Why Breast Milk Is Always The Best For Your Baby.

In the early days with a new baby, a new mother will regularly feel a bit daunted by the idea of breast feeding, and could struggle with the decision over when to use the bottle and when to use the breast.

As the saying goes, “breast is best”. This is true in that there are more natural nutrients in breast milk than will ever be found in bottled formula, and it enables the baby to grow up in better health than would otherwise be viable. There are, it goes without saying, some problems to this. But there are problems to everything, and it is how you address them that is really important.

A baby will need feeding at regular intervals, and for a mother who is breast feeding this may present a few interesting challenges. For one, there is always the issue of whether the baby will need to be fed while you are out for one reason or another. Breast feeding in public is still frowned upon by many, and in some places you will be requested to leave if you do it. This limits where you may go and what you possibly could do, and while you may express breast milk to be served from a bottle, this affects the temperature.

Also, some mothers feel that breast feeding causes excessive pain in the nipples. Expressing milk is a partial answer to this, but achieving the proper temperature is only part of the problem there. Some people feel that feeding directly from the breast is the only way to establish the closeness that a mother and baby should have – anything less and you will have to deal with people asking you why you are not doing it, and regardless of your reasons they will keep doing so.

How Do You Know When To Wean Your Baby?

When ought you wean your baby? This is a problem that gets asked of paediatricians all of the time and there are a bunch of different views on this.

Even they might not be able to tell you when the process ought to be started. What moms need is a guideline that simply lets them know when they should just cease. And unfortunately these guidelines do not exist. The weaning process just happens when baby is ready and no one possibly could tell you when it is right to cease breastfeeding except baby.

In the United States, it is estimated that only about 20 percent of babies are still nursing at six months of age. This number is very low. If you compare this to some of the other nations you might find some striking differences. Most European and Asian countries and some African cultures continue to breastfeed until the baby is around 2yrs to 4 yrs old. Most mothers find the U.S. trend of stopping breastfeeding so early as worrying in these other countries who breastfeed for longer.

Why should you keep going or why should you discontinue? There is no evidence to suggest that by breastfeeding your child for longer will harm them in any way. But if you breastfeed for longer it has been shown to give more benefits. You will find that the child is getting the nutrition they want. There is a benefit to breastfeeding your child even once a day. In America it is seen culturally as 'not the done thing' to breastfeed a child over 6 months old but this doesn't have to be like this.

As a parent, keep in mind why you chose to breastfeed in the first place. The nutrition is ideal for the child. There is also an awfully strong bond that forms with you and your baby. But most importantly you have a child that associates breastfeeding with comfort and security.

So baby weaning as a process is something that you cannot put a time on. Consider what is right for your child individually rather than looking for a goal outside of this. Ultimately,you should encourage your child to make the decision by watching to see what he or she needs rather than going with what your friend has told you is appropriate for them.