Discuss it with your doctor, but in most cases, yes, you should breastfeed your baby because the healthiest food for a newborn baby is her mother’s breast milk. It should have all the right nutrients to help her grow, without the difficulty of digestion that cow’s milk has.
After birth, your baby’s brain growth depends critically on the quality of her nutrition. Breast milk offers the best mix of nutrients, hormones, antibodies, and healthy bacteria for promoting all growth, so breast feed her if possible. There is a clear link between the amount of Omega 3 acid in your milk and later academic success, even better than national income or amount of dollars spent per pupil in schools, so continue to take your Omega 3 supplement to pass it on to her.
If you can’t breastfeed your baby, don’t feel guilty, but use formula. Cow’s milk is healthy for baby cows, but hard to digest for baby humans. Formula is much easier to digest and is designed for humans. Avoid heating the bottle in the microwave: Plastic bottles may contain BPAs and phthalates, and even glass bottles may be heated unevenly. Use the stove.
At 6 months, you can start to mix breast feeding with other foods. It is important to add some iron and Omega 3s to your baby’s diet at this age, especially if breast feeding. Take supplements to keep your own levels up. Most infant cereals and formulas are fortified with iron but check on the Omega 3s. If they seem low, squeeze some oil out of supplement pills into the formula to be sure your baby won’t have potential cognitive deficiencies.
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