Banish the Guilt of Bottle Feeding

Firstly, my intention of writing this blog is for mothers that cannot breastfeed or choose not to breastfeed to feel at peace with that option and feel supported to do so. It is NOT my intention to fuel a breastfeeding versus bottle feeding debate – us mums, we are better than that and quite frankly we don’t have the energy for it! 

Breast is best, it is short, pithy and rhymes and I bet its playing on repeat is some parent's heads as they offer their precious baby a bottle because they cannot for many physical, societal and or emotional reasons breastfeed their baby, certainly NOT because they have not tried hard enough! 

We cannot turn away from the vast amount of evidence based research that supports the health benefits of breastfeeding for both baby and mother. For example, for the baby its provides a protective effect from obesity, diabetes, vomiting, coughs and colds, ear infections, Sudden Unexpected Death of an Infant (SUDI), eczema, allergies and some cancers. For the mother it reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, is a natural contraceptive, and it claims to get you back into shape faster! 

Before I go any further I do need point out that if you are finding breastfeeding challenging please seek help from a medical professional as they may be able to help you overcome them. Bottle feeding can often be used as a quick fix for soothing an unsettled baby, however long term may lead to unintended outcomes such as premature weaning. 

If breastfeeding is unsuccessful for any mother then infant formula is an excellent alternative - you SHOULD NOT feel guilty about feeding your child formula. Bottle feeding does not define your success as a mother nor does it determine the outcome of your child. Sadly, this is where promotion of breastfeeding has gone wrong. Your baby will NOT be fat, dumb, sick or less emotionally connected with you. The benefits of breastfeeding have been largely exaggerated by Chinese whispers. Meaning that many of us do not read the large amount of studies that get published every year, instead we just repeat the message that we have heard whispered around the group and the phrase breast is beast gets a life of its own. 

The bazillion studies that are out there are observational studies where mothers have already chosen their preferred method of feeding their baby (breastfeed, bottle-fed or mixed fed) and then outcomes of the babies are observed, recorded and compared between the groups. The strongest evidence is conducted through randomised controlled trials where a large number of women are divided into two groups by 'flipping a coin'. The tails group are told to bottle feed and the heads group are told to breastfeed. However, this type of study design is inappropriate because it would be unethical to force a feeding choice onto a mother, particularly because yes I said it sigh…breast is best. The major issue with breastfeeding research is that through observational studies we cannot control confounding factors. Given that breast is best and we have all heard that dam phrase so many times then it is likely that the women that breastfeed and continue to breastfeed for 6 months or longer are well educated and live healthy lifestyles meaning that their children are most likely to follow the same path. However, is it the liquid gold itself or the other influences of the childhood upbringing? I would argue that there is growing body of research that suggests the strongest predictor of intelligence is the mother’s intelligence and many other contributing factors such as talking and reading to your baby from a young age - not what your baby was fed!

May I add that there are many studies that have not shown any significant differences in the outcomes children that were breastfeed compared to bottle fed and these studies always conclude by saying a big BUT and refer back to all the other studies that do show breast is best. 

Seriously, isn’t it time to stop demonising formula and bottle feeding and attempt to rebalance the matter? Parenting is faced with so many challenges and societal pressures of images that parents feel they have to live up to otherwise they have failed and the criticism parents face about how they feed their baby is one of them. It’s time for health professionals to reassess policies, particularly the form that mothers are presented with in the maternity ward which mothers must sign to acknowledge that they understand they are doing wrong by their baby by feeding them formula. It’s not wrong to soothe a hungry baby, in fact more damage can be done when a baby does not receive adequate nutrition. And instead of telling mothers that want to offer their hungry baby a bottle, to read the back of the tin. They should be supported and educated to do so in a safe way and their decision respected same way we respect the rights of a breastfeeding mother.

Formula feeding alone will not make your baby overweight. It is not the formula but quantity of formula and the rate that it is received by the baby. Genetics, diet, exercise and the amount of TV are factors that will have a much larger impact on your child’s weight. Some good education around bottle feeding practices would be helpful.

Breastmilk does contain antibodies and other unique counterparts than have a protective effects against illness. However, bottle feeding alone will not make your baby sick. Education around sterilisation of bottle would help close the gap here as well as washing your hands. Let’s also consider the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to certain amount of viruses and bacteria is a good thing. 

Finally, as a mother myself who breastfed, I personally think that I could have lost weight more quickly if I formula fed - my huge, tender breasts were not that keen on exercise and I was so hungry all the time… I ate like a horse!

Remember, you are not a bad mother if you cannot breastfeed, bottle-fed babies can grow up to be healthy, content and clever too. 
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The Baby Sleep Practitioners can either help you overcome breastfeeding challenges or can provide more information on which formula is best suited to your baby, safe bottle feeding methods and how to promote bonding while bottle feeding.

Note: This is my opinion as a Baby Sleep Practitioner, I have not been sponsored to write this - Amy.