The benefits of breastfeeding are much more than just basic nutrition. It’s also packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness. Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of your baby’s life, any amount of breastfeeding is beneficial. Breast milk contains all the vitamins and nutrients that a baby needs during the first 6 months of life.
Some of the most important benefits of breastfeeding are:
- A healthier baby: Colds, viruses and pneumonia are less likely to occur in breastfed babies. Diarrhea, which can be devastating to babies, is also less likely to occur.
- Protection: Breastfed babies have a lower risk of developing chronic conditions like diabetes and Crohn’s disease.
- Lower risk of SIDS: Sudden infant death syndrome is reduced by about half in breastfed babies.
- Reduce the risk of cancer: Breastfeeding reduces the risk of a baby developing some childhood cancers. It also reduces the risk of premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer in the mother.
- Free Contraception: If you breastfeed every four hours and exclusively breastfeed your baby, breastfeeding is 98-99% effective as a contraceptive option.
- It’s so easy: the milk is ready for the baby instantly and at the right temperature; You don’t need to prepare it yet and wait for it to cool down to save time.
- Save pounds – you don’t have to spend a fortune on formula
- Strong bones: Women who breastfeed have a lower risk of having postmenopausal osteoporosis. When a woman is breastfeeding, her body absorbs calcium much more efficiently. Some bones, particularly those in the spine and hips, may be less dense at weaning, but six months later they become stronger than they were even before pregnancy.
- Postpartum recovery: When you are breastfeeding, your body releases oxytocin which helps your uterus to contract to its normal size faster than if you were not breastfeeding.
Things to consider when breastfeeding:
- Remember that it takes time to learn and master any new skill. When you start breastfeeding it is a new experience for you and your baby, so be patient, relax, and it will get better and easier over time. Practice makes everything easier and finally perfect.
- Some moms may take longer and others may take longer to master breastfeeding, so don’t compare yourself to others, follow your gut and do what works for you. If you need to supplement your breastfeeding with some formula, that’s fine because a little breast milk is better than none.
- Also, don’t ask too many people for advice – find someone to work with, otherwise you’ll be overwhelmed by conflicting points of view.
- If breastfeeding hurts, it is not right; Make sure your baby is latched on to make it a pleasant experience for you and your baby.
There are many celebrities who have breastfed their babies and they really love doing it. Alyssa Milano, Penelope Cruz, Gwen Stephani and Kourtney Kardashian are among those who have breastfed. Penelope and Kourtney have been known to love it so much that they actually missed out on doing it when they stopped doing it.
The importance of breastfeeding is being recognized globally. WABA – The Global Alliance for Breastfeeding Action aims to achieve sustainable goals by linking each of these goals to breastfeeding.They believe that breastfeeding is not the only cornerstone of a child’s healthy development, but also the basis of a country’s development.
World Breastfeeding Week is the first week of August and this year will be 25 years in a row. It is celebrated every year to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. They promote that by recognizing that breastfeeding is key to sustainable development, people will value the well-being of others from the beginning of life, respect each other, and care for the world we all share.
So to summarize, the breast is best for you and your baby because it reduces the risk of infections, diarrhea, SIDS, childhood diseases such as leukemia and diabetes, obesity, and later cardiovascular disease in adulthood. It benefits the mother by reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and obesity, and is the basis for the development of a country and, in turn, the world.