Top 15 Reasons to Breastfeed
With so many reasons to breastfeeding your baby we highlighted our top 15 to really punch home the most important motivations to give this gift both to yourself and your child. Here we go!
1. Recommended by UNICEF and the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization in collaboration with UNICEF state in their “Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding” that “Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. There after, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production”.
2. Breast milk has the perfect composition of carbohydrates, fat and protein
Formula is just that, a formula to try and match the best combinations to get the composition as close to breast milk as they can. Breast milk changes from feeding to feeding to accommodate the child’s needs. There is no way formula can compete with that. The American Dietetic Association states “human milk provides optimal nutrition to the infant with its dynamic composition and the appropriate balance of nutrients provided in easily digestible and bioavailable forms.” The American Association of Pediatrics issued a statement on breastfeeding saying that “Human milk is uniquely superior for infant feeding and is species-specific; all substitute feeding options differ markedly from it. The breastfed infant is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development, and all other short and long-term benefits.”
3. Babies digest breast milk more easily than formula
Cow’s milk has twice as much protein compared to human milk so formula-fed babies get more protein than they need and excrete the rest. Breastfed babies absorb almost all the protein in human milk.
4. Helps shrink uterus after birth
The baby’s suckling will help the uterus to shrink more quickly to it’s pre-pregnancy size.
5. Breast milk helps the developing baby’s immune system and gives them immunities to disease
Formula doesn’t give any of these benefits. Breast milk gives babies antibodies from the mother to help fight disease and so breastfed babies get sick less. Williams in Breast-Feeding Best Bet for Babies says “About 80% of the cells in breast milk are macrophages, cells that kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Breastfed babies are protected in varying degrees from a number of illnesses including, pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, ear infections, and German measles. Furthermore, mothers produce antibodies to what ever disease is present in their environment, making their milk custom-designed to fight diseases their babies are exposed to as well.” This also reduces the number of doctor’s visits and co-pays.
6. Less sick days for parents
Parents of breastfed children have to take less sick leave as statistically their children are healthier compared to formula-fed children.
7. Breastfed babies have higher I.Q’s
Breast milk increases brain and cognitive development. Formula, no matter what the marketing gurus try and tell you can’t compete on the same level.
8. Facilitates bonding for the mother and baby and meets the baby’s emotional needs
Babies need to be held and breastfeeding is one of the best ways to bring your baby close to you. Oxytocin is released in the mother’s body during breastfeeding which bonds the mother and child and stimulates maternal behavior while also encourages the release of milk and uterine contractions.
9. Helps nursing moms lose weight after giving birth
Breastfeeding burns about 500 extra calories a day and by maintaining a balances diet they can lose weight quicker than those formula feeding their children.
10. Improves social development
Breastfed babies excel at both psychomoto and social development compared to formula-fed babies. This trend is clear even at 12 months of age.
11. Improved hand-eye coordination
The reasons remain unclear but it has been proved that breastfed babies are able to see and manipulate objects compared with bottle-fed babies.
12. Assists correct dental and jaw development
Breastfeeding is good for both a child’s tooth and jaw development. Babies have to use 60 times the energy to breastfeed as opposed to bottle feeding. The jaw is thus getting more exercise which in turn helps the formation of jaw and gives the baby straight, healthy teeth. The longer the baby nurses the less chance they have of having an undesirable positioning of teeth. This also leads to less money needing to be spent at the orthodontist! Breast milk also contains bacteria which helps to fight tooth decay which will keep your dentist bills down too.
13. Facilitates better speech development
Babies that are bottle-fed frequently develop tongue thrust difficulties because they are trying to slow down the flow of milk. Milk flows much faster from an artificial nipple and this can lead the speech problems later on in life. Babies miss out on the physiological sucking at the breast due to early weaning may have an interruption in correct oral motor development causing changes to both the strength and posture of the speech organs. This may interfere with chewing, swallowing, breathing and speaking.
14. Formula fed babies have an increased risk of ear infections
Infants are 3 – 4 times more prevalent in formula-fed babies compared to those that are breastfed.
15. Formula fed babies may be at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
There are a number of studies showing possible links between lack of breastfeeding and SIDS. One study found that babies breastfed exclusively for less than eight weeks had a 3 – 5 times greater risk of SIDS compared with those exclusively breastfed for four months.
References: http://boobiefed.com/reasons-why-breastfeeding-is-best
