Every ounce counts
IF you are a mother, you may have heard that breast milk is one of the best sources of nutrition for your baby.
It offers your child a healthy start with benefits that will last right into adulthood.
Breast milk is nutritionally balanced, providing all nutrients your infant requires for the first six months in the right proportions.
What’s more, it is easily digested and absorbed into your infant’s body.
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mothers to exclusively breastfeed infants for the child’s first six months of life.
Here are some of the key benefits breastfeeding offers both mother and baby:
For mothers
– Enhances post-partum weight loss and helps burn extra calories
– Reduces post-partum bleeding, helping the uterus return to its previous size
– Lowers the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, high blood pressure and post-partum depression
– Decreases the risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer
For babies
– Provides ideal nutrients for optimal growth and development
– Less likely to suffer from constipation and stomach upset
– Provides antibodies that can protect against allergies, diarrhoea, ear infections and respiratory tract infections
– Lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
While breastfeeding comes naturally to women, not all mothers have the capacity to produce sufficient milk for their babies.
This may be due to nutritional deficiencies, consumption of birth control pills, hormonal changes, improper latching position of the baby and infrequent breastfeeding.
For first-time nursing mothers who struggle with a low milk supply, do not give up just yet. Breastfeeding is a supply and demand process – the more you breastfeed, the more milk you produce.
Consider taking herbal remedies to naturally boost your milk supply. Fenugreek seed is one of the most potent galactagogues for increasing milk production. It works by stimulating milk ducts of the mammary glands. It also facilitates infant birth weight regain in early postnatal days.
Other noteworthy herbs include red raspberry leaf, blessed thistle seed and fennel.
In addition to their lactation-boosting benefits, red raspberry leaf helps reduce uterine swelling and strengthen the uterus following delivery, assisting in post-partum recovery.
Blessed thistle seed enhances appetite and relieves indigestion in nursing mothers while fennel aids in digestion and relieves symptoms of colic in babies.
In addition to its nutritional benefits, the physical closeness provides a bond to cultivate some of the most intimate moments between you and your little one.
This article is brought to you by VitaHealth. For enquiries, call 1800 183 288.