The TOP 10 Reasons to Breastfeed your Baby
Nutrition
Health Benefits
Great Diet
Makes Them Smarter
Bonding
Induces Happiness
No Periods
Cheap
Easy
Breast Enhancing
Your breastmilk is already a perfect mix of protein, vitamins, and fat. It is also more readily digestible than formula, which means your little one is less prone to spitting it up after a feeding. We are starting to learn more and more about other properties involved in the quality of nutrition available, in the form of amino acids, enzymes, and more. Im sure that we have yet to understand the complexity of this system perfected by eons of evolutionary genetic coding. About the only thing you may need to supplement is Vitamin D, which is difficult to transmit via breastfeeding. This is easily remedied by getting a liquid vitamin D supplement created just for infants. Other considerations are making sure to take calcium to ensure bone health, and you may even want to continue taking prenatal vitamins as long as you breastfeed so both you and your child benefit.
Beyond the nutritional aspects of breastmilk, there several health benefits associated as well. It helps their immune system: It contains antibodies to help fight viruses and bacteria. It also treats ear infections, and diarrhea, and respiratory illnesses like asthma and allergies. It decreases incidence of diabetes, and obesity. It even has decreases incident of SIDS. It also contains enzymes, hormones, and amino acids that help your child develop and adjust to the elements in their environment. The additional healthful benefits could even go beyond this in ways we have yet to understand. These nutrients are all easily absorbed by the babies system, which isnt fully developed yet. Powdered formulas may contain all the nutrition your child needs, but it might not be as efficient in the way that their body can process it.
You may notice that when a baby becomes uncomfortable or in pain, they will want to nurse. This is because they instinctively realize that breastfeeding is a panacea for all sorts of ailments.
In fact, breastmilk can also be used topically for additional healthful uses. For example, it can be applied to scrapes and cuts to speed up healing, and it also can be used as an emollient on irritated or chapped skin.
In addition to the health benefits for your baby, you too could be healthier as a result! It stimulates your uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy size. Breastfeeding also potentially lowers your risk of breast and ovarian cancer. and osteoporosis.
Breastfeeding siphons off calories and fat, so you can shrink back down to your pregnancy weight faster. Look at it as a free hall pass to basically indulge in an extra 300 + calories a day! (However, keep in mind that the nutrition you feed yourself will pass along to your child, so you still want to eat healthy things!)
Breastfeeding is also known to increase the childs IQ, and may even improve social development. Something about the act of breastfeeding stimulates synapses and critical connections in the brain to increase.
This is the perfect opportunity for skin-to-skin contact, which is crucial for infants, as well as eye contact, holding hands, and communicating. It is a “closer” experience than bottle feeding. Bonding is such an important part of the child/parent relationship. The effects of this time spent together will last for years, even for a lifetime. Skin-to-skin, or kangaroo care, has been proven to provide several benefits to newborns and infants, such as regulating heart beat, body temperature, breathing, circulation, as well as providing much needed human interaction.
It releases the hormone oxytocin, which elevates mood and produces an uplifting, loving connection. This is the ideal time to really soak up the mutual joy and satisfaction in your shared moment together. It also has the effect of subduing the chances of having post-partum depression.
Another odd physiological reaction to breastfeeding is the body's natural suppression of periods. This can be a significant benefit to those prone to very severe periods and significant cramping. Also, since there is no cycle-related PMS, it acts as a long term mood regulator. While it is not completely reliable as a form of birth control, as there are several factors involved, it does suppress ovulation, and lowers your chance of conception. Your body instinctively tries to ensure that you can adequately nourish your existing offspring before producing more.
The cost of formula is an added expense that can be significant over time. Also, if you enjoy the luxury of staying home full time, the need of bottle supplies drops significantly.
It also releases your of the need to constantly be mixing formula, cleaning bottles, warming bottles, going to the store to pick up supplies, and other arduous tasks associated with bottlefeeding.
It is also noteworthy that baby poop is lighter colored and less smelly than formula poop.
For those who had smaller breasts before their pregnancy, this is blessing in disguise, and a very cheap alternative to breast implants! Why not prolong the positive effects of having a child by extending the length of time you ultimately breastfeed...its a win/win situation! In fact, babies can continue to reap the rewards for as long as you breastfeed. It is recommended that you breastfeed from 6 months to 2 years for “best results”, though some mothers choose to breastfeed for even longer than that! Some mothers may find it difficult to sustain their milk supply for at least 6 months. This may be beyond their control. If this turns out to be the case, then if they continue it for as long as is possible, they can rest easy knowing they have done what they could to be good providers. They may have to supplement their babies diets with other things, such as formula, goat milk, or start them eating “solids” at an early age, (as early as 4 months is recommended). However, every day they can have access to breastmilk is another day it will assist their development. Another thing that can help tremendously to extend the period in which your child is drinking breastmilk, is pumping on a regular basis. Breastmilk can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months. There are several companies that make special storage bags for this purpose.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/nursing-basics
Babycenter.com
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