Why Should I Breastfeed?

Formula is nothing like breastmilk

• Vitamin D fortified powdered nonfat milk. Of course, it's pasteurized. The heating process makes the protein in the milk less absorbable and destroys certain vitamins, including B₁₂. Minerals, including calcium, in milk are made much less available to the body.

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges
        Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats,

• Safflower oil. An Omega-6 fatty acid. Omega 6 fatty acids are not unhealthy in of themselves; however, the Standard American Diet contains an disproportionate amount of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. Studies have all but proven that this imbalance is a major factor that incidences of cancer and heart disease have skyrocketed in the U.S.

•  Soy oil. The same as safflower oil. Plus, nonfermented soybean products have been heavily implicated in reproductive dysfunction.

•  Coconut oil. Finally, a healthy ingredient! It's not raw, however, and therefore has far fewer benefits for a growing baby than it otherwise might have. 

•  Whey protein concentrate. This is protein that is overprocessed to the extent that the protein is practically useless to the body and cancer-causing compounds are produced. 

Breastmilk is nothing like formula

• no bottles to heat up, clean, and store;
• the ability to feed anytime, anywhere;
• no cost;
• faster loss of pregnancy weight; and
• longer postpartum infertility.

• Breastmilk contains over one hundred nutrients that are not found in formula. And they are all easily absorbed.
• Breastmilk has the naturally occurring DHA and AA that promote the growth of the central nervous system, and lower the risk of visual problems.
• Breastmilk is loaded with antibodies that protect the infant from illness. From an article on the La Leche League website: "Because human milk has protective qualities, infants who are not breastfed have more emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and treatments with antibiotics. The protective effects extend beyond weaning." (emphasis mine)
• Nursing requires a different suck than to bottlefeed, and studies show that babies who are breastfeed develop their jaws, teeth, and speech better than those who are formula-fed.
• Breastfed babies have considerable fewer dental caries--at least early on--than formula-fed babies.

"Isn't breastfeeding difficult?"

"What about my husband?"

"What if I really can't breastfeed?"

• a serious medical condition, such as an injured back or cancer;
• the baby refuses breastmilk, even in a bottle;
• the baby is seriously allergic to something in the mother's diet, and despite multiple attempts the offending food lingers in her system (or she can't figure out what it is);
• giving birth to multiples (some breastfeeding will be possible, but--especially with more than two--exclusive breastfeeding is next to impossible for most mothers of multiples).

Breast is best, and commercial formula is worst