BOTTLE-FEEDING: The good, the bad and the ugly

Infants formular does not contain antibodies which
can protect children against childhood infectionsBreast-feeding has been described as the best for a new born baby at least for the first six months of life because of its numerous advantages. But some nursing mothers would still not want to breast-feed their babies for reasons best known to them. Seye Adeniyi writes that bottle-feeding a baby has certain negative effects on a baby’s health as well as the mother's.

No matter the name given to baby’s formular, the attractive package or container in which the food is enclosed, and even the name of the maker, those are not enough to sidetrack breast milk. Cow milk cannot be compared to breast milk in all ramifications. That is to say that breast milk is still very different from cow’s milk. Even during weaning, breast milk continues to provide the baby with important nutrients. Breast-feeding, it should also be noted, gives every baby the best possible start in life. Other health benefits of breast-feeding to a baby’s health and development also include protection against a wide range of infections and allergies, while for nursing mothers, it can be a means of effortless weight loss and a return of the mother to her former figure before conception.

Although breast milk is always the first option for babies, and it is generally known that, breast is best, however, there are several other reasons why some mothers bottle-feed their babies even right from birth. For instance, if a woman is HIV-positive, she would be counselled by her doctor not to breast feed the newly born baby and the negative implications for doing so, but the choice is hers anyway. The same thing for a women with breast cancer. Also, some babies require special baby’s formula for medical conditions and probably, the mother may be unable to breast-feed due to certain other medical conditions. But whatever the reasons, the mother can become as emotionally involved with her baby as a mother who breastfeeds. Every woman must realise the numerous advantage of breast-feeding a baby than bottle-feeding such a baby. Apart from the fact that it is the God-given right of a baby to be given breasts milk at the early stage of life, especially the first six months to two years of life, in general, babies who are breast-fed cannot be compared to bottle-fed babies in all ramifications.

Breast-fed babies are healthier and more liable to catch infections than babies who are bottle-fed with baby formulars. The reason is that breast milk contains immunoglobulins that is, anti bodies against infection, antiviral substances and lmphocytes which helps infants to resist infections until they can protect themselves. As the mother creates antibodies to infective agents in her own body system she passes them on to the baby, who according to Drs Hans Diel and Ludington, is at risk from the same infections. Breast milk, according to other medical doctors like Drs. Dupe Ojo, and Kayode Ajala, contains at least 10 to 20 times more of lactoferrin than cows’ milk or other baby’s formular. Lactoferrin, it should be emphasised, is a protein that binds iron and acts in a variety of ways as an anti-infective factor unlike baby’s formular. Breast-fed babies cannot also be compared to bottle-fed babies in the sense that breast-fed babies are less likely to suffer from gastroenteritis and even common colds apart from the fact that bottle-fed babies are more susceptible to other common infections like coughs, repiratory, middle ear and urinary tract infections (UTI) as well as eyes, nose and throat (ENT) diseases.

When immunised, babies fed with breast milk make more antibodies than their bottle-fed babies who took cow’s milk throughout infancy, meaning that, the immune system of breast-fed babies are already more mature. Breast-feeding, according to scientists, also protect babies against sudden infant death (SID) syndrome. Bottle-fed babies, however, stand the risk of experiencing low Intelligence Quotient (IQ) unlike those fed with breast milk. For instance, a professor of psychology and brain science at Duke University and King’s College in London, Terrie Moffits, said that nursing mothers should realise the fact that cow’s milk cannot in any way be compared with milk from human breasts. Commenting further, the expert said various researches have also proven that there is a link between breast-feeding and intellectual development in children and there is a gene responsible for higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in breast-fed babies which is also influenced by both environment and genetic factors.

Professor Terrie Moffitt said the gene produces an enzyme found in breast milk which helps in converting dietary fatty acids into the polyunsaturated fatty acids that have been shown to accumulate in human brain during the first months after birth. Also bottle-fed babies tend to be heavier and bigger (i.e. obese) at age one than breast-fed infants. Breast milk has other numerous positive health effects for infants. For example, breast-feeding helps in delaying the onset of symptoms of allergic ailments such as asthma, eczema and other skin infections. It may also help to prevent children from developing such diseases, whereas babies fed with cow’s milk may not enjoy such benefits. The reason for this important benefit according to doctors is not far fetched. Breast milk encourages the intestines to mature early, even tiny premature infants born with very little stature and body weight can also benefit from breast milk as the child may have to be fed with a small quantity of breast milk, say less than a 5ml per one teaspoon. This help their bowel to mature and protect them against infections.

Babies fed with cow’s milk are also more susceptible to tooth infections and gum diseases. Baby’s formular contains appreciable amount of sugar and this tend to trigger gum infections and tooth problems for them even as they grow up. Early breast feeding was immense benefits to nursing mothers as well. For example, breast-feeding a baby as early as possible also stimulates the mother’s uterus to contrast, thus helping to put an end to bleeding after delivery more quickly. Breast-feeding is also a means of effortless weight loss for the mother and also helps the woman to return to her former figure as soon as possible. Another reason that can prevent a woman from breast-feeding her baby’s if the child has a cleft palate, a rare condition anyway.I but if a child has this, modern technology and advancement in medical practices globally have made this health condition a and rectifiable, therefore, if a child experienced a cleft palate from birth and if such conditon has been corrected, the mother has no reason not to give such a child breast milk for growth and development.

One important truth that should also be realised by mothers is that baby’s formular is never a perfect substitute for breast milk and it can never be. It is made from cows milk, which is only modified to make it resemble human milk as closely as possible, but baby’s formular is merely an imitation not original needed by infants. In formular or cow’s milk, major constituents such as sodium and proteins have been reduced to amounts that a young baby’s kidney can cope with. Also, the natural fat has been replaced with blends of dairy and vegetable fats and essential vitamins, trace elements and minerals, as well as the milk sugar that is, lactose, have also been added. Yet, it still lacks many of the useful and needed substances found in breast milk. Cows’ milk or infants formular does not contain antibodies which can protect children against childhood infections, neither does it contain long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, highly needed and important for healthy brain and good sight.

Drs. Dan Hiels and Ludington in one of their reports also implicated formular milk, adding that, formular milks, have been involved in a succession of health scares, some more worrying than others. For example, a number of baby’s formular brand were sometimes revealed in USA to contain phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics flexible and found in animal tests to affect fertility. However, the amounts in formular milk are not considered to present a problem”, the experts reported. Some formular milk is also said to contain tooth-damaging sugar as well as phytoestrogens - an hormone that is structurally similar to oestrogen. Although scientists say it is not yet clear whether this helps or harm infants and the long-term effects are still not known. Nonetheless, there are still some few advantages of bottle-feeding. For instance, most baby’s formular milk are fortified with iron and some even contain more amounts of protein, vitamins C and A and any baby given this is protected against iron-deficiency anaemia in the second half of the first year, as well as eye diseases.

Moreover, nursing mothers who give their infants baby’s formular i.e cow’s milk would have to be extra careful especially in terms of hygiene. The formular should be prepared very carefully, bottles and teeth must also be washed thoroughly and they should also be sterilised. Carelessness and dirtiness on the part of the mother can expose the baby to gastroenteritis infections as well as to dysentary, cholera, diarrhoea and most importantly, Salmonella typhii, which causes typhoid fever. Finally, unlike cow’s milk, breast milk contributes to the healthy development of the brain and retina by suppying the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA).