Formula Milk Persuasive Essay

“When breastfeeding is not exclusively practiced, infant formulas are generally used. The World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk that parents be fully informed about the health hazards of unnecessary or improper use of infant formula”(2).

Very few experts disagree with the fact that breastfeeding is the optimal choice for the infant. However, decreasing breastfeeding rates raise many questions as to why mothers are not choosing the best nutritional choice for their children. Despite breast milk being the obvious choice for infant feeding due to the health, psychological, and economic benefits, many mothers still decide to feed their infants formula due to lack of knowledge and support, difficulties with breastfeeding, and social embarrassment. Changes need to be made with formula companies, medical professionals, and the public opinion of breastfeeding in order to give nursing mothers the support they deserve.

Breast-feeding is nutritionally, emotionally and physically superior for a mother and her child. “Human breast milk is not standard nor is it interchangeable with cow’s milk. It is a dynamic fluid that changes in composition to meet the needs of the baby as it grows” (“Giving your Baby... Diet.” par. #10). Breast milk contains growth factors and antibodies which stimulate the growing baby and protect it from illness such as diarrhea, ear infections, rashes, allergies, asthma, skin problems, pneumonia, respiratory illness and other serious illnesses. Breast-feeding also improves a baby’s chance of remaining healthy. These antibodies are not found in formula. They can not be sustained. Breast-fed babies are also neurodevelopmentally more

When you think of feeding your baby, you have two options: breast milk or formula. I’m sure when you think of breastfeeding, you think it’s hard and painful, but in

Chocolate milk should be served in cafeterias. Schools should provide it as an option for students because it has many nutrients. Kids who drink chocolate milk do not consume more sugar or other harmful substances. Chocolate milk helps kids get the three daily servings of dairy. Cafeterias should serve chocolate milk.

Breast milk is widely acknowledged as the complete form of nutrition for infants with a range of benefits for infants’ health, growth, immunity and development (Breastfeeding- Natural Is Best). All these factors can decrease Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS) and mortality. In serval meta-analyses babies that are breastfeed have a 36% decrease in the risk of SIDS. According to The Lives Saved Tool, an estimated 823,000 yearly deaths would be saved if breastfeeding was scaled up to universal levels. Disorders like necrotizing enterocolitis, that has a high case-fatality, showed a 58% decrease with breastfeeding (Victoria, Cesar G, et all.).

There are many misconceptions today about feeding formula to babies and it being equal to breastfeeding. Breast milk is complex and species-specific; it targets growth and development of infants and provides disease protection. Both breast milk and formulas contain similar nutrients, but formulas are not an exact copy of breast milk. Formula may maintain growth and development, but it doesn’t contain hormones, live cells, immunologic agents, or enzymes, all of which are contained in breast milk. Breast milk contains four-hundred nutrients that cannot be recreated in a laboratory. Formula compositions don’t change to meet the infant’s changing needs. Although many formulas are similar to breast milk, they have drastic differences in

Throughout history there has been a need for alternative feeding methods for infants. Whether because of an issue with the mother’s milk supply or because of death of the mother, there have always been children that required the use of something other than their own mother’s milk. In more recent history, alternative feeding has also been used as a convenience. Prior to the development of infant formula in 1865, animal milk and wet nurses were used to accomplish the feeding of orphaned infants or others whose mothers could not, or chose not to, breast feed. Between 1950 and 1970 the breast feeding rate fell dramatically. Some studies suggest that more that 75 percent of American infants born during that time were formula fed. As the rates

Whether to breastfeed or to formula feed is one of the many decisions parents have to make when caring for a newborn baby. The decision may seem simple in which parents base there decision on comfort, convenience and finance but little do most parents know the decision being made can have damaging long term effects than that of the present. There is plenty of research that state the significance of breastfeeding that go far beyond the extent of bonding between mother and newborn. Although, that too is important. Breast milk is known to contain antibodies which can help the newborn in developing a strong immune system which influence all the body systems. Research has shown that breast-milk can help prevent long term diseases such as

Breastfeeding in public is one of the most controversial issues in society today. Breastfeeding has been around since before the 15th century. It is a bond shared between a mother and a child. Research shows that breastfeeding is the best choice over formula because breastfeeding provides the infant with essential nutrients, helps with recovery from childbirth, and protects the infant against a number of chronic conditions. Breastfeeding is abnormal, healthy, natural and need not be disguised, explained, or apologized. You should be able to breastfeed your baby wherever or whenever your child is hungry. Breastfeeding is not a choice it’s a responsibility. It may not be the right choice for some parents, but it’s the best choice for every baby.

An infant who is breastfed receives added health benefits compared to a child who is formula fed. In the first few days after birth, the breast milk is comprised of protein, vitamins A and E, and antibodies which help protect the infant from infection. After the first few days, the mature breast milk contains fats and cholesterol, which are essential for the growth and development of the infant’s nervous system, eyes, and brain. It also contains micronutrients calcium and magnesium, which are beneficial to the infant’s growth (Thompson et al., 2010).

Breast milk is best for infants. It reduces the risk for SIDS, which affects approximately 3,500 infants in the United States every year (“Sudden Unexpected Infant”). Babies, especially newborns are very fragile and they can get sick very easily and sometimes a small cold can result in hospitalization, but these odds can be reduced by breastfeeding because babies who are breastfed don 't get sick as often as those who are formula fed. Breast milk can prevent allergies, eczema, ear infections, and stomach problems (Adler). Breast milk also changes to suit a baby’s needs, for instance, it can provide antibodies to prevent an infant from getting sick and alter its

There are still women who do not breastfeed simply because they think children can still be successful regardless of how they were fed. “Babies raised on formula can turn out to be just fine, but they say everything should be done to help women breast-feed if they can” (Stein). This statement may be true, but the child will not get the natural nutrition it needs from its mother's milk. In the first days of birth, a mother does not produce

Childhood obesity and diabetes have been on the rise in our country in recent decades, and yet we hardly acknowledge the optimal path for preventing it. “Breast is best,” is a saying we have been exposed to regularly, but do we consider the depth of meaning behind it? It could be taken simply to mean the best choice is to breastfeed, but the truth is, breastfeeding is more than the superior option. It is in reality a biological necessity, and should be the only viable option for our offspring. Formula feeding is acknowledged to raise the risk of many diseases, and even raise the incidence of infant death due to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Therefore formula should be reserved only for extreme circumstances. If it can be accomplished, breastfeeding is the most crucial measure that can be completed to assure both physical and mental health for mother and baby, since it strengthens the bond between a mother and child, and provides much more than the basic nutrition found in formula. We must look at what goes wrong in the process of breastfeeding that causes so many babies to instead be fed nonhuman milk. Formula was created to be a tool for orphans and other babies with no possibility of receiving mother’s milk, but somehow it became the more common method of feeding, and this needs to be closely examined and remedied.

Research shows that breastfeeding and breast milk unequivocally hold many health advantages for children and mothers. Breast milk is uniquely suited to the human infant’s nutritional needs and is a live substance with unparalleled immunological and anti-inflammatory properties.