Why breastfeed when there's formula milk?

In answer to that question, I will do it the Mastercard way:

Cost of breast milk: RM0

Time spent to breastfeed each feeding: 30 minutes (or less, depending on the baby)

Health benefits of breast milk: Natural, organic, full of antibodies, contains natural DHA, AHA, whatever A and free from contamination.

Closer bonding between mother and baby from breastfeeding: PRICELESS

So, why is it that some mothers refuse or do not want to breastfeed?

I came across an article by some writer in the US who even calculated the ‘costs’ of breastfeeding based on the time spend expressing the milk for storage (because she’s a working mom) and the time spent breastfeeding her child. That’s not the worse of it. She has four children and used to fully breastfeed all her three children until she decided that she does not want to fully breastfeed her fourth child because, get this, it is time-consuming. It is taking too much of her time from her social life, from her work, from whatever. And the time taken is probably costing her $$$ in work hours.

Then, she did a whole bunch of ‘research’ and went on to say that no studies have conclusively proven that breastmilk is better than formula milk.  What I really don’t understand is that why did she even bother having children if she thinks it is a waste of time and money?

Breastfeeding may take up more time than feeding the baby with formula milk but the benefits far outweigh anything else. Even if there are no conclusive studies to show that breastmilk is more superior, what about the time a mother spent nursing her baby, crooning to the baby, talking to the baby and interacting with the baby? That is so much more priceless compared to just letting anyone on hand to stuck a bottle to the baby and feed.

Somehow, breastfeeding do bring the child closer to the mother. I know because till now, my son is very much attached to me. Not only that, formula milk are mostly made from chemicals formulated in the labs. Don’t we have enough chemicals already without subjecting our newborn babies to chemicals right from the start? We all know the DHA, AHA or whatever A they have in the formula milk are derived synthetically. These are not natural.

Also, if we want to calculate the time ‘lost’ and $$ lost because we spent time breastfeeding, then we might as well calculate the hours lost caring for the baby and then conclude that having children is a total waste of $$ and time. Why bother having children at all?

I am a working mother and I also ‘lost’ a lot of time expressing milk for storage and breastfeeding my son but I don’t regret a single minute of those precious moments. I’d rather spend time for the benefit of my son than to give a bunch of excuses and then use money to buy some chemical laden formula milk for my son.

Then, of course, there are those who think breastfeeding may cause their breasts to sag, shrivel, etc. Well, you don’t have to breastfeed for this to happen. Time and gravity does it very well so whether you breastfeed or not, in time your breasts will sag and shrivel and yes, you will also develop wrinkles.

Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world. Ever seen a cow feed its calf goat milk? Or a goat feeding its kid cow milk? So, why when we can give our own HUMAN MILK to our young, we decide to give animal milk? Reminds me of a forwarded email I received years ago:

From birth, our babies are fed cow’s milk

They are cared for by Indonesian maids when young

Then when they are older, they are sent to tuitions and all sorts of classes / lessons

And we complain why our children are not close to us. How can they be when they are given cow’s milk at birth, spend more time with the maid than the parents when growing up and then spend more time in tuitions and classes than at home with the parents during their schooling years?

So, if you think those expensive formula milk is good for your baby. Go ahead. You are only missing the one opportunity in your life to experience something so natural and wonderful and miraculous in your life that not only give your child a stronger immune system but better health foundation and a closer bond to you.

And if you give excuses that you can’t breastfeed because…..this means you are only looking for ways not to do it instead of looking for ways to do it. I have been through the toughest challenges in breastfeeding and I still overcame it. I only believe in one thing, you can do it if you put your mind to it but if you come up with a slew of excuses, then obviously you do not want to breastfeed at all.

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