Baby Bottle - Which One Do I Choose?

As most people are well aware of, breast feeding is the best way to feed your baby. However as we all know this is not always possible especially with the high number of mothers who now work outside the home. With this in mind there is always the baby bottle to feed your baby, but the big question on many people's minds these days is which of all the different baby bottles now available on the market is the best and safest one for you to use.

On top of this using a bottle allows mum to take a break whether she is breast feeding or not. There are of course many other reasons why parents choose to use a baby bottle rather that breast feed their child. There are of course some mothers who simply do not have a sufficient supply of breast milk to satisfy their baby's needs and there are those that are taking some form of medication or have medical issues that prevent them from breast feeding. Then there are the babies that are lactose intolerant and have to be on a special diet to thrive. Whatever the reason may be, there is no need to feel guilty for bottle feeding your baby as long as he is healthy and happy.

The Range

The range of baby bottles available today is incredible, there are straight ones, curved ones, wide necked, angle necked, baby bottles that open at both ends and there are even breast shaped ones. They come in several different materials including plastic, glass and polycarbonate and in a multitude of colors. Many of these bottles are designed to be washed and reused, other have plastic liners which are disposable after every use and then there are the ones that are made to be used once and disposed of.

With such a huge variety of baby bottles on the market, how do you know which is the best baby bottle for your child? In the beginning most parents simply choose the one that appeals to them the most as far as shape and color. However your baby is going to be the final decision maker as he will let you know if he is not happy with the bottles you have chosen. Certain types of baby bottle can cause problems such as allowing your baby to suck in too much air while he is feeding which can lead to stomach pains and spitting up.

Plastic or Glass?

This is a question that many mothers have started to ask with all the adverse publicity that many plastics have been receiving in recent months. As you look at the different baby bottles you will see that many of them are now certified as being BPA free. BPA or Bisphenol-A is a chemical that is part of the makeup of many plastic and polycarbonate products including some baby bottles. When the bottles are subjected to heat from hot milk or formula being poured into them, they are heated in the microwave with formula or milk in them or they are washed in hot water the chemical leaches out.

BPA is a very toxic chemical that has been linked to variety of medical and mental conditions that can occur not only in babies, but in people of all ages. Some of these conditions include hyperactivity, the early onset of puberty, diabetes, obesity and an increase in aggressive behaviour. Mental problems such as impaired learning , the reversal of what are considered normal sex differences in the brain and a change in the way we respond to painful or fear inducing stimuli. As we get older BPA has been linked to several cancers as well as reproductive problems.

Fortunately as awareness of this problem has become more widespread many manufacturers are now producing a range of BPA free baby bottles. When you set out to buy bottles for your baby, if you have any questions about this problem with the bottles you are looking at you can always go with a glass baby bottle. Glass baby bottles are free of any dangerous chemical, can easily be washed and sterilized without any concerns and do not retain odors the way many of the plastic bottles do.

One more thing in favour of glass bottle is that you can use them in a baby bottle warmer without having to worry about the constant heat causing chemicals to leach out. There are also some bottles made with PVC, but research has shown that these bottles also leach chemicals when heated. You should always strive to be sure that the baby bottles you buy for your baby are as safe and chemical free as possible.

The best advice is to settle on a baby bottle that is acceptable to both you and your baby, this make take trying several until you find one that he will use without fussing. Make sure that you keep them as clean as possible and never use the microwave to heat a baby's bottle as they cause hot spots in the formula that can burn your baby's mouth.