For most moms, breastfeeding is the most touching period of parenting. It creates a strong invisible connection between a mom and a baby. That’s why many mothers feel sad about finishing such a wonderful experience when a baby is over 12 months old. Nevertheless, a lot of women refuse to breastfeed for several reasons and prefer baby formula from Organic’s Best. Why are women unwilling to breastfeed?
Why Is Breast Milk the Best Food for Babies?
A woman’s pregnancy lasts for nine months, and her mammary glands get ready for breastfeeding during that period. A mother’s organism “predicts” the needs of a baby and fills milk with all the required macronutrients and micronutrients. Due to that, a baby gets the following nutrients per one meal:
- healthy fats
- healthy carbs
- casein and whey proteins
- vitamins E, D, C, B, folate, A, and choline
- minerals Ca, iron, sodium, zinc, magnesium, chloride, selenium, and sodium
- water
- enzymes
- hormones
- antibodies
All nutrients help a baby grow strong and healthy. Enzymes help it digest food properly. Hormones regulate many vitally essential processes in the organism, and antibodies create a barrier to the attacks of different infections and viruses.
Why Can’t Women Breastfeed?
Breastfeeding is a choice of a mother. Today, many women do not breastfeed because of several reasons.
Job
It is hard to find an employer who wants to hire a woman with a small baby. Children of breastfeeding mothers feel psychological dependence on their mommies because they are their source of care and food. Baby formula feeding lets mothers entrust their babies to relatives and nannies. Consequently, a baby feels less stressed when a mom is not home, and women can continue earning their living.
Night rest
Infant formula is thicker, so a baby stays full for over three hours. It lets mommies sleep better at night, compared to breastfeeding, where babies can wake up just because they want their moms to hug them. Moreover, men, grannies, sisters, and brothers can feed a baby at night to let a mother have a proper rest.
Diseases
Sometimes women cannot lactate because of stress, disease, or hormonal imbalance. These factors exhaust the organism, and it stops producing milk, or its quality is awful (bitter, watery, or the amount is insufficient). Some women do everything possible to restore their breastfeeding ability. For example, fever affects mammary glands, and milk becomes bitter or is not produced in the required amount because of dehydration. If a mother follows the recommendations of a lactation specialist, she can recover her breastfeeding ability.
Unfortunately, some diseases affect mammary glands irrevocably, or a mother can infect a baby. For example, clinical studies proved that mothers with Lyme disease can transmit the disease with breast milk. So, when a mother notices a tick’s bite, she immediately should stop breastfeeding unless the blood tests prove the opposite.
Medicine intake
Each drug has a manual guide, including information about its compatibility with breastfeeding. If treatment lasts only one week, a mother can go on lactating after the organism gets free from the active components.
Some medicine must be taken on a regular basis, like in the case of diabetes, cancer, kidney or liver dysfunction, heart or blood pressure problems, etc. Only a health advisor can decide whether a mother should stop lactation. It’s not a secret that a baby “steals” nutrients from its mother’s organism during pregnancy and lactation. That’s why breastfeeding can be fatal for a mother who fights against some severe disease because she needs powers to recover and absorb drugs properly.
Same-gender, transgender, and adoptive parents
There is no need to explain that many couples adopt children because of the physical inability to conceive or carry a child. Eventually, they have no breastmilk to feed a baby. Some parents are infertile, so adoption is their only way out.
What are the Alternatives to Breastmilk?
Even though breast milk is the best food for infants, baby formula is its perfect substitute. Nevertheless, not all baby formulas can suit your baby. How to choose the best baby formula? Parents should follow several simple rules.
- The best baby formula is organic because it doesn’t contain chemicals, hormones, and artificial taste enhancers or stabilizers.
- It has an ideal combination of the required nutrients, depending on a child’s age.
- All ingredients are natural, and even animals eat grass without pesticides or chemicals.
- All cows and goats are healthy and do not take antibiotics and anti-parasite medicine when being milked.
It’s better not to choose a non-organic formula that lacks natural components and can have sugar, stabilizers, GMOs, thickeners, and hormones. Such food is heavy for a baby’s stomach and can lead to problems with digestion or cause allergic reactions. Fortunately, manufacturers produce different formula types to satisfy the needs of every baby. European companies divide the made products into several stages.
Stage Pre or 1 is for newborns, and Stage 2 is for babies from 6 to 12 months old. Moreover, some kids still need night feedings after they are one year old. For such kids, companies produce special food with Stage 3 and Stage 4 labels. One can find such products on organicsbestshop.com The European market is famous for its top-best baby-food manufacturers, such as HiPP, Holle, Jovie, Lebenswert bio, BebeM, Löwenzahn organics, and others.
What Types of Baby Formula One Can Find
Parents can select a baby formula from the three available variants:
- vegan
- goat
- cow
The first type is made of plants and seeds like hemp, oat, coconut, and almond. It perfectly fits babies with milk intolerance, but it may lack nutrients. That is why parents should consult a health expert to find out what vitamins and minerals to add to guarantee the best nutrition for a baby.
Cow formula is available in all markets and is rich in macronutrients and micronutrients.
Goat formula is the safest variant because it’s hypoallergenic, and its proteins are easier to digest.
Finally, some companies produce a special formula for babies with gassy tummies and allergic reactions to milk. They let infants receive the desired nutrients safely without gastrointestinal problems, allergies, and other disorders.