Your Health: Benefits of Breast feeding

August is National Breastfeeding Month and the perfect time to celebrate the amazing benefits of breastfeeding! One of the most important decisions a mother will make is whether to breastfeed her new baby. There are numerous ways breastfeeding can help promote the health and emotional well-being for both mom and baby.

Early breast milk or colostrum is the thick yellow first breast milk that is made during pregnancy and just after birth. This milk is very rich in nutrients and antibodies which helps protect the baby. Colostrum then changes into what is called mature milk by the third or fifth day after birth. This mature breast milk has just the right amount of nutrients to help baby continue to grow.

Breast milk is also very easy for the baby to digest, so breastfed babies have less gas, colic, and spitting up. Breast milk fights disease because it contains cells, hormones, and antibodies to protect babies from illness.

Breastfeeding lowers a baby’s risk of certain infections and diseases such as ear infections, asthma, diarrhea and vomiting, eczema, childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. Breastfeeding may also reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

For moms, breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of health problems including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and postpartum depression. Breastfeeding mothers also miss fewer days from work because their infants are sick less often.

Physical contact between mom and baby is important to both as they bond to each other. Newborns feel more secure, warm and comforted. Breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet time, and the skin-to-skin contact can boost mom’s oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps milk flow and can calm mom.

Breastfeeding can save money. Parents who breastfeed save between $1200 - $1500 in infant feeding costs during the first year. Breastfed babies have fewer illnesses, doctor visits, and hospital stays so there are also additional savings in healthcare costs. Breastfed babies are healthier, so their parents who work outside the home miss fewer days of work and lose less income.

Breastfeeding is also better for the environment. There is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies.

For more information on the benefits of breastfeeding or if you have questions relating to the breastfeeding experience, contact the WIC office at City-County Health District at 845-8518 or your healthcare provider.

Andrea Winter is a licensed registered dietitian at ON THE MOVE and the WIC Director at City County Health District.

Your Health is coordinated by City County Health District.