Scholarly Argumentative Paper.

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 1

Is the Use Formula Bad for Babies?

Jaden Thomas

PHI103 Informal Logic

Professor VanZanten

April 22nd, 2019

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1. Generally nice APA

formatting throughout the

paper. There are minor

issues with: references, the

header, citations, spacing or

indentations. [Joel

VanZanten]

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 2

There’s a lot of arguments that circulate on the topic of breastfeeding vs. formula. For

example, the argument of whether if women should breastfeed in public or the argument of

whether the formula is healthy for babies and provides the same nutrients that breast milk does.

Deciding whether to breastfeed, or use formula is a tough decision to make. It is a decision that

new moms must make for their newborn(s) nutrition, the choice of choosing what they believe is

best for their baby (WebMD). Moreover, this paper will explore the question of whether the use

of formula is healthy for babies, while also studying the benefits and nutrition of breastfeeding.

One article that I found when researching whether the formula is healthy for babies was an

article titled “If you’re feeding with formula, here’s what you can do to promote your baby’s

healthy growth.” The article was posted on a website titled “The Conversation” which is an

independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis that is authorized and edited by

journalists for the public. Their mission, quoted from the site is “to promote truthful information

and strengthen journalism by unlocking the rich diversity of academic research for audiences

across America” (The Conversation, Introduction page). The article argues that no, the use of

formula isn’t bad for babies, however it is essential that parents/moms choose the formula that

will apply all the health and growth benefits that breastmilk would work for their baby without

negatively impacting their health because formula feeding can increase the risk of being

overweight or obese during childhood. The reasoning contains these fundamental premises:

Premise 1: Protein levels. Higher protein content is associated with higher weight

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1. whether the use

of formula is healthy for

babies, while also studying

the benefits and nutrition of

breastfeeding.

This research question is on

the right track, but could still

be more specific. Having

specificity will help you focus

your research and paper as

we move into the week 3 and

week 5 assignments.

We ideally want to see both

arguments taking opposing

views on the exact same

topic. [Joel VanZanten]

2. The instructions ask you to

use section headings and

labels throughout the paper.

Make sure you use them.

[Joel VanZanten]

3. The premises in a standard

form argument should contain

a single idea, expressed in a

single (complete) sentence.

The same is true with a

conclusion. [Joel

VanZanten]

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 3

Premise 2: Not properly following preparation instructions

Premise 3: Feeding a baby by the clock instead of on demand

Premise 4: Late transitions out of the bottle

Conclusion: The use of formula can create a high risk of weight gain and obesity during

childhood (Laws, Denney-Wilson, Appleton, & Campbell, para. 2).

After reading and evaluating the article, I feel as though the research strongly supports

each premise listed. In the article, you can find links to support the premises that would make to

argue the formula may be a risk to weight gain or obesity. For example, in the article, you can

click on links that reference the studies/findings that support the premise that infant formula

feeding practices link to unhealthy weight gain (Laws, Denney-Wilson, Appleton, & Campbell,

para. 4). I feel as though this article provided significant evidence in support of the premises of

the conclusion. I like how in the article, it does argue that formula use is terrible. However, it

explains how improper use of formula and negatively impact a baby’s weight/health. I also like

how in the article, it advises the proper way or method in which parents can use to choose the

best formula for their child as well as instructs parents on when and how the baby should be fed

the formula to prevent more than just weight gain, but tooth decay ear infections, iron deficiency

and speech difficulties. Although I feel as though the article supports its premises well, I felt

confused when reading the part of the material that mentioned “tooth decay ear infections, iron

deficiency, and speech difficulties.” I felt confused because I wasn’t sure as too high feeding

from a bottle could cause these types of things. Had the editors of the article used evidence to

support that claim, it would make their argument to their conclusion a lot stronger. Overall the

article is great.

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1. Conclusion: The use of

formula can create a high

risk of weight gain and

obesity during childhood

This doesn't sound like the

conclusion of an article that is

supportive of formula.

