What are the benefits to breast feeding your baby?

Answer 1

B/c that's why women have breasts. We aren't baby cows when we are born, we are baby humans - and human mothers' milk is designed for the growth and development of a human baby. I don't even consider formula an option, manmade chemicals (that recently were recalled b/c of broken glass found in containers). Not to mention the emotional welfare of your child, it is a natural instinct to suckle ... so why postphone that with a pacifier @ birth? Studies have shown breastfed babies: Are not likely to become obese adults, are not likely to break bones, are not likely to get ill (or ear infections) ... My 13 month old, has yet to have a diaper rash, ear infection, cold, runny nose. Oh yeah, it's best for mommies too, b/c I'm slimmer than my post pregnancy weight (b/c bf keeps your uterus contracting = exercise without effort) and it's natural Birth Control - I've yet to start my menses (awesome)!

Answer 2

Mostly because it's the food nature designed to feed human infants. The mom also passes on certain immunities to her infant through breast milk. The colostrum secreted before the milk actually comes in helps mature the newborn's gut. It contains the right percentage of fat for the baby. It's right there, doesn't have to be heated up, doesn't cost anything, and there's no paraphernalia to mess with.

Answer 3

Breastmilk overall is a healthier choice and contains natural ingredients, that are not just supplements found in formula. Breastfeeding has also been proven to reduce the risk of babies developing Allergies. Breastfeeding can also reduce the number of and severity of conditions such as ear infections, bacterial meningitis and has even been proven to reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and Asthma.

Answer 4

Breast feeding is optional, you can chose to breast feed or use powered milk.it is said that breest feeing is the natraul and healthiest option but really they are both as good as eachother.Another reason breast feeding is known to be better is because it has more natarul minerals from the mother.

Answer 5

Breastfeeding is beneficial to infants because during the act of feeding an infant is passed many beneficial antibodies from the mother that protect it during infancy, and ensures the maternal bond between mother and child. The ingestion of breast milk passes on natural nutrients to the baby that cannot be duplicated artificially.

Answer 6

This will always be a very long standing debate about the pros and cons of both breastfeeding or formula.
The information provided in regards to breastfeeding is that it's readily available, doesn't cost you anything, easier on the baby's tummy, and may provide some immunities from the Mother to the baby prior to beginning vaccinations, just to name a few items.

Answer 7

The ancient, mystic power of breastfeeding has been avidly researched and scientists have learned that the easily digestible bosom milk's precise cocktail of vitamins, protein, and fat boosts IQ. Scientists say it also decreases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, obesity, Heart disease, asthma, and allergies; it arms baby's immune system for a lifetime of battles. It is nature's vaccine.

BBC

Not everyone believes breast milk is so magical. In fact, since the 1950s, the breast vs. the bottle debate has been hot to the touch. While a slew of research supports breastfeeding's benefits to babies, there are also studies that try to debunk the overall claim other contributing factors (such as the health, wealth, and education level of the mother) is to thank for future health and intelligence, instead of breast milk.

Either way, let's put the babies aside for now, since new findings from the latest breastfeeding study is not about them at all. It's about the mothers.

Step to Health

Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, who calls for paid maternity leave, cites earlier research suggesting that if nearly every mother in the US breastfed, it could prevent an estimated 5,000 Breast cancer diagnoses every year, and almost 14,000 heart attacks would never come to pass.

WiseGeek

In an October 2015 publication of "Annals of Oncology," a study found that breastfeeding could help prevent breast cancer. Another study showed that the practice helps women who developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy avoid becoming long term diabetics.

This report on nursing's effect on breast cancer analyzed studies of some 40,000 cancer cases globally. It found that even a brief breastfeeding stint reduced the risk of a highly aggressive breast cancer by up to 20 percent. These elusive tumors, difficult to treat, are more common in black and younger women.

"The breast gland is immature and unable to do its job—which is to make milk—until it goes through the bat mitzvah of a full term pregnancy," says the paper's principal author, Dr. Marisa Weiss. "Breastfeeding forces the breasts to finally grow up and get a job, and make milk, and show up for work every day and every night, and stop fooling around."

Her assertion: pregnancy and lactation are crucial steps in the life span of breasts, and breastfeeding creates changes in milk duct cells making breasts more impervious to cancer.

US News

Perhaps that's why some scientists call lactation "pregnancy's fourth trimester," marking the true end to the reproductive cycle. Breastfeeding is not just about the breast itself: lactation improves glucose and lipid metabolism, returning a woman's body to a long life of metabolic and cardiac health.

Before this study, doctors weren't really sure whether breastfeeding reduced the development of long-term diabetes, so for two years, researchers monitored 1,010 White, Black, Asian, and Latina women who had developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy. The breastfeeders cut their risk by half, and the longer they breastfed, the more they lowered this risk. More than 10 months of breastfeeding cut their risk of diabetes by almost 60 percent.

Bambino Art

To add to what these recent studies suggest, below are some other medically established reasons from parenting go-to Dr. William Sears on why breastfeeding is great for some women. Note that every woman's pregnancy and postpartum experience differs, so not every proposed benefit below will apply to everyone.

Kate Kennedy Birth Photography

1. Swifter recovery from childbirth.
   • Oxytocin, a pleasure hormone released during breastfeeding, helps to shrink the uterus to its regular size more quickly, reducing postpartum bleeding.
2. Greater postpartum weight loss.
   • Positively Oakes
   • Every ounce of breast milk contains 20 calories. Feed the baby 20 ounces a day and you've just incinerated 400 calories without moving a muscle.
3. Reduced risk of uterine and ovarian cancers.
   • Healthy Natural Baby
   • Estrogen levels are lower during lactation, and the less estrogen present to stimulate the uterus lining, the less risk of the tissue turning cancerous.
4. Reduced risk of osteoporosis.
   • Lipstiq
   • Women that don't breastfeed have a four times greater chance of developing osteoporosis, and they are more likely to get hip fractures in their postmenopausal years.
5. Reduced risk of other ailments.
   • BET
   • This includes rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
6. Promotes child spacing.
   • Little Feet Photography
   • Diligent breast-feeding provides a natural form of contraception as it delays ovulation, and another pregnancy. (Just don't rely completely on breastfeeding—it isn't fail-safe!)
7. Good for emotional health.
   • MOMcircle
   • Studies show that breastfeeding moms show fewer symptoms of postpartum anxiety and depression.

Answer 8

Breastfeeding your baby has many benefits. Breastfeeding your baby protects it from many illnesses, can protect your baby from developing allergies, and may boost your child's intelligence.