Breastfeeding is a gift I gave to my baby
Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for your baby and is recommended exclusively for the first six months of your baby’s life, with the goal to continue for one year or more.
Breast milk gives baby exactly what he needs at any given stage of development and changes with them as they grow.
The calories, protein, fats and hydration your baby needs will be met with your breast milk, naturally.
One of the most amazing components of breast milk is the antibodies that your body has built throughout the years, in response to illness and infection, and now can be passed on to protect your baby. When your baby becomes ill and exposes you to new germs and illness you build new antibodies which are then passed on to baby to help fight that infection.
Breastfeeding is an amazing way to help your baby avoid infections and recover faster when ill.
Research shows breastfeeding can help reduce incidence of infant ear infections, childhood obesity and type 2 DM, gastrointestinal illness that can cause vomiting and diarrhea, eczema and atopic dermatitis, which are dry skin condition and asthma as well as other allergic conditions that could develop later in life. Breast milk may help reduce risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. This is a heavily-researched tragedy in which babies die for unknown reasons during the first year of their life.
Breastfeeding also benefits the mother and assists in recovery after birth. The hormone oxytocin is released during breastfeeding and causes contraction of the uterine muscle to encourage toning and shrinking back into pre-pregnancy size.
Metabolically, you have to consume more additional calories while breastfeeding than you do while pregnant!
If you eat a healthy diet and are active, breastfeeding can help you lose the weight you gained while pregnant. Mothers who have breastfed have a reduced risk of developing some cancer, such as breast cancer and it may reduce risk of postpartum depression.
The bonding between mom and baby during nursing may be one of the most important benefits of breastfeeding. You’re providing focused, skin to skin, eye contact time with baby, which encourages trust and bonding with your little one.
If that’s not enough, breastfeeding saves time and money! Forget about having to sterilize endless bottles!
I encourage you to educate yourself and others about the benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding our baby. I encourage you to support those women who feed their babies in public, and those who work hard to pump breast milk while working and away from their baby.
If breastfeeding is challenging for you, consider getting help right away from a lactation consultant before giving up or switching to exclusively pumping your milk. Sometimes a small tweak can make all the difference!
I love talking about pregnancy, parenting, and nutrition for your little ones. Do you? Talk to me on Facebook here, or leave a comment!
