Food for Thought (or Thinking about Feeding)

I was wondering what other fathers or fathers-to-be are thinking of the breastfeeding issue. In following the back and forth issue of breastfeeding, I thought I would weigh in from a (hopefully) thoughtful and logical approach.

I guess the best way to start is to take a basic engineering approach. Women are designed, either by evolution or creation (but that is an entirely different discussion), to create nourishment for babies. I don’t see how anyone could argue differently. While you could argue it is not fair breastfeeding has been solely placed with a woman it still does not change the basic fact. While modern chemistry has produced an additional way of feeding babies, is it really a better way than what is designed for them? I have a hard time thinking it is.
Let’s take a look.

1. Colostrum is a thick, yellowish milk secreted by a woman's breast in the first several days after delivery. It has increased concentration of calcium, potassium, proteins, fat-soluble vitamins, minerals and antibodies. The volume is approximately 100 cc's (3 oz.) in a 24-hour period. Due to its high concentration of antibodies, this milk is particularly valuable for infants in preventing infection.
2. A mother’s milk is not a one size fits all. As a baby develops their dietary needs change. It is difficult to copy the progression of the quality of milk and quantity of substances from colostrum to mature milk and from milk for a newborn vs. milk for a 12 month old.
3. Multiple studies show that children who have been breastfed had significantly higher IQs even when other factors such as social class and mother's education level are controlled.
4. Chemical analysis shows that breastmilk is rich in such defense factors as immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, enzymes, macrophages, lymphocytes and bifidus factor - all of these are NOT found in other mammalian milk.

(Thanks to childbirthtoday.blogspot.com for the info)

So, while I am sure there are times when bottle feeding needs to be a choice for numerous reasons, why would you want your son or daughter to get “the next best thing”? The mother of your child will need your support no matter which method of feeding the two of you chose.