The first weeks after giving birth are not always easy. The decision if to breastfeed your baby is up to you and it is not a simple one, so to help you survive the difficult moments, we wrote a short summary of what is known about breastfeeding from medical researches.

 

Many medical experts and health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), strongly recommend exclusive breastfeeding as the best nutrition for your baby until the age of 6 months (with no addition of water, formula or juice). It is also recommended to continue breastfeeding at least until the baby is one-year-old (or longer if you wish!) while adding other foods at the age of six months.

 

Breast milk is the ideal nutrition for your baby, and is produced especially for him. The breast milk contains all the nutrients your baby needs in order to grow and is provided in a way that is easier for your baby to digest than formulas.

 

Breastfeeding has many benefits for your baby. Here are a few of them:

• Breastfeeding decreases the risk of obesity in adulthood.

• Breast milk lowers the risk of chronic illnesses such as asthma, celiac, diabetes, atopic dermatitis and allergies.

• Breastfeeding helps your baby fight off pathogens such as viruses and bacteria and decreases the risk of infections. It is known that breastfeeding infants suffer less from respiratory infections, bouts of diarrhea and ear infections.

• It was shown in studies that breastfeeding even lowers the risk of serious illnesses like Leukemia (cancer of the blood cells) and death from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).  

• Breastfeeding has been even linked to higher IQ scores later on in life in some studies.

 

Moreover, breastfeeding holds some benefits for you, the mother:

• Breastfeeding mothers suffer less from bleeding after giving birth.  

• Breastfeeding can help you lose the weight gained during pregnancy.

• Studies have shown that breastfeeding decreases the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and even breast and ovarian cancers.

 

In addition to all these benefits, the breastfeeding saves you a lot of money, is available for your baby almost everywhere when he is with you and is ready at exactly the right temperature, without the need to warm bottles and sterilize them. Above all, after you overcome the first difficulties, there is no substitute to the special bond that is created through breastfeeding between you and your baby.