breastfeeding vs bottle use

Question 1

how is choice to breastfeed/ bottle feed affected

Answer 1

Choice may impact upon:
* Health – for mother as well as infant
* Eating behaviours
* Cognitive development
* Mother-child attachment
* Maternal self-esteem
* Maternal body image
* Lifestyle
❖ Societal pressure and simultaneous disapproval- sexualisation of breasts makes it hard. Ads have tried to normalise breastfeeding but have been told off for adult content for showing the breast, highlighting the sexualisation

Individual factors and choice- Brown, 2013
* Trait personality may be important
* Introverted/anxious sig less likely to initiate/continue BF
* High prenatal negative = less likelihood of BF
* Higher self-concept sig associated with exclusive BF
* Self-objectification
* Those who score higher on body-objectification
measures more likely to view BF as indecent

Question 2

rates of breastfeeding vs bottle feeding

Answer 2

UK is lowest in the world
* 66% babies received breastmilk within first 48 hours in
2005/6, rising to 74% in 2010/11, 72% in 2020/21.
* Rapid decrease in first 6 weeks - hardest period
* Exclusive breastfeeding rates then continue to decrease
6 weeks: 24%
3 months: 17% (up from 13%)
4 months: 12% (up from 7%)
6 months: 1%

Full & partial breastfeeding @ 6 -8 weeks
* Exclusive and mixed with formula feeds.
* England: 2016-17 is 44.4%,
* Slight increase on previous years at 43.2% (2015-16) and
43.8% (2014-15).
* Still very low, especially when compared to countries like
Norway, which achieves rates of 71% at six to eight
weeks.

Question 3

taste sensitivity

Answer 3

Taste buds 8 weeks gestation
* Stimulate sweet, sour and bitter
tastes in infants
* Prefer sweet: neonates will
consume more water if sweetened
* Evolutionary - survival
* Analgesic - crying and
circumcision
* Insensitive salt <4 months
* Breast-milk is sweet

formula only has one taste
formular fed infants show a preference to their own brand-Mennella & Beauchamp, 2005) - they start to prefer the taste of this. Where as breastmilk is much more

Question 4

critical period?

Answer 4

Manella % Beauchamp, 2005
Formula
* Soy formula “spiked” (+ sweet, sour & bitter)
* 2-5 month infants accept “spiked” formula, 6+
month reject it. Critical period?
* Greater preference for bitter apple juice at 4-5
years

critical period- big trouble, if you have been given formula for ages the kid will then less likely accept any kind of variety. Breastmilk has more flavours so kids are more likely to like other foods when they move to solids/ different flavours

Manella and Beauchamp (2005) conducted research that explored the sensory and nutritional aspects of early feeding experiences, particularly in the context of breastfeeding. One of their significant findings highlighted the critical period for flavor learning during breastfeeding. They suggested that the flavors of foods consumed by a lactating mother are transmitted to her breast milk, exposing infants to these flavors during a sensitive developmental window.

Key Points:
Flavor Exposure During Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding exposes infants to a variety of flavors based on the mother’s diet. This early exposure helps shape the infant’s future food preferences and acceptance of diverse flavors.

Critical Period for Flavor Learning: There is a sensitive period during early life when infants are particularly receptive to flavor learning. Exposure to a range of flavors during breastfeeding can facilitate acceptance of those flavors during later complementary feeding stages.

Implications for Dietary Habits: Their findings suggest that breastfeeding may have long-term effects on dietary habits, as early exposure to diverse flavors may increase an individual’s acceptance of varied diets, including fruits and vegetables, later in life.

Question 5

content of the milk

Answer 5

protein content and formula- Kouwenhoven et al., 2022
formula milk has higher protein= weight gain due to higher insulin
formula milk has lower leptin= increased hunger

There is also some evidence that babies fed
formula have higher insulin levels in their blood
which can stimulate fat deposition (WHO, 2019)

mums milk has more protein in the beginning, then it decreases, where as formula milk is the same throughout- argue that formula should have different stages to mimic what happens in breastmilk- this impact obesity

Question 6

type of feeding

Answer 6

Use of a bottle for feeding is associated with
greater weight gain, irrespective
of contents
(i.e., formula or expressed breastmilk)
(Li et al., 2012)- suggesting its not the milk content but the method of feeding

• % of children who in late infancy drink from a cup
  until empty
• 27% of those who had been exclusively breastfed
• 54% of those who had been mixed-fed (breast & bottle)
• 68% of those who had been exclusively bottle fed
  (Li et al., 2010)
  suggesting- regulation is different, those who are exculsively breastfed are more in control of their intake and are better at regulating their intake, choose not to have it all just because it was all there