The right formula

To maintain the rigid view that breastfeeding is a natural function and therefore possible for all mothers is not correct. Many new mothers cannot feed their babies for a variety of reasons: her diet or health may be poor; she may suffer from soreness or abscesses; some may not even generate milk. For all those mothers who are unable to breastfeed or choose not to, today's formula provides a good alternative, both in terms of how easy they are for babies to digest and the nutrients they provide.

As far as convenience goes, breastfeeding and bottle-feeding have their respective advantages and handicaps. Breastfeeding mothers have less paraphernalia to tote around. They spend less time staying awake at night and almost nothing on both feed and feeding accessories.

While breastfeeding may be a boon to the mother who has three months' maternity leave, it is not as easy for someone who has to return to work immediately or shies at the prospect of anywhere, anytime feeding. This mother's advantage is in being able to ask someone else to bottle-feed her child. She can tell exactly how much milk her baby has had and can control feed timings much better than if she was feeding herself.

Babies who are fed exclusively on formula can develop nappy rash if their feed is not made correctly, and they are likely to suffer from gastroenteritis if their bottles are not sterilised properly. But these are extreme cases and almost all bottle-fed infants grow into healthy toddlers just as their nursed contemporaries do.

Although bottle-feeding is different in a tactile sense — because the bottle is presented straight on — cheek-touching gives the baby a cue to turn towards the feed. Old midwives still recommend that hungry babies never be touched on both cheeks as it will confuse and anger them. A crying baby should be calmed down before being fed.

Bottle-fed babies can get very frustrated with the hole in the teat being too small. To ensure a good feed for the baby, milk should drip out of an inverted bottle at several drops per second without any shaking.

The world continues to debate whether babies should be fed on demand or introduced to its mother's schedule. A full feed should last a baby for approximately four hours, and until the baby turns four or five weeks old, new mothers can expect to get up at least once in the night. Many older babies manage with one feed just before the mother goes to bed and one just after she wakes up, with a gap of approximately seven hours.

Babies are inconsistent with regard to their feed. The formula to ensuring their comfort is to interpret their signals and respond to them appropriately.