Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the best way to feed a child. Formula is the fourth-best. Breast milk from the mother's breast is the best food for a baby. Second best is pumped or expressed milk. Third is someone else's breast milk. Fourth is formula. In the developing world, breast milk is radically, mind-bogglingly better than formula. In the developed world, the benefits of breastmilk are based on reduced ear infections, some hypotheses about intelligence, nutritional superiority of breastmilk over formula and the benefits to the mother of reduced cancer risk later in life. The WHO has a useful fact set on breastfeeding to get you up to speed on the basis of why breastfeeding matters.
I was a breastfeeding advisor long before I had a baby of my own. I write and edited pamphlets on exclusive breastfeeding, helped design physician training on the topic, and talked to outreach nurses about why breastfeeding is important. And I think I did a pretty good job. You don't have to personally nurse a baby to know how often a newborn should eat, or why not to give him tea.
But having done it yourself, for your own child, gives you a whole new perspective on the challenges and logistics of exclusive breastfeeding. I have a three-year old boy. I breastfed him until he was two, in keeping with World Health Organization research. Having done that, I'm a lot more helpful when I talk to women about breastfeeding. Over the next few days I'll write about breastfeeding, and how my perspective as a mother has informed my work as a public health professional.
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