They call it nature s gold. Research shows breast milk is best for building immunity, preventing disease and even fighting obesity.
But does breast milk have to come directly from the breast? A growing group of moms say no.
Four-year-old Owen Knauer loves his PB&J, but as a baby, he got breast milk
Breastfeeding is less expensive. It is natural and it's healthier, said Cheryl Knauer, Owen's mom.
But Cheryl had difficulty, so she turned to a pump instead. She said she felt it would just be a short amount of time until breast feeding was established, but it took much longer.
Originally, we felt it would just be a short amount of time until we got breast feeding established, but because of the problems that we had, it winded up being a long term solution, she said.
Now a new generation of moms are exclusively pumping and feeding their babies breast milk -- exclusively from the bottle.
Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, of the American Academy of Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics at Cooper University Hospital, says it s a growing trend.
They feel a little embarrassed to be out in public. And, so, they feel that if they can express their milk and feed their milk in a bottle, then they will be more acceptable as a cultural norm, said Feldman-Winter.
Some say pumping is more convenient, especially when it's time to go back to work.
I was able to find a lot of support online, said Cheryl.
When it comes to breast milk, is there a different between breast and bottle? Preliminary research out of Temple University found pre-school children who had been breastfed could more easily determine when they were full than those who were fed breast milk from a bottle.
There is a big tendency to overfeed breast milk that has been pumped because it took so much effort and energy to express that milk that you hate to waste any, said Feldman-Winter.
And officials at the breastfeeding group La Leche League say by exclusively pumping, moms and babies may be missing out on a benefit or two. But in the end, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the La Leche League officially support a woman's choice to breastfeed from a bottle.
