Just One Bottle can take more of a toll on breastfeeding than many think

I've heard this advice and seen the ramifications one too many times! It starts out with a nervous, but dedicated mother who only wants the best for her child. She spent some 38-42 weeks (typically speaking) growing this child inside of her, maybe even longer actually thinking and praying for this child while she tried to conceive. During that time, the mother drastically changed her own habits to support, care and love this child. Perhaps she started eating healthier, stopped drinking/smoking/etc... so much, maybe she started to go for daily walks. Then she has to make one of the first decisions for her baby: Breast or Bottle?

Whether this is a no-brainer or weeks worth of back and forth, most mothers start their baby's life by doing the best thing for them: breastfeeding. After all, mom just spent all that time doing what's best for this child inside of her, why stop now? Then it hits her... this is hard work! This parenting thing? Not so easy! So what if I just let grandma give baby Just One Bottle? Or maybe grandma, dad or nurses are pushing the mom to give Just One Bottle for one reason or another. "You just had a baby last week, go out with your friends. You deserve it, we'll sit with the baby." Regardless of the circumstances, breastmilk straight from the tap (the breast) really is the best and any other feeding method is merely a substitute.

But why is Just One Bottle really a bad thing in the early days and weeks of breastfeeding? We're not discussing the science behind breastmilk vs. formula, nor are we discussing the virgin-ness of the newborn gut. Those things are very important to take into consideration when asked to give Just One Bottle. But here, we're discussing the breastfeeding relationship between baby and mother.

1. Laziness vs. Nipple Confusion
   Contrary to popular belief, babies don't often get 'nipple confusion' as easily as one may think. What actually happens is more of a laziness issue. It takes a bit of work on the newborns part to breastfeed (that's a good thing!).  In order for baby to get milk out of the breast, he or she must suckle for some time to stimulate the milk glands to get the milk flowing. A bottle, however, doesn't have those glands, it has nothing that needs to be worked besides the teat, or artificial nipple. So when a newborn goes from having to work at the breast at one feeding to getting milk on the first suckle at the next feeding, which do you think the baby will prefer? 
2. Drop in Milk Supply
   It has been documented that when a mother doesn't feed her baby at least every 4-5 hours, her supply will begin to lower. While a gesture from the father to allow the mama to sleep in one morning by giving a bottle instead of offering the breast may be nice in theory, it could be doing more harm than good! Supply fluctuates from time to time, but anything we can do to keep our supply stable is a plus and anything negating that is just, well, negative. The best thing dad can do for sleepy mom is to hop out of bed, change baby, give baby a bath if needed along with anything else baby may need (besides feeding) and support mom in breastfeeding baby when baby is hungry. Maybe she could go back to sleep after the feeding while daddy & baby play!
   
   For those who want a little more in depth information on the drop in milk supply from a missed feeding (bottle feeding instead):Once mama feeds her baby or pumps milk, the hormone which stimulates the making of breastmilk (called prolactin) is produced for the first three hours. After four hours, the Prolactin Inhibiting Factor, a..k.a. prolactostatin, takes over and begins to inhibit milk production, causing a drop in supply as the body doesn't think it needs to produce as much milk as usual. Often times, a woman's menstrual cycle will return quicker by going longer than those 4-5 hour periods between feedings (and pumpings) which only serves to lessen the supply more during her cycle.
3. Well, I've already given him one, another won't hurt!
   Then another, and another, and another... Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes, there are true emergencies when mom can't be around to nurse, and women will use a bottle (with formula or pumped milk) once and that's it! But a lot of women, once they use a bottle, they see no harm in using it more. Keep in mind that each bottle feed is replacing a feeding at the breast, which can in turn cause a lazy baby and low milk supply. (See above) It's really quite the vicious cycle.

 Use of a bottle really should only be introduced after milk production is stable and baby is used to nursing at the breast. This could take months, so be prepared.