is always available wherever you are and is at the right temperature. | Formula needs to be prepared, refrigerated for storage, and warmed before giving it to your baby. |
| Breast-feeding does not require time to prepare the milk or special equipment (unless you express milk). | Formula requires equipment and time to prepare. |
| Breast-feeding is usually less expensive than formula. | You have to buy formula. |
| You are the only one who can feed the baby, unless you choose to express milk, in which case your partner or others can also help with feeding. | Others can help with feeding, so you can share feeding with your partner, have more time to yourself, get more sleep, and go back to work without expressing milk. |
Lisa Hark, PhD RD & Dr Darwin Deen
Posted 14.02.2011
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