Benefits of Breastfeeding

Introduction:

Nursing mothers these days have form the habit of not breastfeeding their babies. Maybe because of their tight schedule, fear of the change of their beast architecture and some other reasons, even when there are a lot of campaign on exclusive breastfeeding (a situation where a child is given only breast milk for its nutritional need for a specific period of time). It is paramount that the benefits of this breast milk should be recited in a more understandable manner.

What is breast milk?

Breast milk is the milk specially prepared by nature for an offspring in mammals, readily available at or before birth of the offspring. This milk emanates from the breast or the mammary gland by the action of a hormone called oxytocin.

Types of breast milk:

There are two different types of breast depending on some stages post-natal and they are; Colostrum, transitional and mature breast milk.

Colostrum is the first stage of breast milk, thick and yellow in color and last for few days after the baby is born. This milk is rich in protein, antibodies, vitamins and minerals.

Transitional milk replaces colostrum, it is thin and white and rich in high quantity of fat, protein, lactose (milk sugar) and vitamins.

10 to 15 days after birth, mature milk begins. It is watery, bluish at the beginning and whitish at the end of breast feeding because of the increase in fat content of the breast milk.

Benefits of breast milk:

These benefits affect both the child and the mother.

1.    Bonding: you notice the rejection you receive when you try to take a child from her mother. This is because over the time the child had become attached and dependent on the mother. When a child sucks from the mother, it beholds the face, texture of the skin and even scent of the mother. The mother in the other hand also gets attached to the child.

2.    Pregnancy fat: a lot of fats acquired during pregnancy are lost during breast feeding.

3.    Antibodies: protection against infections and disease are acquired through disease-fighting antibodies that are passed from the mother to the child through breast milk.

4.    Vitamins and minerals: there are wide range of vitamins and minerals transferred to the child from the mother via breast milk, and these nutrients are readily available to the child.

5.    Proteins: these are also provided to the child through breast milk.

6.    Energy: lactose present in breast milk provides energy to the child.

7.    Fats: provides energy and warmth to the child.

8.    High IQ: research has proven that children who were proper given breast milk tend to have high IQ than ones who were not given or were given little breast milk.

With these few and important benefits, breast feeding your child remains the best thing a mother can give to her child.

So live healthy, live positive and think success.