Human Milk Vs Cow

Human Milk Vs. Cow’s Milk Essay, Research Paper

Human Milk vs. Cow’s Milk

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Benefits and disadvantages for the infant

Breast feeding and the Law

Conclusion

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Breast feeding in public not too many years ago was considered a taboo. It was unthinkable to breast feed your child in public. Times have changed and so has our understanding on breast feeding. It is no longer a lifestyle choice for women, but a health choice. Some women chose to bottle-feed their children while some insist on breast feeding their children, who is right. Adams (1959), Brown (1960) found that most women who chose to bottle-feed were based on mother-centered reason while mothers who chose to breast-feed tended to do so for the welfare of the baby. This paper will try to address to this issue by looking into the advantages and disadvantages of breast feeding and bottle feeding. This issue of breast-feeding and the law will also be discussed.

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES

I. BREAST FEEDING AND BOTTLE-FEEDING

There are many reasons why a new mother should breast feed her child. The mother’s milk is always ready for the baby. The mother’s milk is always at the right temperature. Therefore, she mother doesn’t have to worry about heating up the formula to a certain temperature. The most important reason for a mother to breast feed her child is that her milk contains antibodies which help protect her child against illness. Koletzko (1989) found that mothers produce antibodies to whatever disease present in their surroundings. Eiger (1972) found that babies have an easier time digesting breast milk than formula. Breast fed babies have fewer constipation problems and are usually less thirsty than formula fed babies because there is a large portion of water in the mother’s milk. Pryor (1973) found that baby fed on formula needs water to enable his kidneys to eliminate the unusable proteins and salts. Eiger (1972) found that babies fed with their mother’s milk develop better jaw alignment and cheekbone structure than bottle fed babies. Cow’s milk has 4 times more calcium than human milk does. Bottle-fed babies are usually bigger and have heavier skeletons than breast-fed babies in the first year. But, bottle-fed babies have to excrete a lot more unused calcium than breast-fed babies do. The mother’s milk is tailored for its babies needs. Human milk contains all of the important nutrients for a baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics (1980) recommends breast-feeding recognizes breast milk for an infant because it has the right amount of water, protein, fat, sugar, vitamin and minerals for a perfect diet.

Virtanen (1991) states that human milk has about the same amount of fat as cow’s milk, but human milk has much less saturated fat. It is recommended to use both breasts for feeding, the second breast has a higher calorie dose and less fat than the recently used milk. Mother’s milk has twice the amount of the needed sugar and up to ten times the amount of vitamins as compared to cow’s milk. Carbohydrates must be added to cow’s milk, but since the cow milk has to be diluted, even more carbohydrate must be added. Human milk has the right amount and concentration of everything. Vitamin content varies much according to the diet of the mother, but generally human milk has up to ten times more vitamins than cow milk. “When cow milk is diluted it has 20 times less vitamins than human milk. Due to this, bottle-fed babies should take vitamin supplements and should consume solid foods as early as possible.” Pisacane (1992).

Dallman (1990) states that human milk contains almost no iron, but still contains more iron than cow’s milk. However, breast-fed babies are usually not anemic. They have small storage of iron in their liver. The high levels of vitamin C and E in human milk help make iron available to the baby’s system. In consequence, a breast-fed baby may actually have more iron than a bottle-fed baby that takes iron supplements.

There are many reasons why a new mother should breast-feed her child. The mother’s milk is always ready for the baby. Breast-feeding is less of a hassle than bottle-feeding. Bottle-feeding is sometimes more practical because it can be done in public without any risk of offending anyone. There are also benefits from breast feeding for the mother. Dewey (1993) found that breast feeding requires the mother to exert more energy in a day which help the mother lose her pregnancy weight faster. Uvnas-Moberg (1996) found that when a baby is sucking at the breast of his mother, it causes uterine contractions right after birth. The contractions lead to less bleeding for the mother and help return the uterus to it’s former size much quicker. Horwood (1998) found that breast-fed babies generally have a higher IQ than bottle-fed babies. And finally, breast feeding creates an intimate bond between the mother and child.

The benefits of breast feeding are evident, but there are also some disadvantages. Mothers can experience pain while nursing their child for the first few weeks. The mothers have to buy a new set of clothes that enables her child easy access to her breasts. The baby has to go where the mother goes. The mother may not be able to bring her child to work with her every day. Chua (1994) found that when the baby s