Choosing whether or not to breast-feed or to bottle-feed is one of the most important choices that a new mother and father can make. What they decide will directly influence their child’s health. They are making choices for their child that could affect them for the rest of their lives. There are many different stances on which is better for the child, being breast-fed, or being bottle fed. It is important to truly understand the science and the facts behind the two in order to make a sound decision. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that exclusive breast feeding for the first six months of life is most advised. After the first six months, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised that breast feeding is continued until there is …show more content…
Gastrointestinal tract infections were reduced by 64 percent when any, partially or exclusively, breastfeeding occurred. Sudden Infant death syndrome decreased 36 percent when infants were breast fed. Science supports that there is a large effect on allergies when infants are breastfed. Exclusive breastfeeding can reduce asthma, dermatitis, and eczema by 27 percent. When discussing allergies, note that depending on the introduction of foods and what types of foods at the 6 month mark can also effect allergies in …show more content…
Breast feeding is not always the easiest option. Most commonly, the nipples will be very sore. Nipple soreness is caused by a multitude of things including poor feeding techniques, wrong position of the baby while feeding and not taking good care of the nipple. Nipple soreness is common. There are many instances where mothers find it hard to get their infant to latch onto the nipple to feed. Feeding in the hospital, right after birth, helps to keep a healthy and trusting relationship between the mother and the infant. There is a great deal of learning in the first few hours of life. Latching as soon as possible is the best and most advised way to prevent from having issues with latching in the future. There are some cases where the milk ducts can become plugged, something that happens if the baby is not feeding very well. Breasts can become infected. All in all, the complications can cut off the food supply to the baby. There are times when a mother’s plan to breast feed exclusively simply will not