Breast Feeding Offers Many Advantages to Child and Mother - Health Tips

Breast-feeding is just one of the many options parents must consider when having a baby. When deciding how to feed her newborn baby, a mother should be familiar with the many benefits breast-feeding offers.

One of the most important advantages is that babies who are breast-fed are affected by fewer infections and allergies during the first year of life than those babies who are formula-fed. A mother’s milk helps to protect her child from illnesses such as diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, and serious illnesses.

According to Boys Town Pediatrics, a baby benefits from breast milk in many other ways as well, including:

Helping the body and brain grow and develop.
Digesting easily because it produces loose bowel movements that baby can easily pass.
Helping baby develop an intimate relationship with mother.

A mother can also benefit greatly from breast-feeding her child. Immediately, breast feeding benefits the mother by helping her uterus shrink after delivery by releasing a hormone called oxytocin.

Breast-feeding should be an enjoyable experience for mother and baby, suggests Boys Town Pediatrics. If for any reason the process is too stressful for you or your child, don’t beat yourself up about switching to the bottle. With love and proper nourishment, whether it comes from the breast or bottle, your child will be strong, happy, and healthy.

Boys Town Pediatrics is offering a mom’s luncheon on Breastfeeding and Returning to Work, on Thursday, July 10 at 11am at Kona Grill on the patio. To sign up, click on the Pediatric POINTES image on the Boys Town Pediatrics home page.

To register, click on the Pediatric POINTES icon on the Boys Town Pediatrics home page.