I do not breast feed, my daughter is exclusively formula/bottle fed, and it's not only because it was a personal choice- but because I also don't think breast feeding is necessarily the best option.
Here's why:
1.) Breast fed babies can have a Vitamin K deficiency.
"Children who are entirely breast fed have a 20x greater risk of developing VKDB than those who receive formula milk."
Patient.info
2.) Breast fed babies need Vitamin D supplements.
"A supplement of 400 IU per day of Vitamin D is recommended for all breastfed infants."
Cdc.com
3.) Breast milk is not recommended before or during vaccinations.
"Breast milk which is packed with IgA & other important immune factors inhibits the vaccines from working."
ScienceBlogs.com
4.) Breastfed babies need extra iron after 4 months.
"If your baby is breastfed and not eating solid foods at 4 months, the AAP recommends an iron supplement of 11 MG per day."
Babycenter.com
5.) Breastfed babies are less "happy" babies.
"Babies that are breastfed cry more, laugh less, and generally have more challenging temperaments than bottle fed babies."
6.) Diet can affect baby's belly.
"Traces of some foods in breast milk do upset some babies."
7.) Most birth control not compatible.
"Estrogen-containing birth controls are not compatible with breast feeding." & "Some physicians do question the use of hormonal contraception in lactating mothers because of possible unknown side effects in their children's sexual or reproductive development."
8.) Breastfed babies don't gain much weight.
"Formula fed babies are much less likely to have trouble trouble gaining weight than breast fed."
9.) Breast fed babies don't sleep well at night.
"Most breastfed babies won't sleep for extended periods, because they get hungry."
10.) Cessating or "stopping" causes depression.
"Breastfeeding cessation was associated with an increase of anxiety and depression."
So my conclusion from all this?
1.) My bottlefed baby has no risks of late- term VKDB.
2.) My bottlefed baby does not need Vitamin D supplements.
3.) My bottlefed baby has zero risk of her vaccine effectivness being inhibited.
4.) My bottlefed baby will not be needing an iron supplement at 4 months.
5.) My bottlefed baby is very happy, laughs lots, barely cries.
6.) My bottlefed baby won't be effected by my diet.
7.) My bottlefed baby will never be effected by my choice of birth control.
8.) My bottlefed baby's weight gain was called perfect, by her pedi.
9.) My bottlefed baby sleeps lots, and sometimes I HAVE to wake her up to eat!
10.) My bottlefed baby's eating habits will not effect my depression status.
Conclusion?
BREAST is not necessarily BEST.
I wrote this not because I think breast feeding IS terrible, but because I'm tired of hearing how bottle fed babies are so much less healthy and I wanted to prove that that isn't even true...
