Breastfeeding Myths: Formula and Breast Milk

Breastfeeding Myths: Formula and Breast Milk

Breastfeeding gives your baby its best start to life, but there are some myths out there that may detract women from breastfeeding. The Mommy-Go-Round is here to debunk some of those myths.

Myth: Modern formulas are almost the same as breast milk.

Reality: The same claim was made in 1900 and before. Modern formulas are only superficially similar to breast milk. Every correction of a deficiency in formulas is advertised as an “advance,” though no formula is more advanced than breast milk.

Formulas contain no antibodies, no living cells, no enzymes and no hormones. They contain much more aluminum, manganese, cadmium and iron than breast milk. They contain significantly more protein than breast milk. The proteins and fats in formula are fundamentally different from those in breast milk.

Formulas do not vary from the beginning of the feed to the end of the feed, or from day 1 to day 7 to day 30, or from woman to woman, or from baby to baby. Your breast milk is made as required to suit your baby. Formulas are made to suit every baby, thus are not perfect for any baby.

Formulas succeed only at making babies grow well, usually, but there is more to breastfeeding than getting the baby to grow quickly.

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