As a new mom, you choose what’s best for your infant, from the design of the baby’s nursery to the healthcare provider your baby sees. One of the best decisions you can make for your little one’s health is choosing to breastfeed.

Not only does breastfeeding allow closeness and bonding between you and your baby, but it also provides numerous health benefits – for both of you.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first 6 months, then continuing to breastfeed while adding appropriate foods for up to 2 years of age or longer.

Breastfeeding Is Good for the Baby

Your breast milk changes to meet your baby’s needs. In the first few days after the baby is born, your breasts make a thick, sticky fluid called colostrum – sometimes referred to as “liquid gold.” A baby needs only a few teaspoons of colostrum, which is loaded with nutrients and antibodies, to feel full and stay healthy until your milk flow increases.

By the third to fifth days after the baby’s birth, colostrum changes into mature milk, which has the right amount of fat, sugar, water and protein to help the baby grow.

Additional health benefits of breastmilk for your infant include:

• Healthy nutrients. Compared with formula, nutrients in breastmilk are better absorbed and used by the baby. Breastmilk also has nutrients that are best for the baby’s brain growth, and it contains fats that benefit the baby’s eyes.

• Infection prevention. Breastmilk has disease-fighting factors that help prevent mild to severe infections and hospitalization. In fact, breastfed babies have far fewer digestive, lung and ear infections.

• Reduced risk of developing diseases. Research suggests that breastfed babies have lower risks of asthma, obesity, Type 1 diabetes, ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting). For preterm babies, breastmilk reduces the risk for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious infection of the intestines.

• Exposure to different tastes. Your baby eventually gets a slight taste of whatever you eat, although not directly. This may make introducing solid foods easier when your baby is 6 months old.

Breastfeeding Is Good for You

Health benefits of breastfeeding for you include:

• Bonding with your little one. Babies are born nearsighted and can only see things about 8 to 15 inches away – the same distance as between your face and the baby’s face when breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin contact during breastfeeding helps the baby feel more secure, while your oxytocin levels are boosted. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps breastmilk flow.

• More rapid recovery. Breastfeeding allows your body to recover from pregnancy and childbirth more quickly. The hormones released when you breastfeed help your uterus shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size.

• Reduced risk of certain diseases. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain types of breast cancer and ovarian cancer in mothers.

• Assistance with losing pregnancy weight. Mothers who exclusively breastfeed can burn as many as 600 extra calories per day, which may help you get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

See your healthcare provider regularly during pregnancy and after the baby is born. While breastfeeding is almost always recommended, your healthcare provider may recommend formula in cases where you or the baby have certain health problems.

During the months before your baby is born, you can prepare for breastfeeding. Take a breastfeeding class. Aultman Hospital’s Family Education Center offers breastfeeding classes in addition to childbirth education classes and birth center tours. Aultman Orrville Hospital offers a childbirth education program.

Talk with your healthcare provider about your plans to breastfeed. Ask your provider to recommend a lactation consultant, an expert in breastfeeding who can teach you and your baby how to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding is a process that takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself. It can take two to three weeks after the baby is born to feel comfortable with it.

For more details on how to breastfeed your baby, see Your Guide to Breastfeeding from the Office of Women’s Health.

Sources:
The StayWell Company, LLC
The Office of Women’s Health