Breastfeeding offers many benefits to the baby:
- Breast milk provides the right balance of nutrients to help an infant
grow into a strong and healthy toddler.
- Breastfed infants, and those who are fed expressed breast milk, have
fewer deaths during the first year and experience fewer illnesses than
babies fed formula.
- Some of the nutrients in breast milk also help protect an infant against
some common childhood illnesses and infections, such as diarrhea, middle ear
infections, and certain lung infections.
- Some recent NICHD-supported research also suggests that breast milk
contains important amino acids (protein building blocks) that help an
infant's brain develop. Two specific amino acids, known as DHA and AA, may
help increase infants’ cognitive skills. Many countries fortify infant
formulas with DHA and AA, but the United States does not.
Breastfeeding also benefits the mother:
- In response to the baby's sucking, the mother's body releases a hormone
that makes her uterus contract and get smaller.
- Many mothers also get emotional benefits from breastfeeding because of
the closeness of this interaction with the baby and from the satisfaction of
helping to nourish their babies.
- Some research suggest that mothers who breastfeed their babies have
fewer episodes of post-delivery depression.
- There is evolving evidence to indicate that certain types of cancer
(such as breast, uterus, and ovarian cancer) occur less often in mothers who
have breastfed their babies.
- Many societies and cultures also encourage mothers to breastfeed, which
can offer support to a new mother,
- for full article click link
From The
Institute Of Child Health and Human Development
