I find breastfeeding very daunting and am comfortable with formula after reading your book. I still feel outside pressure everywhere to “at least give it a try.” I know the benefits of breastfeeding are exaggerated, but what about colostrum? Is it possible or beneficial to give the baby just colostrum and then switch to formula?
—Needing reassurance
It is certainly possible to nurse at the start of life — which is when your baby would get colostrum — and then switch. Or you could do it a little longer and then stop. The benefits of breastfeeding, such as they are, are most notable in the first weeks of life. Colostrum is part of that. It has a slightly different makeup than later milk, with more vitamins and more of a particular kind of antibodies. There are theoretical reasons why that is valuable, but we do not have any particular evidence on nursing at this time versus later (beyond the observation that benefits are strongest early in life).
Here is what I will say to you, which is not quite “give it a try.” One of the best pieces of advice I read about breastfeeding was in the edition of Dr. Spock my mother had in the 1980s. This was a time when we weren’t yet all in on “breast is best” and were just edging out of “breastfeeding is for people who do not know any better.”
What Dr. Spock says is something like You could consider trying breastfeeding, since some people enjoy it and it works for them. I found this approach to be a nice frame. If you’re sure it’s not for you, then don’t sweat it and get formula. But if you aren’t sure, consider that it might be something you like.
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