Baby

Nursing and Bottle Feeding:
Much More than a Nutrition Concept
By Dr. Sally Goldberg

Q. In today’s day and age, is nursing still considered the best way to feed your baby?

A. The natural process of nursing was designed by Mother Nature. We should always try to follow Her guidance as much as possible. When we cannot, the bottle is a wonderful substitute.

Nursing Process

It is more than a nutrition system. It is a whole way of life—personalized, intimate, nurturing, bonding, and full of love. To nurse, Mother Nature created the exact right formula for each individual baby. She made it available to the mother and baby in perfect portion sizes at all times and had it set up so that the baby was at just the right distance to see and communicate with his or her mom.

Mother Nature also had another idea—the whole bonding and attachment process. She planned it so that the only way to nurse a baby was by holding him or her. She even figured out that the special holding position was so comfortable and secure for the baby that each time he or she was in it, he or she experienced physical closeness and security.

The Substitute

In the early 1900’s, there started to be different reasons why mothers could not be there to nurse their babies—work, volunteer efforts, even wartime support. As time went on, with the industrial revolution, technological revolution and many social and economic reforms, more and more women continued to have to be away from their babies for more time. How wonderful it was for man when the bottle was created. It was an excellent substitute. It could do “almost” everything nursing could do.

• Provide “almost” the exact right formula for each individual baby.
• Be available at “almost” all times, at “almost” a moments notice, and have the baby in exactly the right position for seeing and communicating with his or her mother.
• Have “almost” the right portion sizes.

Substitutes are never quite as good as the originals, but when they reach the “almost” quality in most areas, we consider them to be very good. Bottles are a wonderful substitute especially when carried out as close to the nursing process as possible.

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