Parents always want what is best for their children. In some cases, this involves breast feeding versus formula. Some say it doesn’t matter which is used while several experts, such as Marilyn Poston, a lactation consultant and registered nurse, informs her patients that breast milk is much healthier than formula.
But outside of expert advice, another place to look is at the product of baby formula itself, because the packaging alone tells a story all its own.
“Closest to Breast Milk”
I have formula as a back up for when my wife forgets to bring home what she’d pumped that day at work, or if I’m out longer than expected.
One thing I notice is that the Lamisil I buy says that the container holds the closest formula to breast milk. This reminds me of non-juice juices that say “made with real fruit juice” or “excellent source of Vitamin C.” Since they cannot measure up, they try to look like they are a fair alternative.
This was something I experienced in the military when I was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Occasionally, I’d meet someone who was an Army vet, and more than once I’d heard that soldiers and marines were the same, or how if you were in a combat job, then the soldiers and marines were the same.
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Marines never made such comparisons, but it gave me something to think about. The best the average Army vet could do was say that he was equal to a marine.
In essesnce, giving your baby formula instead of breast milk after he or she is born is like having the US Army go in as the first fighting unit in a war. It wouldn’t make sense because their recruiting standards are in place to support an entirely different mission, but I’m sure that if they were approaching the enemy, they would have banners with statements like “contains 10% marines.”
Why Breast Milk is Better Than Formula
Breast milk is better because it is the natural form of everything a baby needs. For this reason alone, breast fed babies poop less, and when they do, it doesn’t smell as bad because less waste and fat is being processed by the kidneys and liver.
According to Ms. Poston, formula can compare to breast milk, but at a ratio of 30:1, meaning that for every ounce of breast milk, a baby would need to ingest 30 ounces to obtain the same nutritional value. The problem with this, of course, would be that along with the nutritional value would be all the calories and matter contained in 30 ounces of formula.
Add in the dry cleaning bills from all the spit up and it’s just not worth it.
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