The Great Debate

The question that probably burns more expectant mothers than they are willing to admit is the great bottle verses breast debate. I can't imagine that I am the only woman who does not feel like it is remotely natural for them to breast feed. So what do you do when you are the then made out to be like a selfish evil new mommy by the rest of society?

Research.

The biggest argument I have found that the self proclaimed lactivists have is that there is no formula out there that can replicate what is found in breast milk. They also site many studies that correlate breast fed babies to lower risks for asthma and higher immune system, however correlation does not equal causation. These studies are done with babies from all different environmental and biological backgrounds which would affect each situation differently. They also claim that formula fed babies are at higher risk for obesity which I feel is really a point that was added after the fact based on the nationwide obsession with body image. What they don't focus on is the fact that breast milk actually lacks certain vitamins that need to be supplemented and that breast fed babies actually need to eat every 2-3 hours because they digest the breast milk feeding much quicker. Formula babies get those supplemental nutrients because it has already been fortified and each feeding takes longer to digest so they eat less frequently and sleep better.

So those are the major arguments that I've found to be pretty consistent. That's all well and good for a general knowledge but what I found to be the biggest deal is how it will apply to your specific situation. My situation involves a happy addition to the equation called Zoloft. I needed to go back on a low dose of the stuff in my second trimester through the end of my pregnancy to be able to deal with anxiety. At this point, going back on was going to have more benefit than any possible extremely low risk to the baby so I decided that it was the best option. The one major side effect that the docs have told me that can happen to the baby after she is born is that she may be jittery and fussy because she will be essentially quitting cold turkey. For this reason, my regularly non-judgey doctor told me it may be in my best interest to try breast feeding for the first 3 weeks. What little amount is passed through into breast milk is then digested by the baby and ends up being just the right amount to combat the jittery/fussy side effects from going cold turkey. Knowing this puts me into more of a dilemma than just deciding to go formula and saying that all the nurses in the hospital need to just accept it and move on. So many things now run through my mind with this decision.

• 3 weeks is a long time when you are the only source of food for a human being that needs to be fed every 2-3 hours around the clock. That's roughly 170 feedings over the course of 3 weeks that no one can assist with.
• If I give breast feeding the old college try and it doesn't work out for me, how difficult will it be to switch over to a bottle? Will there be the infamous nipple confusion and then we are in the same boat with a fussy baby?
• If I do the breast feeding thing I will have to deal with delayed torture of then stopping my milk supply
• Will I be making my baby suffer if I decide to not breastfeed at all and make her go cold turkey?
• Am I being selfish with debating this at all?

It's a lot to think about and my OB said I should talk to a pediatrician about my options and how they affect the baby because he/she would be the best person. Apparently she only handles the business end, not the results. So I have some time, but not too much time.