Nutritionists always suggest that breast milk is the best food for baby. However, breastfeeding completely depends upon the mother. If there are any kind of complications that can cause harm to the mother, then only the doctor suggest mother for bottle feeding of your baby.
Breastfeeding will give your baby the benefit of getting all the essential nutrients that your baby will need. Also, breast milk is a natural resource that is easy to digest for your baby.
By the help of breastfeeding, you are providing your baby the exact amount of nutrient that is needed. In addition, while you are breastfeeding it becomes a very special time to build an intimate loving bond between you and your baby through touch, smell, and vision. So, for creating a bond the baby must stay most of the time with the mother and breastfeeding is the best way.
There are many mothers who would prefer to feed their babies with baby food bought from the market. The reason is that they believe their children will grow stronger and smarter. This observable fact can be seen in the proliferation of infant milk products currently available in the market. Also, the advertisement claims that milk products are beneficial for babies. This shows the lucrativeness of the business of the infant formula industry.
However, for babies, breast milk is best because it contains exactly the nutrients that a baby needs. It is also easily digestible and used for the growth and development of the baby’s body. It also contains colostrum or glycans of human milk, the entero-mammary immune system that protects the baby from infections. Colostrum contains antibodies and is useful for the baby as the human milk protects the innate immune system. In addition, breast milk later in life reduces the risk of various diseases such as middle ear infections or eczema.
Your body will naturally produce colostrum during pregnancy; this is known as the first milk for the baby. Colostrum is a thick, rich, yellowish fluid that helps protect your child from infection. It also helps the baby to pass the first stool (meconium) as the colostrum has a mild laxative effect. This excretes the waste product of red blood cells called bilirubin and helps prevent jaundice.
Not only is breast milk best for babies, but breastfeeding is also benefit for mothers. Study shows that after giving birth breastfeeding reduces the incidence of bleeding among mothers. It can also help in osteoporosis, ovarian cancer and reduce women’s risk of cancer.
In addition to all above benefits, while feeding breast milk, there is no need to sterilize bottles and prepare packaged milk for breastfeeding. Taking baby out on trips is easy and you don’t have to worry about packing a bag with formula and bottles. It is easier to feed on demand as your breast milk is available immediately and at the right temperature at all times. For night feeds, breastfeeding your baby is less disruptive to your routine. By bringing the baby to your side will be helpful for both the baby and the mother.
Finally, it can be concluded that breastfeeding is a better method to feed a baby and also it helps the mother to remain healthy.