Are you more ANTI-formula OR PRO-breastfeeding?

I was asked the other day if I was more PRO-breastfeeding or ANTI-formula. Now most of you would immediately say that they are one in the same, but I had to think about the question before I responded. Which was I?

I am more ANTI-formula than I am PRO-breastfeeding. Granted, formula - a dead substance - has for many years has sustained life, but breastMILK - a LIVING substance - has sustained optimum life since the dawn of time and the first mother put her baby to her breast.

For ME it comes down to the breastMILK. It was designed for babies by their mothers and it shouldn't matter if the breastMILK is fed to the baby at the breast or via a bottle.

**So what are you? More anti-formula or pro-breastfeeding?**

The following reasons came to mind rather quickly as to why *I* am more anti-formula:

--Formula is inadequate. There are an estimated 300 some odd nutritious properties/ingredients in Breastmilk. Breastmilk is the STANDARD for optimal infant and toddler nutrition. Formula has about 40 some odd ingredients in it. That is approximately 13% of the ingredients that are in breastmilk.

--NO antibodies in formula. Formula is not only nutritionally lacking in comparison to the breastmilk standard, it is immunologically lacking as well. Formula cannot mimic the maternal antibodies that are passed from mother to baby to help protect the baby's new and immature immune system. The human breast customizes antibodies in the milk for the baby to fight whatever pathogen - virus/bacteria/germs- the infant is exposed to its environment.

--The ingredients are all synthetic. The ingredients are not made by human body nor are they naturally occuring ingredients from human milk. The base for most formulas is cows milk - a common allergen for MANY babies. The protiens and fats are also LARGER than the ones found in breastmilk - this makes formula harder to digest and it takes longer too. Lactose free formulas - most common is SOY - is inappropriate as well because the protiens and fats are derived from the soybean - a vegetable/legume - and they are not made to be easily digested by infants either. Soy is now becoming a growing allergen in babies and children, too.

--Contributes to unhealthy weight gains. Cows milk protiens and fats are designed to feed a baby COW that starts out around 80-100 pounds and is supposed to triple its birthweight the first couple of weeks. And we wonder why there are so many overweight children and adults? It all begins at the bottle of formula (and then compounds the problem with the over processed foods we eat).

--Increased risk of Diabetes. By contributing to unhealthy weight gains, formula is putting each child at an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes - either as a child/teen or as an adult. The formula teaches our bodies the wrong way to break down food particles and leads to problems later in life.

--Unsterile manufacturing. If you think that formula is made in clean, germ free white rooms where the employees are dressed in sterile clothing and use the strictest policies to maintain germ-free environments - you are sadly mistaken. The formula is manufactured just like any other product - with the most cost effective method of production - which is always the least ideal and sanitary way.

--Recalls/contaminations. Because of the methods of productions and the fact that there is such thing as human error, formulas can be recalled for many reasons. Either there is something hazardous that could be in the lot of formula, or they miscalculated the amounts for the ingredients. SInce the dawn of mass formula production there have been 22-25 SIGNIFICANT recalls of formula for potentially life-threatening situations. Ingredients were either deficient or superpotent that could cause harm to the babies or they had foreign particles/bacteria in them like glass or salmonella. Breastmilk is ALWAYS made in sterile production conditions and can NEVER be recalled.

--Undermines mothers' abilities. Samples of formula are often given in the hospital or even mailled to a pregnant mother who registers for a baby item or magazine. They come with information on breastfeeding but implies that the mother's milk might be inadequate or the mother might not make enough of her own milk, that there are alternatives. This sets any new mom up for disaster! Before her baby is even here, she is doubting herself and her body's ability to nourish her baby. She will be more worried about what the formula company said *might* happen that she forgets to relax and have faith in herself and her body. Next thing the mother knows, she is having all those problems she feared and the formula company's information on breastfeeding was what started it.

--->Breast MILK is the key. We all have heard the slogans *Breast is Best,* *Human Milk for Human Babies,* and *Babies Were Born to Breastfeed* and all that is well and good. However, many mothers find that feedi