Breast Feeding Your Baby is Best For Both of You

Breast feeding is recognised as a great start to your baby's life. Most pediatric specialists recommend at least 3 months and up to 12 months if possible. This is to the benefit of both the baby and you as a new mother. Breastfeeding is great for your baby for several well established reasons.

Your breast milk is filled with all the vital vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, protein and fats your baby needs to develop healthily and progress towards toddler hood.

Research has established that babies who are either breast fed or receive expressed breast milk in a bottle have a lower mortality rate and fewer episodes of being unwell compared to bottle fed babies.

Your breast milk contains lots of protective nutrients and antibodies that help with protection against frequently observed illnesses such as ear infection, diarrhea and chest problems.

Recently reported studies have demonstrated your breast milk has vital fatty acids which are important in the development of your babies brain and they seem to boost skills and abilities.

Of course breast feeding has many benefits for you as a new mother and these include

When your baby first suckles, the act stimulates your body to produce a vital hormone that helps your womb contract back towards its normal size.

Breast feeding helps you to bond with your baby and gives many new mothers an intense gratification to be able to feed and nurture their new son or daughter.

It has been suggested that breast feeding women may be less prone to developing post natal depression although this has not been demonstrated as yet.

Your risk of developing cancers of the breast, womb or ovary seems to be reduced if you have breast fed your children.

Many new mothers can have difficulty when first starting breast feeding, as it is not always easy. In this situation there should be support available from midwives, other mums or relatives. Even with this help some women are not able to breast feed which can cause great distress, even though it is in no way their fault.

Breast feeding your new baby is the goal of many new mothers and id good for both them and their babies.