Several have already commented on some of the "advantages" that may be reduced by bottle feeding human milk vs breastfeeding, especially the immunity factor.  I like the idea of mom llicking baby.  It may seem"farout" at first, but even kissing baby should offer some immunological feedback.
As has been said, we may not know exactly how some of breastfeeding's benefits are conferred on baby.  If increased obesity in formula fed babies is due to the fact that breastmilk changes over the feeding and thus may help signal baby that the feeding is over, then this would be lost when HM is given by bottle.  Another factor would be jaw development.  As some of Brian Pamler's work has shown, the act of nursing at the breast helps with normal jaw development which would be missing when baby takes the milk from a bottle.
Certainly bonding can occur without breastfeeding, but we know it gets a big boost by breastfeeding.  To the extent that direct contact between baby and mom enter into this, it would be reduced by EPing.  In addition, some moms report that sometimes they feel more "attached" to the pump than to hte baby.  In addition to the "mechanics" of EP, we would want to help the mom develop other ways to enhance their attachment.

Winnie

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