Breastfeeding has been proven to provide the highest amount of benefits for babies and also for their mothers. However, some mothers may have to supplement their breast milk with formula milk for feeding their baby either because of personal reasons or medical reasons.
Supplementing with formula will not reduce the numerous benefits your breast milk contains. Some mothers may be having an issue with only breastfeeding their child and will not want to supplement with formula for fear of their child’s health. Still, you could reduce the benefits your child gets from breastfeeding if you start formula feeding before your child is at least about 2 months old.
Some mothers introduce formula when their child is six weeks old, but it isn’t considered safe for both you and your baby because supplementing with the formula too early may need a reduction in your breast milk supply.
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Does Supplementing With Formula Reduce The Benefits Of Breastfeeding
Some mothers want their children to get all the nutrients they need in breast milk and seem to find it exhausting to feed exclusively. No need to worry; you can feed your baby both breast milk and formula’s very easily.
Feeding your baby with formula and breast milk is also referred to as combined feeding or mixed feeding. You can consult with your doctor about good formulas and how safe it is for your baby. However, you should make sure to wait until 1 month or more before supplementing so your breast milk supply will get established first.
When supplementing, you should first nurse your baby to breastfeed him for a while and then continue feeding with a small amount of formula. Some mothers supplement by mixing formula with their breast milk, but you should do this frequently to don’t cause nipple confusion for your baby.
Replacing some amount of breast milk with formula after a safe period will not reduce the supply of your milk, and you can easily switch to exclusive feeding just by breastfeeding more often and reducing formula feedings.
When you offer your baby both breast milk and supplement with formula milk will ease things for you and help you breastfeed longer than nursing.
Benefit Of Supplementing With Formula
Supplementing breast milk with formula holds some benefits for both mom and baby; the following are:
Mothers supplement with formula when their baby seems to be underweight, and only breast milk is not adding to her size. Adding formula to breast milk feeding will help your baby grow and develop and add more weight in at least one week of a constant combination of feedings. After you have gotten your desired result and do not wish to continue with supplements, you can breastfeed exclusively.
Supplementing with formula will make you less stressed with your baby if you don’t like pumping your breast. When you supplement with formula and your baby gets used to it, it will be easy for you to leave your baby with a sitter, friend, or relative In an emergency.
And you do have to be worried if your baby will go hungry or give their caregiver a hard time by rejecting milk other than breast milk. In addition, the formula will help mothers who have problems pumping a great deal.
Whenever you can’t pump or don’t like to and have a tight schedule like working, you can easily give your baby formula milk any time you ensure to breastfeed mornings and evenings. The formula is very convenient, stress-free, and sure your baby has all the nutrients they need without having breast milk.
Check this out: What To Do With Expired Baby Formula
Reasons For Supplementing Breastfeedings With Formula
The decision on Supplementing with formula is dependent on the mother and what’s best for her baby. Aside from medical considerations, some reason mothers supplement with formula is:
Low breast milk supply: For some mothers, especially new or first-time ones, the supply of their breast milk will tend to be low no matter the precautions they take, and they may feel their baby does not get enough milk they require, like when the seem fuzzy or cry during feeding, and you think it’s because they are not getting much milk, or you feel like your baby still looks hungry even after a feeding section.
All these are actually normal for the first few weeks after birth; the first few milks your breast produces called colostrum will not be much in volume, and your breast milk will increase in amount gradually. But in some cases, when a mother has undergone surgery relating to the breast, they will be advised by the doctor to supplement with formula so their baby will not be male nourished or start to lose weight.
Baby having a low blood glucose level, under weighed or dehydrated
If any of these happens, a mother will be asked to start supplementing with formula, so your baby will start getting all the nutrients your breast milk is not providing. Formula feeding will immediately be introduced, especially when your baby is in the neonatal period.
Note that newborn babies will lose about 7 to 10% of their baby weight in the first week after birth and gain weight or more back in two weeks. If you think your baby is not gaining their birth weight back after two weeks, consult your doctor for advice.
Going back to their job: working-class moms who are about to resume their job will supplement with formula a few months after birthing their baby. These mothers may leave only formula milk or mix their breast milk with formula milk and refrigerate for their sitter or caregiver to feed their baby when they’re out for work.
However, it isn’t a must for working mothers to supplement formula; some mothers can handle work and continue with exclusive breastfeeding by pumping their milk and freezing it without using any formula as a supplement.
In cases when the mom will need to be away for up to a few days and insist on strictly breast milk for their baby, they can express their milk with an electric pump to save plenty of milk for their baby’s feeding—this help to relieve themselves of pressure from their breast since they won’t breastfeed for a while.
Inability to breastfeed in public places
Some mothers will bring formula milk and them during outings, probably because they are not comfortable breastfeeding their baby in public places. While some places do not all mothers breastfeed in public, although people are now more educated on these things, it has now been legal for any woman to breastfeed in any public place freely.
If you still feel uncomfortable about stares in public while breastfeeding, you are most welcome to bring a bottle along with you.
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I am a proud mother of two, a lover and home builder. My love for children gave birth to the bestofmotherearth.com with the aim to cover topics from child health, pregnancy, parenting, family, relationship, struggles in families and also food.
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