What are the Advantages of Breast-Feeding

Several years ago, a study was conducted by Dr. Randolph Paine of the University of Iowa's department of family practice. He tested 40 breast-fed babies and 66 bottle-fed babies for a period of six months from birth. He found that breast-fed babies visited a physician an average of 1.6 times due to illness. The bottle-fed babies visited 2.8 times during this period. This is nearly twice as often.

Other studies have shown that breast-fed babies have six times the chance of living through their first year as bottle-fed babies. Ninety percent of all infantile deaths occur in bottle-fed babies.

Breast-fed babies are vigorous and healthy and are less likely to develop diseases—especially, the so-called contagious diseases, breast-fed babies will be less likely to have bowel troubles and gastrointestinal impairments.

Breast milk is always ready—it requires no fixing and is always there. It does not contain dirt or contamination and doesn't need preparation or measuring. It is always fresh and cannot deteriorate.

Breast-feeding is cheaper than, bottle-feeding (it costs you nothing) and gives you more time to be with baby because you spend less time preparing, sterilizing, warming, cooking, and cleaning up after bottles.

Breast milk is formula perfect for baby's digestive system. It is readily assimilated and easy to digest, allowing baby more energy for better growth of brain and body.

A baby has an inexhaustible need to be loved. Breastfeeding shows him he is loved. It gives him a secure feeling of being snuggled closely to you when nursing. Breastfeeding provides closeness and warmth—a close contact that bonds a mother with her child.

Baby's sucking after birth helps the uterus of the mother to contract to its normal size quickly. This prevents excessive bleeding after delivery.

Babies that are breast-fed are less likely to be constipated or have skin disorders and respiratory ailments. They will not have any of the so-called "allergies" common among bottle-fed babies. They're also free of gastroenteritis, blood poisoning, and will have fewer dental problems later in life.

If a woman is breast-feeding solely, that is, not feeding her baby anything but breast milk, her ovulation will be postponed for as much as two years. This means that if she does indulge in sex while lactating, she will not get pregnant as soon. Thus, natural child spacing and no artificial means of birth control is necessary.

Another advantage of breast-feeding babies is that their stools will not smell foul. They smell sweet and are loose and yellowish in color rather than hard, dark-colored, and foul smelling as in bottle-fed babies. This is because breast milk is easily digested and it doesn't putrefy in the baby's body.

In spite of the many advantages of breast-feeding, it does not guarantee good mothering. There is much more to good mothering aside from providing the best food.

Also there is much to know about breast-feeding such as when to feed, how often to feed, under what conditions to feed, how much to feed, etc. This will be covered later in this lesson.