Benefits of Breastfeeding

Breast milk actually contains living cells that fight infection. The breast will also make antibodies for germs your baby comes in contact with. As a baby grows older and nurses less and less, the mother's breast milk becomes even more concentrated with those protective factors. The list of diseases and health problems that breastfeeding offers at least some protection against grows daily: colds, ear infections, diarrhea, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, some childhood cancers, diabetes, Crohn's disease, SIDS, and more. A recent study by the Institute of Child Health in London found that teens who had been fed breast milk as infants for at least four weeks were less likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance than those who had been fed formula. They further found that the breast milk fed group had a 25% lower risk of heart disease. If a breastfed baby does get sick, chances are it will be a lighter case and he'll get over it more quickly if he is breastfed than if he isn't.

Breast milk changes throughout each feeding as well as throughout the entire nursing experience.  As a baby grows and develops his nutritional needs change and the milk his mother produces changes right along with him. The flavor and taste of breast milk will change depending on what the mother eats, which helps to prepare the baby to eat and enjoy a variety of food later on in life.

Babies who feed from bottles are more likely to have crooked teeth, even as adults, since babies' mouths are designed to be molded around a breast, not a bottle. Newer research also suggests a correlation between bottle feeding and sleep apnea due to the difference caused in jaw structure. Additionally, babies who feed from bottles don't necessarily get what they need in terms of volume and nutrition. A baby will continue to drink from a bottle until it is empty, and he is more likely to take in air by bottle feeding and so may have an uncomfortably full tummy.

Unlike a bottle fed baby who will generally eat as long as there is a bottle in his mouth, you cannot force a breastfed baby to eat because he is actively in control of the feeding.  He will take just as much as he needs and will let you know when he's finished. In this way the baby regulates his own intake depending upon his appetite.

Another advantage of breastfeeding is the minimal amount of time spent burping a breastfed baby. Since breasts have no air in them for baby to swallow, burping is more of a bottle feeding problem. After a feeding you can pat for a bit to check for a burp, but there is no need to continue if one doesn't come pretty quickly.

One of the best benefits of breastfeeding is the comfort it provides to a baby, especially as they grow older. If your child falls down or doesn't feel well a quick nursing will comfort him as nothing else can.

There are benefits for breastfeeding mothers too, it helps lower the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis, to name just a few. The benefits of breastfeeding continue for as long as you continue to breastfeed, and even beyond! For example, a breastfeeding mother's risk of getting breast cancer goes down with every month she continues to breastfeed. So the longer a woman breastfeeds, and the more children she breastfeeds, the more she decreases her chances of getting breast cancer.

Although formulas have improved tremendously over the past decade, they unfortunately are still a long way from matching the superior nutrition of breast milk.  There are many ingredients in breast milk that have yet to be identified or cannot be reproduced and put into a can.  Formula can provide adequate nutrition for a baby who cannot breastfeed, but it remains inferior to breast milk. Ounce for ounce, breast milk has less sugar and fat and fewer calories than formula. Also, nursing takes more time and work for the baby than bottle feeding, so breastfed babies are less likely to overeat and become overweight - a well-established risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.