5 Benefits of Breastfeeding for Mom and Baby

What is Breastfeeding?

As the name suggests, breastfeeding is the ultimate bonding experience between a mother and her newborn, where a mother feeds her baby milk produced in her breasts. Nursing is another term for breastfeeding and is highly recommended by The American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP), as ​​breastfeeding improves infant and maternal health outcomes. They also suggest that the benefits of breastfeeding are plenty if a mother chooses to breastfeed her baby for the first six months and continue to do so even after introducing solid food until at least the age of one. Breast Milk contains all the necessary nutrients required to nourish your baby during those initial six months and helps lay a strong foundation for their immunity.

Why is it suitable for Mom and Baby?

Apart from being the optimal bonding experience that encourages skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding ensures your baby the healthy growth of your baby. Before we jump into our detailed list of the advantages of breastfeeding, we'd like to draw the significance to colostrum. Colostrum is a thick fluid with a yellowish tin, with low sugar content, filled with protein and all the other good stuff. Your breasts produce it during the initial days after birth. Colostrum can be considered an equivalent to ambrosia for a newborn, bursting with essential nutrients that cannot be substituted with formula.

Benefits of breastfeeding your baby

1. Breastmilk is a powerhouse of nutrients

Breastmilk is produced by the body, formulated with all the specific nutrients your baby requires in the first six months of life. As the baby needs change, the composition of breast milk changes accordingly to nourish your little one. The breast also produces larger quantities of milk in sync with the growth of a baby's tummy.

2. Breast Milk is bursting with antibodies

Antibodies are vital to helping your baby build resistance to various bacteria and viruses. Breastmilk is bursting with antibodies that form a layer of protection in the baby's ENT and digestive system. Studies have shown that babies are more susceptible to face illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia and other infections if they are not breastfed.

3. Breastfeeding has the potential to reduce the risk of diseases

Another one of the benefits of breastfeeding is that it protects your baby from an army of diseases. These diseases include respiratory tract and middle ear infections, infections and colds, intestinal tissue damage and gut infections, allergies and bowel issues. Breastfeeding also significantly reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and childhood leukaemia.

4. Choosing to breastfeed can ensure healthy weight gain

Breastfeeding encourages healthy weight gain in your little one while also preventing childhood obesity. This is potentially due to improved gut health and the presence of an appetite-regulating hormone called leptin. Babies also tend to self-regulate their consumption of milk.

5. Breastfeeding could potentially make your child smarter

One of the more behavioural advantages of breastfeeding includes the possibility of it making your child smarter. Studies suggest that the abundant amount of skin-to-skin touch, eye contact and physical intimacy may improve the brain development of a breastfed baby. It also reduces the occurrence of behavioural issues.

5 Advantages of breastfeeding for Mums

1. Breastfeeding aids in the contraction of the uterus

During your pregnancy, the uterus grows significantly, expanding daily as your baby grows. Post-delivery, the uterus undergoes involution driven by a hormone called Oxytocin - a process that helps it return to its original size. One of the benefits of breastfeeding includes the increased production of Oxytocin that speeds up the process of involution, and prevents bleeding to a large extent.

2. Decreases the risk of postpartum depression 

A mother goes through an intense amount of mental stress and anxiety during pregnancy and for a period after birthing her baby. The depression faced by a new mother after childbirth is known as Postpartum Depression and is less likely to prevail in women who choose to breastfeed.
 

3. Choosing to breastfeed could protect you against certain diseases

Breastfeeding protects a mother from a sea of diseases that include arthritis, high blood pressure and heart diseases. A mother who breastfeeds also faces a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

4. Breastfeeding is emotionally beneficial to a new mother

Breastfeeding promotes the production of soothing hormones and affectionate bonding between the mother and child. This helps a mother cope with the overwhelming emotions of motherhood and connect with her baby on a deeper level. It also makes a woman feel empowered as she embraces these new experiences.

5. Breastfeeding is an economical choice

One of the more practical benefits of breastfeeding is that it is efficient and effectively nourishes your newborn. Since the body is programmed to function in sync with the hunger needs of the infant, there would be no additional stress over portion calculation and fear of formula not suiting your baby.

Conclusion 

In the end, we have observed that the benefits of breastfeeding include physical development, mental health and nutritional fulfilment. Breastfeeding is more than just nursing; it is a bonding experience as well as an empowering process. The decision to breastfeed or not is a personal choice through and through. Still, we hope the benefits mentioned above have been considered before arriving upon the decision to nurture your infant. Here are few tips for breastfeeding mothers. Do read them out. And if you anytime later, plan to opt for formula feeding . Here is everything you need to know about formula feeding.

FAQ’s

Q1. How long does a breastfeeding session last?

Ans - Your baby must be fed as and when required during the initial weeks and must not go more than 4 hours without being fed.

Q2. How can I tell if my baby is full after a feeding session?

Ans - Your baby will look full and content at the end of a feeding session and will most likely be fast asleep.

Q3. How do I know when to breastfeed?

Ans - When your baby cries or appears to be restless, it is usually an indication of hunger, and your baby needs to be fed. Taking care of mothers health and diet post pregnancy, is also very important factor to consider.

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