Breastfeeding vs Formula Feeding: It’s Your Choice

I, like any other parents, had researched and learnt about the importance of breastfeeding during my pregnancy. I was open to feeding formula to my baby but preferred breastfeeding, considering I was going to be a mom for the first time. However, things didn’t go as planned and my son was born prematurely. 

I tried breastfeeding but I wasn’t able to. We used breast pump and tried every other possible measures but it just didn’t happen. Finally we decided to stick with formula feeding.

My son was almost underweight at birth weighing only 2.75 kg. I was kinda devastated looking at my tiny baby and not being able to breastfeed. At this moment, I wasn’t thinking about how to bond with my little one but rather how to get him to feed properly.

 Fortunately, he did adapt to the first formula we introduced to him and had no problem with bottle feeding. He lost some weight in the first week and started gaining after as mentioned by the healthcare professionals. 

Coming from an Asian background, I got plenty psychological pressure from my relatives and friends about breastfeeding. I now know that most of their beliefs were simply myths. My son, even born prematurely, soon gained normal weight as that of other babies of his age. Thankfully my baby is graceful and perfectly healthy even though he just fed on formula for first few months.

I, by no means, am encouraging mothers to feed formulas to their newborn babies but am simply sharing my experience. I still agree and believe that breast milk is the best for growth and development of newborn babies. I simply want them to feel no pressure from others just in case they can’t breastfeed or decide to formula feed their baby.