The Benefits of Breastfeeding

Mothers making the decision about infant feeding should know that breastfeeding is clearly more than a lifestyle choice: it is a significant health decision with life-long consequences. While most people are aware that breastfeeding benefits your baby, the many physical, psychological, emotional and health benefits and advantanges for breastfeeding mothers are often overlooked or even unknown. The benefits ot breastfeeding include improved growth and development, nutrition, disease-protection and health for the baby, physical, psychological and enmotional benefits for the mother and efficient uses of natural resources without damage to the environment. Each of the breastfeeding benefits is summarized below, with links to more detailed information included.

The Nutritional Benefits of Breast Milk

Human breast milk, the best food for babies, contains the right amount of nutrients, in the right proportions, for the growing baby. A living, biological fluid, breastmilk contains many unique components. Mother's own milk changes composition as the baby grows to meet baby's changing nutritional needs. It serves as the nutritional model for artificial baby milks, but none of these can match it.

Breastfeeding and Baby's Immune System

Human milk is your baby's first immunization, as breast milk provides antibodies which protect your baby from many common respiratory and intestinal diseases, and also contains living immune cells. First milk, or colostrum, is packed with components which increase immunity and protect the newborn's intestines. Babies who are breastfed also receive protection from developing immune system cancers and other diseases related to immune system function. And breastfed babies generally mount a more effective response to childhood immunizations. In all these cases, benefits begin immediately, and increase with increasing duration of breastfeeding.

Infant Growth and Development

Growth charts from the World Health Organization confirm that breastfed infants grow differently from formula fed babies. Breastfed infants grow faster initially, then slow down (and approach normal growth) as they approach their first birthday. People artificially fed as infants go on to have a higher risk of obesity as adults.

Additionally, research shows that breastfeeding leads to optimal brain development. While there are behavioral aspects to this, the breast milk is important, too. Human milk has special ingredients like DHA (docosohexaenoic acid) and AA (arachidonic acid) which contribute to brain and retinal development. And all breastfed babies tend to spend a lot of their time in the "quiet alert" state which is most conducive to learning.

Special Needs Babies

For premature infants, breastfeeding has other special benefits. Premature breastmilk contains different amounts of some nutrients than term breastmilk, more suited to the needs of premature babies. Of course, the immune protection from breast milk is even more critical for prematures, and has been shown to reduce the risk of sepsis. Because of the reduction in infections, and the shorter time for a preemie to be able to suckle and breastfeed (as opposed to bottle feed), breastfed premature infants can usually leave the NICU sooner.

For babies with medical problems such as congenital heart disease, cleft palate, Down's syndrome, etc., breastfeeding immunologic and developmental benefits may be critical. In cases where the baby has a problem which affects ability to suckle at the breast, expressed breast milk from mother is still the best choice. Banked human milk, the availability of which is unfortunately limited, would be the second choice. Commercial artificial baby milks are preferable to other alternatives, but far from perfect substitutes for human milk. For every "new" component that is added to commercial baby milks to make them closer to human milk, several more components of human milk are discovered.

Breastfeeding and Fathers

So what's in it for Dad? Breastfeeding benefits fathers, too. First, and most straightforward, breastfed babies have less offensive dirty diapers. There are no bottles to prepare and warm in the middle of the night. Fathers benefit from having a healthy baby, and can play with, snuggle, and bathe the baby as their relationship develops. If participating in feeding is important, he can be the main solid-food feeder later. Dads generally also appreciate the impact on the family budget of lower health care costs, fewer sick days, and lack of need to buy formula. And all of the health benefits for mothers make it likely that his partner will be healthier.

Breastfeeding and The Environment

Another important issue related to infant feeding and health is the interaction between infant feeding method and the environment. Breastfeeding is a completely natural, efficient use of resources. In contrast, artificial feeding involves overgrazing of land by cattle; use of chemical fertilizers to grow the soy; use of valuable environmental resources for formula production; packaging and transportation of the product; use of water and fuel for mixing the product and heating it, for sterilizing bottles and nipples; waste disposal of the cans, bottles, accessories, cartons, etc.

Breastfeeding and Women's Health

Surprise: Breastfeeding is good for mothers, too! Not only that, but it is a joyful, relaxing experience.

Near Term Physical Benefits for Mothers

First, it almost goes without saying, what's good for babies is good for mothers. In other words, healthier babies are less stressful to care for, and the decreased medical costs are a boon to the family.

There are many direct health benefits to breastfeeding mothers. Immediately after birth, repeated bursts of oxytocin released in response to the baby's sucking cause the uterus to contract, which protects mothers from postpartum hemorrhage. Continued exclusive nursing tends to delay the return of ovulation and menstruation, decreasing the mother's iron losses and a reducing the risk of iron deficiency anemia.

Another well-documented benefit of breastfeeding is more rapid and sustained weight loss. Milk production uses up 200-500 calories a day. To burn off an equivalent number of calories, a bottle-feeding mother would need to swim 30 laps or ride a bicycle for over an hour.

Mothers who have had gestational diabetes benefit particularly from the efficient use of calories during breastfeeding, since a return to optimal weight may prevent subsequent development of diabetes. Furthermore, diabetic mothers who breastfeed tend to need less insulin or medication for their diabetes.

Longer Term Health Benefits for Mom

Prolonged suppression of ovulatory cycles appears to be associated with significant long-term health advantages as well. Mothers who breastfeed for at least 6 months throughout their lifetime have a decreased risk of breast cancer, and similar reduced rates have been shown for ovarian and uterine cancers.

For some time, there was concern about calcium loss during lactation and potential for osteoporosis. In fact, some literature actually lists breastfeeding as a risk factor for osteoporosis. Current medical literature demonstrates that not only is the loss in bone density during breastfeeding temporary, reverting to normal after weaning, but that bones may actually be stronger after prolonged breastfeeding. Far from a risk factor for osteoporosis, breastfeeding may actually protect against osteoporosis.

Psychosocial Issues in Breastfeeding

What about the emotional aspect of women's health? Where does breastfeeding fit in? Let's talk about mother-infant bonding, a somewhat controversial subject. Much is made about the way that breastfeeding facilitates this bonding, while at the same time it is clear that bottle-feeding mothers usually establish deep emotional bonds with their babies. This issue is difficult to study scientifically, but there is evidence of hormonal effects of breastfeeding which may predispose a mother to closer bonding with her infant. Combined with the automatic skin-to-skin contact and closeness afforded by breastfeeding (something which bottle-feeding mothers have to work to duplicate), this could result in improved bonding. An interesting sideline from a study in a developing country found that when breastfeeding rates were increased among mothers with a significant abandonment rate, fewer of these mothers abandoned their babies. Other studies have suggested that there may be a lower rate of child abuse in breastfeeding families considered to be at risk.