There are many good reasons to breastfeed an adopted baby. The most obvious reason is that breast milk is better for a baby than formula. You cannot pick up a parenting book without being encouraged to breastfeed your baby in multiple places. There is good reason for this: breast milk offers many benefits, including the following:

• Protects against allergies, asthma, and eczema


• Provides a variety of flavors based upon the mother’s diet


• Provides antibodies to protect the baby from various illnesses

Even if you do not succeed in lactating, breastfeeding a baby offers the following benefits:

• Acquaints the baby with your scent, which can offer the baby comfort


• Encourages bonding because of the skin-to-skin contact between mother and child


• “Forces” you to slow down and enjoy your baby while he eats


• Optimizes the baby’s hand-to-eye coordination


• Protects against middle ear infections


• Reduces the risk of baby bottle tooth decay


• Teaches the baby to drink in a way that is better for oral health (Babies who are bottle-fed learn to press their tongues against the front of their mouths when they swallow)

My own experience with breastfeeding my adopted baby was positive. Feeding him was a very special time for both of us. Since I was the only one who could breastfeed him, feeding times were a special bonding experience only shared by the two of us. His frequent “meals” throughout the day “forced” me to slow down and just focus on him. While all babies will (obviously) need to be fed throughout the day, it takes a lot longer to breastfeed a baby than to bottle-feed him. So, my choice to breastfeed him carved out a good portion of the day for us to enjoy each other. While I was feeding my baby, the dishes and laundry could wait.

I never succeeded in lactating, but lactation was not my primary goal. From the beginning, my son slept for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch at night. I was not going to interfere with his sleep patterns (or mine!) to wake him every two hours to eat just so I could lactate. My son had no ear infections during the first year of his life, even though he later developed so many ear infections that he now has ear tubes. We were very bonded from the beginning, and I believe that the skin-to-skin contact and leisurely pace of his feedings contributed to this bonding.

For more information about the benefits of breastfeeding, check out Breastfeeding: Good For Babies, Mother, and the Planet.