So how will you feed your baby?

Ok, my very first midwife appointment (''booking in appointment'') was when I was 7 weeks and 3 days pregnant. One of the first questions asked:

''how are you planning on feeding your baby?''

I answered:

''I am hoping to breastfeed''

It was like there was a sigh of relief in the room, really odd. Now when I said ''I am hoping to breastfeed'' that is exactly what I meant, I was hoping it would be all straight forward & I could feed my baby myself. I had thought to myself that I will ''try it'' and then if all was good carry on for 3-6 months then switch to formula.

You see, I have had many friends and family members have babies BUT only one of those breastfed for any longer than a few days and even she had given up at 3 months. So for me formula was the norm. You try breastfeeding then its no big deal if it doesn't work out. When pregnant I bought a newborn bottle starter set & a sterliser as I thought I would 'need' them.

I also bought a couple of cartons of ready-made formula as this was advice given to me in my antenatal classes.

The formula is now out of date and I gave the bottles away (apart from two). I am also still feeding my beautiful daughter at almost 12 months and I have no plans to wean soon. Why?

- It helped me loose over 2 stone and maintain that weight
- I am really lazy so the thought of making up bottles, washing bottles and sterilising them scares me
- It's free
- My daughter loves breastfeeding & to take that away I feel would be cruel
- It is reducing my chances of developing type 2 diabetes (something that I am at increased risk of due to my Gestational Diabetes)
- It is an instant source of comfort if my daughter is distressed
- It means I have an excuse to sit down and rest every few hours
- It is helping to protect me against some female cancers
- It is helping my daughters developing immune system
- It reduced the chance of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or 'Cot Death')
- I enjoy it

Ok now all these are the reasons why I decided to keep breastfeeding but there is a great post that has 101 reasons to do it:

http://milkmatters.org.uk/over-101-reasons-to-breastfeed/

Some reasons are duplicated but you get the point.

Now all I knew about Breastfeeding when I was pregnant was that it was best for baby, helped mum to loose weight and was free. There is also a number of risks to Formula Feeding that women are not told about.

But what about the risks of Formula feeding???

Thats right, most pregnant women are told breast is best blah, blah, blah but what about the disadvantages of Formula? Now, formula does have a place, it can save babies lives & there is a definate need for its existence BUT my point is would women in my situation be so casual about 'trying' if they knew that Formula has risks? The following link is a very insightful article that I think would do all pregnant women good to read:

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-risks-and-disadvantages-of-formula-feeding-a85064

Why? because I feel knowing the bad stuff has more of an effect on people than knowing about the good stuff...I mean how often do you tell people about the customer service provider who was helpful compared to the one who was unhelpful?

I would like to make it clear it is not my intention to judge women & I am pro-choice but I do think Breastfeeding support should be started when pregnant, not when baby is here.