1. Breast milk is
easier to digest –
For most babies — especially premature babies — breast milk is easier to
digest than formula. The proteins in formula are made from cow’s milk and it
takes time for babies’ stomachs to adjust to digesting them.
2. Breast milk fights disease – The cells, hormones, and antibodies in breast milk protect babies
from illness. This protection is unique; formula cannot match the chemical
makeup of human breast milk. In fact, among formula-fed babies, ear infections
and diarrhea are more common.
3. Breastfeeding benefits society
The nation benefits overall when mothers
breastfeed. Recent research shows that if 90 percent of families breastfed
exclusively for 6 months, nearly 1,000 deaths among infants could be prevented.
The United States would also save $13 billion per year — medical care costs are
lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants. Breastfed
infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and
hospitalizations.
Breastfeeding also contributes to a more
productive workforce since mothers miss less work to care for sick infants.
Employer medical costs are also lower.
Breastfeeding is also better for the
environment. There is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by
formula cans and bottle supplies.
Breastfeeding in other
countries
Traditionally,
Japanese women gave birth at home and breastfed with the help of breast massage. Weaning was often late, with breastfeeding in
rare cases continuing until early adolescence. After World War II Western medicine was taken to Japan and the women began giving birth in hospitals, where the baby was usually taken to the nursery
and fed formula. In 1974 a new breastfeeding promotional campaign by the
government helped to boost the awareness of its benefits and its prevalence has
sharply increased. Japan became the first developed country to have a baby-friendly hospital.
5 comments:
Hi! I am a strong advocate for breastfeeding for the health benefits for mother and baby. You have provided a nice amount of information about the benefits of breastfeeding. I enjoyed reading the informative information about breastfeeding in Japan. I reviewed information about breastfeeding in Australia were almost all infants get the taste of breast milk. Thank you for sharing! :)
This was a very informative read. I have often heard of the many benefits of breastfeeding but I was not aware that it had the potential to reduce infant mortality rate. I am in favor of breastfeeding and I am pleased to see that the Japanese government made efforts to make mothers aware of its benefits. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel,your post was very good. You brought up issues that I did not think about. I also think breastfeeding would lower health costs because children are healthier on breast milk. Your comment about the environment rings true. Breast feeding would help more people to go green.
Sorry, I posted wrong.
Hi Rachel
I have always been a advocate for breastfeeding. I think that your post was great and information. Breastfeeding is vitally important for the young baby. It is how babies were designed, through millennia of evolution, to be fed, and as such is perfectly tailored to their needs. It provides perfect nutrition, presenting all the necessary components, and delivering them in the most bio-available way. It provides antibodies, protection from disease that helps to support the baby’s immature immune system. Other physical benefits are clear, though the mechanisms are not yet fully understood, for example the much lower rate of SIDS among breastfed, as opposed to artificially-fed, children. The influence of breastmilk on a child’s health is long-term – children breastfed even for just the first few months have much lower rates of diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer, even years later and on into adulthood.
Psychologically and emotionally, breastfeeding can be the basis for a strong, secure bond between mother and baby. This bonding provides the infant with a sense of security, reassurance, and comfort. Although secure bonding is not absolutely dependent upon breastfeeding, the act of breastfeeding does release certain hormones in both mother and baby (specifically, oxytocin), which are often referred to as the ‘love hormone’ and can help induce feelings of calm, peace, and affection.
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