Question: I’m due to have my first in a few months. I want to buy formula and bottles just in case of an emergency but I’m being told that it’s unnecessary if I’m going to breastfeed. What do you think?
This is a trick question with no right answer. If you survey several hundred women you will find some that will say a resounding ‘NO’! You will find other mothers who talk about how hard their babies were to breastfeed, or how they actually had an emergency and were so grateful to just have the formula on hand. You will find still other mothers who will talk about not having enough milk and needing to supplement with formula. Some mothers will easily give up on breastfeeding when the going gets tough, some mothers will get bad advice and actually sabotage their own efforts while breastfeeding and still some mothers will have such blissfully easy experiences that they will come to believe that anyone who doesn’t breastfeed just didn’t try hard enough. So what should you do?
Formula and Breastfeeding
It’s important to understand that anytime you give your baby a bottle, you can undermine your breastfeeding efforts. Unfortunately, if you’re struggling to breastfeed, the problem becomes cyclical and hard to break. Your baby latches poorly, so you give a bottle, which encourages him to continue with his poor latch. What many moms need to make breastfeeding work is not extra bottles of formula here and there, but a good understanding of how the process works and a good support system that includes a lactation consultant.
Alternatives to “Stocking” for Emergencies
Most hospitals give a ‘support’ bag that has free formula in it. For us, we bring that formula home and it sits on the shelf until I give it away before it expires. But we’ve always received enough in case there is some type of emergency. If you are genuinely concerned that something may happen to you and no one around you will be able to get to the store to buy formula, this is a good start option and better yet–it’s free.
You also don’t have to give formula in a bottle. Giving formula in a dropper or via a cup, while slightly messy and time consuming, will also alleviate the possibility of nipple confusion. Thus, giving formula in this manner, will not undermine your efforts at breastfeeding so badly.
What I Would “Stock” in Case of Emergencies
Rather than looking at getting formula and bottles in case of emergencies or in case breastfeeding doesn’t go well, what I would “stock” instead is a good lactation consultant. Find one that is IBCLC certified and that is willing to come to the hospital to work with you. (Many hospitals have them now.) Make sure that she takes moms on an emergency basis or that you can call her just about any time. Investing in the services of an LC will not undermine your breastfeeding efforts, and it is substantially cheaper than buying formula for the first year of life!
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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