I have been breastfeeding my youngest daughter for 3 years now and am still ongoing! It was my decision from the very beginning because I learned of these compelling reasons. In fact, here are the top 10 benefits of breastfeeding for mom and baby.
TOP 10 Benefits of Breastfeeding for Mom and Baby
1. Breastfeeding Protects Against a Variety of Diseases and Conditionsystems
Newborns are born with immature immune systems. Breast milk contains antibodies that help develop the baby’s immune system and protect the baby from disease. Some diseases that can be prevented by breastfeeding include:
- ear infections
- gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines) caused by rotavirus, norovirus, or other viruses
- urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- reducing the risk of asthma and allergies later in life.
- protects against SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
2. Breastfeeding PREVENTS OBESITY
While breastfeeding may not cause weight loss, it does help keep a healthy weight in babies who are overweight at birth. This is particularly important since obesity puts children at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other serious health conditions later in life.
3. Breastfeeding Strengthens the Bond Between Mother and Baby
It’s a great way to get to know your baby.
When you breastfeed, you’re in close physical contact with your baby. As a result, it’s easier for both of you to communicate and interact. This helps strengthen the bond between mother and baby as well as gives them time together without distractions or interruptions from other people.
It’s also important for babies who have been adopted or placed into foster care because it gives them a sense of belonging after being separated from their birth parents at birth or shortly thereafter.
4. Breast Milk Is Easy for Newborns to Digest
Because breast milk is easy to digest, your baby’s digestive system doesn’t need to work as hard as it would if she were drinking formula. This means that she can sleep longer without waking up to be fed or changed—and if she does wake up, she’ll probably go back to sleep more easily.
5. Breastfeeding Can Lower a Mother’s Risk for Certain Diseases and Conditions
The benefits of breastfeeding are many: it can lower a mother’s risk for certain diseases and conditions, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.
As the American Academy of Pediatrics states in their policy statement on breastfeeding: “The most widely accepted and proven health benefit is a reduction in the incidence of gastrointestinal and respiratory infections during infancy.”
Breastfeeding also provides protection against acute otitis media (ear infection), eczema/atopic dermatitis (skin inflammation), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), necrotizing enterocolitis (intestinal damage)
6. Breastfeeding Can Help a Mother Return to Her Pre-Pregnancy Weight Faster
Breastfeeding can help a mother return to her pre-pregnancy weight faster. This is good news!
If you’re breastfeeding and expecting, you might be worried that your new baby is going to make it difficult for you to lose the weight of pregnancy.
But research shows that breastfeeding can help a mother return to her pre-pregnancy weight faster. Breast milk is low in calories and high in nutrients—not only does this mean less food for mom, but more nutrients for baby!
In fact, researchers have found that breastfeeding mothers tend to eat fewer calories overall than moms who don’t breastfeed their babies (and those extra nutrients are passed on through breast milk). So if you want an easy way out of postpartum dieting? Put baby on the boob!
7. Breast Milk Is Always Ready, and It’s Always the Right Temperature
Breast milk is always ready. The best part about breastfeeding is that you don’t have to worry about preparing a bottle, warming up formula or syringes, or, anything else. Your breast milk is always ready, and it’s always the right temperature for your baby.
Breast milk is good for your baby. One of the most important benefits of breastfeeding over other forms of feeding is that breast milk gives babies all the nutrients they need in their first year of life—and sometimes longer!
That means no doctor’s appointments when your infant isn’t growing properly (which happens with some formulas), fewer trips to daycare because their stomachs are upset from something they ate at home, less fussiness during naps… You get the idea!
8. The Ovulation Cycle Returns Sooner in Women Who Aren’t Breastfeeding
It’s true that breastfeeding is a natural contraceptive. The same hormones that inhibit ovulation during pregnancy also prevent ovulation while you’re breastfeeding. So if you want to avoid having another baby, breastfeeding is an effective way to do it.
But what if you want another baby? Will breastfeeding delay your ability to conceive? Not at all! In fact, researchers have found that women who are not breastfeeding usually experience a return of their menstrual cycles within three months after delivery.
Women who breastfeed their babies may experience this return within six months—or even later (although they still have significantly lower risks of infertility).
9. It’s Free — And Worth Every Penny!
Let’s admit it. The cost of formula is expensive. You can save hundreds of dollars by breastfeeding your baby. In fact, it’s estimated that if every woman who wanted to breastfeed did so exclusively for the first 6 months after birth, 3 billion dollars would be saved each year!
10. Breastfeeding increases brain power
The benefits of breastfeeding even continue into adulthood.
A study conducted by Harvard researchers showed that children who were breastfed had higher IQs later in life than those who weren’t — an average of 7 points higher!
FINAL THOUGHTS
So now that you’ve read about all the benefits of breastfeeding, it’s time for you to make a decision. If you have any doubts about whether or not breastfeeding is right for your family, talk to your doctor or another trusted source of information.
I strongly suggest too that you consult a breastfeeding advocate doctor, or a lactation consultant and join breastfeeding moms on Facebook groups whose mission is to support breastfeeding families by providing information and encouragement.
