Advantages of breastfeeding for mom – You know the saying 'breast is best'?  Well it's true!  There is no better nourishment for your baby than breast milk as it is rich in vitamins and nutrients and will help your baby grow up to be as healthy as is possible. As well as offering many advantages to the baby, breastfeeding also offers a number of health benefits to the breastfeeding mom.

Now, although women who have just given birth have not yet started to produce milk ,the newborn is always put straight on the breast'.  There are some health benefits for the baby from this immediate introduction to her mother's breast, but there are also great benefits for the mom too.

    * The baby sucking at the breast will cause contractions right after birth, this will result in less bleeding for the mom, which in turn will enable the uterus to return more quickly to its shape prior to the pregnancy. 

    * Some Moms, after giving birth, struggle to shed the pounds that they put on during pregnancy; breast feeding can help in this regard. A breast feeding mom will be burning calories at quite a rate simply as a result of the feeding, this means a mom can lose weight much faster than if she fed her baby with a bottle. 

    * Many nursing moms have reported that breastfeeding has helped eased the effects of postpartum depression.

    * Breast feeding will create a special bond between the mother and her baby – something that cannot happen with formula-fed babies.  This is not just as a result of the intimate physical action of the process of breast feeding, but due to the release of a particular chemical – oxytocin – that occurs during breast feeding. This hormone (nicknamed the 'love hormone') creates a feeling of calm and well-being in both mother and baby and thus strengthens the bond between them.

    * As well as the above benefits there is also the economic and environmental savings that will be made from breastfeeding.  Formula milk can be expensive and added to this is the cost to utility bills of all the washing and boiling.  Do not under-estimate the convenience factor either – there is no preparation time for breastfeeding, unlike with formula-fed babies, breasts are always ready for feeding time.

Advantages of Breastfeeding – They say that 'breast is best' and whilst with the advances in formula milk this is not as true as it was there are still plenty of reasons to consider that breastfeeding is the best thing for your child.

    * Health – Provided you maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle breast milk is the best food that you can give to your baby.  Unlike the formula milk breast milk is fresh and full of natural goodness.  Research has shown that breastfed infants enjoy much lower rates of ear infections, rashes, diarrhea, allergies, hospital admissions and other medical problems than babies that were fed formula.

    * Disease resistance – During feeding a mother will also transfer antibodies to her baby that help protect from diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, botulism, influenza, staphylococcal infections, measles and ear infections.

    * Superior to cow's milk – Formula milk is made from cow’s milk and therefore contains a different type of protein than is found in human milk, which itself has over 100 different proteins not found in formula.  Formula milk can also create an allergic reaction in infants; this is almost unheard of with breast milk.

    * Obesity – Humans are obviously not as well adapted to digest formula milk as they are to digest human milk and as a result formula fed babies are often fatter than breastfed babies and research has shown that bottle fed babies are more likely to suffer from obesity in later life than her breastfed counterparts.  This is because once created fat cells never die, they can be reduced in size, but will always be there, ready to expand at the mere sight of a cream cake or box of chocs!

    * Bonding – Breast feeding also helps create a bond between you and your baby, not only psychologically, but physically through the release of the hormone Oxytocin, which is nicknamed the ‘love hormone’.  This natural chemical creates a sense of calm and wellbeing for both mother and child.

    * Positive effects for mom – It has been shown that breastfeeding actually helps the mother lose the extra weight put on during pregnancy and amazingly plays a role in reducing the effects of post-natal depression that can often strike new moms.  Studies also suggest that moms who breastfeed have been shown to have a lower risk of breast cancer and osteoporosis.

    * Economic – From a financial point of view breastfeeding is a no-brainer – it’s free!  Formula milk can be expensive and in these increasingly resource-scarce times don’t under-estimate the cost to your utility bills of all the washing and boiling of bottles.

    * Convenience – Unlike formula, breast milk is always ready, always available, convenient, and always the right temperature for feeding.

    * Enviromental -  From an environmental point of view breastfeeding is the ‘greenest’ way to feed your baby – no trash, no products, no mess: just you, your baby and your breasts!