Breastfeeding

From ArticleWorld

Breastfeeding allows a mother to feed an infant or young child milk from her breasts.

Why it works

Babies have a natural sucking reflex. This urge enables them to latch on to their mothers’ breasts and take in milk (as long as the latch on correctly).

Breast milk benefits

• For the infant.

Breast milk that is fed from the breast directly is immediately available and has been shown to decrease risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The sucking technique is believed to encourage proper teeth and speech development. Breast milk has been shown to lower the risk of: diabetes, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, asthma, allergies, urinary tract infections, chest infections, ear infections, obesity and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. It has also shown that children who breastfed, on average, scored hire on IQ tests than children who did not breast feed.

• For the mother.

Breastfeeding has been proven to release hormones that are known to relax the mother and allow her to experience feelings of nurture toward her infant. Doing so as soon as possible after birth will result in an increase in levels of oxytocin, encouraging the womb to contract and thereby decrease bleeding after birth. It burns fat, and may help the mother return to her previous weight faster. It has also been shown to result in a reduced risk for both ovarian and breast cancer.

Those who don’t breast feed

As long as the mother has no diseases like HIV and HTLV-1, which can be transmitted via bodily fluids, breast milk provides the optimal nutrition for her child. Some medicines, also, may transfer through breast milk.

Some mothers, however, choose not to breast feed their children. This may be for medical or personal reasons. It has been associated with pain and irritation with the mother’s nipples and some babies may refuse to take the breast or be unable to nurse well enough to obtain optimal nutrition.