Will Formula Feeding Harm My Baby?

Recommend (15) Comments (20)

Breastfeeding is a major player on the continuum of life. It is one of the defining characteristics that make us mammals, and creates a very clear transition from the relative safety of the womb, where an infant’s every need is cared for automatically, to the uncertainty of the “outside” world, where the infant must learn (eventually) to care for him or herself.

Humans are born after 40 weeks of gestation—not because they are ready for independent life, but because a longer stay in the womb would result in a baby whose head is too big to emerge from his or her mother’s pelvic opening.  Essentially, human infants are born early in order to allow their brains to mature outside the womb, where brain growth can be accommodated.  Breastfeeding, both product and process, creates a biological safe haven for the young child:

•    Breastfeeding provides biologically normal nutrition for developing human infants. The nutritional components are perfect for human infants, whose first big job, biologically speaking, is to continue brain growth.

•    Breastfeeding provides immunological protection for the infant, especially during the critical time period before the infant’s immune system has matured.

•    The act of breastfeeding—safely in his or her mother’s arms—offers a combination of safety and of skin-to-skin contact, a vital component of human development.

Babies—and their mothers—are designed to breastfeed. A newborn’s reflexes help him or her find and latch on to the mother’s breast. A mother’s breast is designed to create a living fluid that changes as the needs of her child change, and to match her milk production with the baby’s needs.