A new trend has begun where babies are fed in unconventional ways. Some new mothers are now buying breast milk online for various reasons and many babies are being bottle-fed. One recent study showed that much breast milk is contaminated. A new study proves that bottle-feeding in general is also often detrimental to babies.
Breast-feeding is known to have many more benefits for babies when compared with feeding from formula. And now Fox news reports there is a serious drawback to bottle-feeding. Doctors are being urged to warn new parents about the consequences of bottle-feeding. New research shows that a serious consequence exists that was previously unknown: the risk of a baby catching hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS).
“Babies who are bottle fed are more likely to develop a type of stomach obstruction called hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS), which is characterized by severe, frequent bouts of projectile vomiting. In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers analyzed data from 714 infants born in Washington State between 2003 and 2009 who had developed HPS and undergone corrective surgery. These infants were then compared to a “control” group of babies who had not developed HPS,” according to Fox. The results were quite surprising.
Fox reports, “Overall, bottle fed babies had a nearly 20 percent chance of developing HPS, compared to breastfed babies who demonstrated only a 9 percent chance of developing this type of stomach obstruction.” Based on these findings and other similar studies doctors have started urging women to breastfeed their babies if possible. HPS is a serious repercussion of bottle-feeding that requires surgery; if mothers can breast feed then they are strongly encouraged to follow that route.
Also breastfeeding has numerous advantages that bottle-feeding does not have such as: breast milk contains active infection-fighting white blood cells and natural chemicals that give increased protection against infections in the first months, it can help prevent SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), it contains the perfect proportion of nutrients that a baby needs (including protein, carbohydrates, fat, and calcium) and it is easily digestible.
