Research suggests that breastfeeding provides a measure of protection against breast cancer, ovarian cancer and weak bones later in life. Your body uses calories to produce milk, so breastfeeding can help you to gradually lose weight gained during pregnancy.
Nutritional benefits of extended breastfeeding. Once your baby starts eating solids at around six months, you might think your breast milk becomes just a ‘drink’ that complements them. But even after your baby starts eating complementary foods, breast milk provides significant nutrition,”
Transitioning from being pregnant to a nursing mom can be overwhelming – especially during the first few weeks after birth: it is often the peak stress period for a nursing mom. This is due to the fact that after birth, you will need to learn to watch out for signs of hunger in your baby and breastfeed whenever your baby is hungry. Keep in mind that your baby will often show these signs of hunger and you will also have to nurse between eight to twelve times every 24 hours.
Nevertheless, breastfeeding is the best food for your baby. Not that alone, it is also the healthiest way to feed your baby. Most importantly, Doctors recommend that women who don’t have health problems should try to give their babies breast milk exclusively for at least the first six months of life.
Besides, there are quite a number of reasons why breastfeeding is important for both the mother and the child. So, if you’re considering not breastfeeding your child for no just reason, here are few benefits that might make you change your mind.
1. Breast milk is Ideal for Newborn: Breastmilk is an ideal food for your newborn up until the age of 18 months because it is natural – and it provides all the necessary nutrients for your new born. Not that alone, breastfeeding also ensures your baby the best possible health benefits: best developmental and psychosocial outcomes for your baby. In addition, your baby is less likely to be hospitalized with pneumonia bronchiolitis, or have a decreased risk of lower respiratory tract infections and allergies.
2. Strengthens the Immune System and helps protect your Baby’s Digestive System: After birth, your first breast milk, called Colostrum – which is rich in immune boosters, offers vital early protection and helps to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria by coating your baby’s digestive system. However, this early protection is even more important if your baby is born prematurely.
Besides all these benefits, it also helps strengthen and develop your baby’s immature immune system in a way no other substance can. More so, it also helps your baby’s body respond better to immunizations against Polio, Tetanus and other bacterium that can cause severe infection.
3. Brain Development: One major benefit in breastmilk is a brain-boosting fat called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an omega-3 fatty acid. DHA is a vital nutrient for growth, development and maintenance of brain tissue. Autopsy analysis of brain tissue from breastfed and formula-fed infants conducted by doctors showed that the brains of breastfed babies have a higher concentration of DHA and DHA levels are highest in babies who are breastfed the longest.
4. Breastfeeding helps strengthen the bond between you and your baby: Hormones released while breastfeeding makes you feel closer to your baby and makes your baby feel closer to you. Undeniably, breastfeeding your baby gives you a sense of joy and adds to the fulfillment and happiness you receive as a mother. Not only that, it also helps your baby to recognize you as the mother and form the basis of attachment between mother and child.
It’s cheap!
Formulas can be very expensive in the long run and breast milk can help reduce the financial burden when expenses are already high. Also, babies will always have some wastage when feeding with formulas –because some parts of the formula which are not suitable for your baby will not be digested.
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