Reasons to Breastfeed

By breastfeeding your new baby, you can ensure that he or she gets the very best start in life. There are many factors that make choosing to breastfeed your child beneficial for both you and your child. The following list details just a few of the many reasons why breastfeeding is best for your baby.

Nature’s Perfect Food

– Breastmilk provides infants with the absolute best nutrition. The unique composition of carbohydrates, antibodies, proteins, fats and minerals is exactly what your baby needs to grow and develop during his or her first months of life.

Breastmilk, unlike infant formula, is able to change and adapt has your growing baby’s nutritional needs change. Additionally, babies are able to digest breastmilk more easily than formula. Cow’s milk, which is used as a base for many infant formulas, is an intestinal irritant.

Breastmilk provides your baby with immunities and reduces his or her risk of several childhood illnesses including allergies, asthma, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Brings Mom and Baby Closer

– Breastfeeding is nature’s way for mother and child to bond. When a mother breastfeeds, her body releases the hormone prolactin, which creates a calming effect that allows her to relax and enjoy this peaceful time with her child.

Helps Mom Bounce Back From Pregnancy

– Milk production requires lots of energy and burns an extra 500 calories each day, which helps the breastfeeding mother to lose her pregnancy weight faster than a non-breastfeeding mother.

When breastfeeding, a mother has an increased level of the hormone oxytocin, which minimizes uterine bleeding after birth, and shrinks the uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size more quickly.

Exclusively breastfeeding delays the return of the mother’s menstrual period and acts as a natural birth spacer for the first six months. Breastfeeding also reduces a mother’s risk of developing several cancers including breast, ovarian, and endometrial.

Defrays Additional Baby Costs

– Since breastmilk is free, you can easily eliminate many of the costs associated with infant formula feeding such as bottles, nipples, sterilizers, formula, and pacifiers.

It Comes Highly Recommended

– Breastfeeding is endorsed and promoted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the American Dietetic Association as the best way to provide infant nutrition.

If you are unable to exclusively breastfeed your child, you can still provide him or her with nutritious breastmilk by expressing your milk. By feeding your child expressed breastmilk, you and your child will still receive many of the same benefits that you would get from breastfeeding.

Visit The Natural Child Project to find 101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child