What is So Important About Breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding in today's western culture is regarded as optional, often a hassle, and not something most mainstream mothers do. With attractive cans of heavily advertised formula, why waste our breasts on the baby? Everyone knows that breasts are for men and sex, not for infants, or heaven forbid toddlers, to suckle at. Luckily for many babies out there and the health of future man-kind, breastfeeding is making a come-back in our society.

If you've never been around a breastfeeding mother, then you may never have the slightest idea how wonderful nursing can be. There are many reasons to breastfeed; for better health, less allergies, an amazing bonding experience, and even for convenience. If you or your partner are expecting, or if you ever plan to be a parent, take a look at the many benefits to breastfeeding. Be sure to take the time to educate yourself rather than blindly accepting that can of powder and rubber nipple.

One of the most commonly known reasons to breastfeed is for good health. Breast milk is specially designed by nature to be all a baby needs from infancy to six months and beyond. It has the exact amount of calories and nutrients needed for a developing little human being. Did you know that breast milk is specially formulated by your body for your baby's age? Newborn milk has a different composition than the milk your body will produce for a six month old. Isn't that amazing? This way your baby is always getting exactly what they need, where as formula remains the same month after month.

Breastfed babies also have a lower instance of allergies, obesity, and other health problems commonly found in children today. They also get sick less often since the mother's body acts as a pharmacy for the baby. If the child picks up a virus their body will desire to nurse more often. The virus will pass through the baby's saliva, onto the mother's nipple, and into her body where her immune system will begin to develop antibodies for it. The next time the baby nurses, he will receive more than just milk--the milk will also contain the mother's antibodies, giving the baby a head start in fighting off the illness before he even gets a chance to show symptoms. This often results in a healthy baby who rarely becomes seriously ill. Breastfed babies have much lower instances of colds, flus, and diarrhea than the average formula fed baby.

How many parents do you know who try multiple types of formula in order to find one that doesn't give their baby terrible gas, indigestion, constipation, or diarrhea? Many formula fed babies are diagnosed with acid reflux, GERD, or colic. No one ever comes out and says that all this could have been prevented if the baby had only been breastfed, but that is the honest truth. Granted, there are some breastfed babies who do suffer these same issues, but it is more rare than common, unlike in formula fed infants. The simple fact of the matter is that formula is not natural. Everything in a baby's body has been prepared based on the knowledge his genes have inherited from his ancestors over hundreds, even thousands of years. Nothing in that knowledge has warned the baby's gut flora of milk from another animal, chemical vitamins, and other artificial things found in formula. A baby is born expecting nothing but milk from his mother's breast. Breastfeeding is simply every baby's birthright.

As soon as an infant emerges from his mother's womb, in an ideal situation, he is placed upon his mother's stomach. It is then that he begins to root around, in search of one thing: the nipple. It is an amazing thing to witness, a tiny, slimy human being crawling up his mother in search of nourishment so soon after his traumatic trip down the birth canal. Nature has prepared him to nurse. He knows exactly how to find his mother's breast because the glands around the nipple secrete a subtle smell only the infant can recognize. It's the same scent that surrounded him in the womb, the scent of the amniotic fluid. It smells exactly like that warm comforting place he has called home for the past nine months, so he uses every fiber of his being to move towards it and latch onto it.

Almost every woman's body produces colostrum, beginning in the late weeks of pregnancy and lasting for a few days after birth until the milk fully comes in. Colostrum is known as liquid gold. It is exactly what your baby needs for his first few days of life. It is rich in nutrients and antibodies to protect him as he becomes accustomed to life outside the womb.

As you nurse your new baby you will most certainly begin to feel an overwhelming, protective bond. Nursing stimulates the release of oxytocin in your brain. This is the same hormone that causes your uterus to contract after birth to slow down bleeding. It is the same hormone that helps relax your body and reduce stress. It is the same hormone that is involved in the feelings of love. Nursing helps many mothers deal with less sleep and the long, stressful days that come with parenting. It forces the mother to take a few moments multiple times a day to sit down and snuggle her baby while being pumped full of relaxing feelings, erasing the stress of a crying child and messy house. The release of oxytocin is nature's way of helping a new mother, or any mother, cope with life. It's like throwing a life preserver to a person drowning at sea. No matter how terrible you may be feeling, nursing will cause you to relax and marvel over the wonderful creature that is your child. In return, breastfeeding provides everything an infant desires out of life. Nourishment, warmth, and love, all found in his mother's arms at the breast against her skin.

Breastfeeding is not only healthy and an amazing boding experience, it is also much easier than bottle feeding. It is true that nursing can sometimes be difficult at first, but once you and your baby have both learned what to do and gotten to know each other better you will be glad you stuck with it. There is nothing like being able to comfort a crying baby quickly with your breast. Breastfeeding is easy at night. You never have to stumble around the kitchen trying to mix up a bottle and heat it while your baby cries. Instead, you just snuggle the baby close to you and nurse while you both drift off to sleep. Breastfeeding requires no dish washing. Breastfeeding is totally free too. Your breasts will always be ready to give your baby a meal at any time. It will always be just right, never too hot or cold. It will never spoil. You will not have to worry about transporting it on a plane or keeping it cool on a car trip. It can be quickly and discreetly given in the movies, while shopping, in the car, or at the park. Breastfeeding is a simple solution to a busy mother's day--you usually even have one free hand to type or read or change the channels on the TV.

If you have never been around a breastfed baby you might not realize what a difference breast milk makes for their digestion. Breastfed babies do not have to be burped nearly as much as formula fed babies. They tend to spit up less, though some babies will still gladly spew what seems like half of their meal all over your front. When breastfed babies do spit up it doesn't smell badly or stain the way formula spit up can. Know the best part of breast milk digestion? The poop does not stink. It is almost sweet smelling and not unpleasant like that of a formula fed baby. And as a bonus, breastfed babies are never constipated.

Many medical organizations and doctors recommend breastfeeding as the sole source of nutrients for babies for the first six months of life. The World Heath Organization (WHO) says the following:

"Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfedfor the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production."

Statements on the importance of breastfeeding from many other similar organizations can be found here.

Why would nature go through so much trouble to prepare infants to nurse, use so much energy from the mother to produce colostrum and breast milk, and then intend for a baby to drink an artificial man made creation known unappetizingly as "formula"? Of course nature did not intended, or even design human beings develop and grow without mother's milk. Formula companies would like to lead you to believe that formula is just as healthy as breast milk. This is honestly not the least bit true. Formula can feed a hungry baby and help it to grow strong, but it cannot in any way provide the same level of nutrients that breast milk does. A plastic bottle and rubber nipple can in no way forge the same bond that a nursling and his mother share.

So why are so many babies bottle-fed and not nursed? Why do so many parents automatically choose to formula feed or give up on breastfeeding so quickly? They are pressured from advertisers, free samples, doctors, taught myths, and then made to think it's the right thing to do to just give in a mix up a bottle of formula. If you are interested in breastfeeding, take the time to educate yourself. It is not always easy for the first few weeks, especially with so much pressure to give up. Arm yourself with knowledge, surround yourself with encouraging people and experience mothers, and be prepared to not give up no matter what. Have the number of a lactation consultant or a La Leche League leader ready to call if you have any questions or experience problems in those first few weeks. Breast milk is what is best for your baby and for you, please don't let anyone tell you otherwise.