Breast milk provides more nutrients and infection-fighting antibodies than formula, which is a man-made product that cannot replicate all the components of breast milk. Breast milk is also easier to digest and changes constantly to meet a baby’s needs.
A baby needs formula or breast milk for at least the first year of life. Formula and breast milk both provide the nutrition needed for a baby to grow and thrive; there are several differences between the two substances, however. Breast milk provides your baby with many nutrients that formula does not. It is also easier for a child’s body to digest and provides infection-fighting antibodies that can greatly reduce the instances of several childhood illnesses. Perhaps the most fundamental difference between infant formula and breast milk is that human milk is a living and constantly evolving substance while formula, while equally nutritious, is not.
The formula is made to resemble breast milk as much as possible. Researchers were able to locate and recreate all of the necessary nutrients a younger child needs; there are several components in breast milk that simply can’t be recreated in a lab, however, and therefore aren’t found in formula. A variety of fats, proteins and carbohydrates that occur naturally in breast milk cannot be synthesized or are too expensive to recreate. The formula is made with substances that are similar, but not nutritionally the same. While these still provide the basic ingredients, all major studies conducted between formula and breast milk have found formula to be deficient when compared to human milk.
While both formula and breast milk contain all the essential ingredients a baby needs to grow, breast milk is easier to digest. Formula, a man-made product, often includes far more vitamins, minerals, and proteins needed for development to ensure your baby gets all the nutrients it needs. This means that formula digests much more slowly than breast milk, thus leaving behind excess waste and putting strain on the kidneys and digestive tract. This difference between formula and breast milk is typically more noticeable in premature babies and babies born with digestive problems.
Breast milk naturally contains live antibodies to protect a baby from diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), ear infection and meningitis. When a baby breastfeeds, it sends signals through its saliva to the mother’s body, causing it to create antibodies against whatever disease the baby is battling. The formula does not contain these disease-fighting components. As a result, studies have found that babies fed primarily with breast milk recover more quickly from illnesses and get sick less often than those fed formula.
Until the parents switch brands of formula, a formula-fed baby gets exactly the same nutrients at every single feed until solids are introduced. Breast milk, on the other hand, changes constantly both daily and throughout a breastfeeding relationship. In the morning, breast milk is high in carbohydrates and protein, often appearing watery when pumped. In the evening, however, breast milk is extremely thick, with a much higher concentration of fat. It also contains hormones that induce late night sleep, thus naturally lulling a baby to sleep.
Breast milk also changes as the baby grows. In the same way that a baby’s saliva tells a mother’s body what antibodies it needs, it also tells her body what nutrients the baby needs. Breast milk becomes thicker and richer as a baby gets older, meaning that a primarily breastfeeding baby will only need 4 to 6 ounces (120 to 180 milliliters) of breast milk at a time. Due to the fact that the formula stays exactly the same, a baby needs more as they grow older to get the same amount of nutrients.
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