Make sure that you have

arguments on OPPOSING

sides of the issue. [Joel

VanZanten]

2. The week 1 assignment

asks you to take time to

discuss the quality of the

reasoning. This involves

thinking about the logic, e.g.

What do you think are the

strengths or weaknesses of

this type of reasoning?

It also involves thinking about

the truth of the premises, e.g.

Do you think research would

back up these claims and

premises?

You haven't engaged this

section with enough depth.

[Joel VanZanten]

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 4

The next article that I found on the topic of “breastfeeding vs. formula is from the

website, WebMD, titled “Breastfeeding vs. Formula.” WebMD is a website that provides

valuable health information and tools for managing your health. The article argues how breast

milk is suitable or good for babies in many ways and is also recommended by the American

Academy Pediatrics (AAP) as the best form of nutrition for babies (para. 4). The premises to

support this argument consist of:

Premise 1: It provides natural antibodies that help your baby resist illnesses, such as ear

infections (WebMD).

Premise 2: It's usually more easily digested than formula. So breastfed babies are often less

constipated and gassy (WebMD).

Premise 3: It may lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in the first year of your baby's

life (WebMD).

Premise 4: It may raise your child's intelligence. Studies show that breastfed babies have higher

levels of cognitive function (WebMD).

Premise 5: Breast milk may even help your child in later years, by reducing the risk of being

overweight, and of developing asthma, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, Hodgkin's

disease, leukemia, and lymphoma (WebMD).

Conclusion: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breast milk as the best

nutrition for infants (para. 4).

After evaluating this article, I noticed a short, yet very straight forward the article is. This

made it easy to identify the argument as well as the premises in the article. Although the article is

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1. There is a problem with this

source... namely, that the

source itself does NOT make

an argument. It reports a

variety of issues and

concerns, but it isn't directly

argumentative.

This is a fundamentally

informative source - and it

doesn't work well for our

assignment. [Joel

VanZanten]

2. I think this presentation is

on the right track. Your task

is to identify all of the main

evidence in the article that

supports the article's position

and faithfully reconstruct the

article's argument. I think

you've done that nicely -

especially considering the

source material is more

informative than

argumentative.

One challenge with this

argument/presentation is that

it looks like a list of

supporting reasons" for a

conclusion - but not a list of

premises the drive an

inference TO the conclusion.

Strong arguments are more

than a shotgun list of reasons

- and the first step is to ask,

what sort of argument is this?

Is it deductive or inductive?

Answering these basic

questions about the structure

of the argument is both a

good way of working on

argument presentation but

also a key way of beginning

to evaluate the quality of the

reasoning, and not just the

quality of the evidence. [Joel

VanZanten]

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 5

short, I feel as though it provided a lot of detailed information to support the claims as to why it

is best for an infant’s nutrition. I also like how although it is a short article, it provides links to

references in keywords or points in the article. I like this method because it keeps the article

short and sweet while giving me the option to dig deeper and expand my research on a specific

premise. With, I did explore and click the references to how breastfeeding can prevent ear

infections, as I mentioned earlier in this paper how I wished my first article provided evidence as

to how the use of formula in a bottle can cause ear infections. Overall, I love the fact that the

article was short and simple and straight to the point, while also support its conclusions and

premises.

In the end, I love how neither article degraded either breastfeeding or formula. Both

materials provided information on each opposing side regarding the choice and its benefits.

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1. As before, your evaluation

of the reasoning in this

argument should be

improved.

Even at this early stage in the

course, I expect you to begin

to think about two things.

One, that the premises are

likely to be true. Two, that the

author is demonstrating

reliable reasoning or logic.

[Joel VanZanten]

RUNNING HEADER: IS FORMULA BAD FOR BABIES? 6

Reference

Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.webmd.com/baby/breastfeeding-vs-formula-feeding#2

Laws, R., Denney-Wilson, E., Appleton, J., & Campbell, K. (2019, March 15). If you're feeding

with formula, here's what you can do to promote your baby's healthy growth. Retrieved from

http://theconversation.com/if-youre-feeding-with-formula-heres-what-you-can-do-to-promote-

your-babys-healthy-growth-106165

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