Dangerous Formula

I saw an interesting article today on the Peaceful Parenting blog about DHA/ARA additives in formula causing a list of dangerous and potentially deadly health problems for infants. Yet another reason I am thankful I made it through the rough first few weeks of breastfeeding.

The current state of breastfeeding in the United States is a dismal one. Breasts are sexualized to the point of shame, and yet everywhere we turn there is a scantily clad woman in an ad. Sometimes I want to go sit in front of the near-nude Victoria’s Secret posters in the mall while breastfeeding and DARE someone to say something to me. There is a rough estimate that 65% of infants are breastfed in the hospital, and only 29% are still breastfeeding at six months.

Why? The answer is simple: Formula.

I will never understand why, as teen moms, some of us choose to formula feed. I’ve heard the excuses. “I didn’t want to breastfeed.” “It hurt.” “It’s gross.” “I don’t want the baby attached to me 24/7.” These are not good reasons to feed your child substandard food.

A lot of teen moms are not employed, or do not work enough to pay for the cost of formula. The cost per year of feeding your infant formula? A staggering $1,188. That is money you could put in your bank account.

Can’t afford it? There is always WIC. But why are you going to ask the state to give you money to feed your child when you have 2 perfectly formed tools for supplying your baby’s food?
I have heard how great it is that I am breastfeeding more times than I can count. Why? Honestly, breastfeeding is so normal to me and a part of my life I sometimes forget that people formula feed. There is nothing weird, gross, or sexual about it.

Teens have a lot of misconceptions about breastfeeding. You do not become sexually aroused while breastfeeding, it won’t make your breasts sag (though you can thank the pregnancy for that one), and if you work at a baby’s latch, it won’t hurt. If it hurts, you should see a Lactation Consultant about the problem. Let me repeat: IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT.

But you know what does hurt? Drying up your milk. Many women experience painful engorgement when their milk first comes in (3-5 days after birth), but it subsides within 1-2 days. However, if you choose to formula feed, you must be in this horrendous pain for upwards of 10+ days in order to dry up your milk.

Let me describe this pain for those who have not experienced it: It is an eternally itchy pain that refuses to go away. Even your clothes touching your skin makes you want to rip off your breasts with you bare hands, stomp on them, and pour gasoline on them before lighting them aflame. I slept with icepacks on my breasts and popped Ibuprofen like it was candy because of the pain. It helped, but it was still unbearable. Now imagine that pain for more than a week.

Your newborn will nurse frequently, and then nurse some more. Then 3 weeks will hit and they will be suctioned to you like a barnacle because of a growth spurt (I will cover this at a different time). If no one in your family has breastfed, they will push for formula or a bottle because “you don’t have enough milk” or some other garbage that our grandmother’s were brainwashed with when formula was first introduced.

Stick to it. It is worth it.

I love my sleep, and as someone going to college, I need it. Do I want to be getting up in the middle of the night to make a bottle? No! Of course not. All I do is lift of my shirt, latch my baby on, and we both drift back to sleep as she eats. Not bottle warming/burping/rocking back to sleep.

There are so many more benefits to breastfeeding than extra sleep and the cost. There is less risk of illness, obesity later in life, and even a higher IQ. Formula cannot offer those benefits, and can even be harmful in the long run. Why buy something with artificial DHA when your breasts make it for free?