Spouting on about the health benefits of breast milk
As well as being free (other than the cost of a healthy diet for yourself), easy (once you get the hang of it), and convenient (you won’t leave home without your milk and you don’t need to heat it up), breast milk gives your baby a tailor-made formula for good nutrition. The makeup of your breast milk changes constantly according to your baby’s needs throughout the day and adapts as he grows, so he’s always got exactly the right nutrients on tap. Best of all, breast milk has a whole host of health benefits that money just can’t buy. For example, breastfeeding:
- Protects against infection. Breast milk contains germ-fighting antibodies that help protect your baby from infection until his own immune system matures. So your breastfed baby is less likely to suffer from a whole host of nasties, including ear infections, pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, meningitis, and German measles, to name but a few.
- Reduces the likelihood of your baby developing allergies, eczema, and wheeziness. This is particularly important if allergies run in the family: studies show that the longer a baby is breastfed, the better his immune system is going to develop. The opinion of experts is that allergies are caused by early exposure to allergens, so the longer you put off introducing other foods, the better.
- Protects against cot death. Although all sorts of factors contribute to cot death, research shows that for each month of breastfeeding the chance of cot death is halved compared with that in formula-fed babies.
- Lowers your baby’s risk of obesity. Babies who are fed exclusively on breast milk for the first few months have been found to be up to four times less likely than those fed on formula to become obese in later childhood.
- May help to prevent childhood cancer. Incidences of diseases such as leukaemia are lower among breastfed babies – for example, US researchers discovered that babies who were breastfed for at least 1 month were significantly less likely to develop leukaemia than formula fed babies.
- Reduces the likelihood of tummy troubles such as constipation, food poisoning, diarrhoea, and colic. This is because breast milk is completely tailored to meet your baby’s needs; it has exactly the right nutrients and fluids necessary to keep his digestive system healthy. There’s also less chance of unwittingly introducing harmful bacteria to your baby’s digestive system: just one bottle or teat that hasn’t been properly sterilised can wreak havoc on his digestion. And to cap it all, breastfed babies’ bowel movements don’t smell nearly as bad as bottle-fed babies’!
- Provides the perfect brain food. Breast milk not only is ideal for your baby’s physical development but also boosts brain power. One study found that premature babies who were breastfed scored, at the age of 7 years, up to ten points higher in IQ tests than those who are bottle fed. This may be due to the fact that breast milk contains certain biological chemicals, called long chain fatty acids, which are vital for the development of the brain, eyes, and nervous system.
- Is good for you, too. Breastfeeding reduces your risk of developing hip fractures and early breast or ovarian cancer. It can also help you get your body back more quickly after your baby is born, as it burns up lots of calories. Breastfeeding also offers limited contraceptive effect (but it should not be relied upon – 10 per cent of women who breastfeed start ovulating after 10 weeks, and 50 per cent by 25 weeks).
Even if you breastfeed for only the first few days of your baby’s life, he will still get some benefit. Infection-fighting antibodies are especially plentiful in your colostrum – the yellowish watery-looking milk you produce in the first few days after delivery. Colostrum is also choc-full of essential vitamins and proteins.
Posted in Children's Health
