Benefits of

Breastfeeding

 The experience of breastfeeding is special for so many

reasons, including:

The
The
The
The

joyful bonding with your baby

perfect nutrition only you can provide
cost savings
health benefits for both mother and baby

Breast milk has disease-fighting antibodies

Breastfeeding is a learned skill
Breast milk is the perfect food for your baby and it cannot yet
be replicated in any lab.
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Benefits
Baby

Mother

Society
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Benefits to Baby
Early breast milk is liquid gold
Known as liquid gold, colostrum (coh-LOSS-trum) is the thick yellow first breast
milk that you make during pregnancy and just after birth. This milk is very rich
in nutrients and antibodies to protect your baby. Although your baby only gets
a small amount of colostrum at each feeding, it matches the amount his or her
tiny stomach can hold.

Benefits to Baby
Your breast milk changes as your baby grows
Colostrum changes into what is called mature milk, by
the third to fifth day after birth. It is a thinner type of
milk than colostrum, but it provides all of the nutrients
and antibodies your baby needs.

Benefits to Baby
Breast milk is the most complete nutrition for infants. A
mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar,
water, and protein needed for a baby's development
and growth. Most babies find it easier to digest breast
milk than formula.
In other words, breast milk doesn`t cause gas, formula
causes gas.

Benefits to Baby
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 diarrhoea are more common. Formula-fed babies also have
higher risks of:
Necrotizing (neck-roh-TIE-zing) enterocolitis (en-TUR-oh-coh-lyt-iss), a disease
that affects the gastrointestinal tract in preterm infants.
Lower respiratory infections
Atopic dermatitis or Eczema
Asthma
Obesity
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Childhood leukemia
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
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Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding uses up extra calories/energy, making it
easier to lose weight after pregnancy. It also decreases
any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth.

Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding can make your life easier
Breastfeeding may take a little more effort than formula
feeding at first. But it can make life easier once you and your
baby settle into a good routine. When you breastfeed, there
are no bottles and nipples to sterilize. You do not have to buy,
measure, and mix formula. And there are no bottles to warm
in the middle of the night.

Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding can save money.
Formula and feeding supplies can cost well over $7000
tt each year, depending on how much your baby eats.
Breastfed babies are also sick less often, which can
lower health care costs.

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Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding is good for the mothers health
Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these health
problems in women:

Type 2 diabetes
Breast cancer
Ovarian cancer
Postpartum depression
Osteoporosis

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Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding delays the return of normal ovulation and
menstrual cycles.
(You should still talk with your doctor or nurse about
birth control choices.)
Successive pregnancies before the body has time to
recover has a whole host of negative implications.
2024

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Benefits to Mother
Breastfeeding can feel great. Physical contact is
important to babies. It can help them feel more secure,
warm, and comforted. Mothers can benefit from this
closeness, as well. Breastfeeding requires a mother to
take some quiet relaxed time to bond. The skin-to-skin
contact can boost the mothers oxytocin (OKS-ee-TOHsuhn) levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps milk flow
and can calm the mother.

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Benefits to Society
Nursing mothers miss less work.
Breastfeeding mothers miss fewer days from work
because their infants are sick less often.

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Benefits to Society
Breastfeeding saves on health care costs. Breastfed
babies need fewer doctor visits, prescriptions, and
hospitalizations.
Also reduces infant mortality/death rates, improving the
nation`s quality of care.
Breastfed babies tend to develop into healthy adults
further reducing health care cost.

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Benefits to Society
Breastfeeding is better for our environment. There is
less trash and plastic waste compared to formula use.

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Breast Feeding Technique

Environment:
The mother should be in a relaxed and comfortable
environment. There should be no distractions to allow
her to focus on bonding with her infant.

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Breast Feeding Technique

Positioning of the mother & infant: The mother can
lie on her side or be seated comfortably in a chair. The
most common position involves cradling the infant next
to the breast from which he or she will feed, with his or
her head propped up by the mothers arm. The infants
stomach should be placed flat against the upper
abdomen of the mother. Skin to skin contact is
absolutely necessary for this procedure because it
maintains the infants body temperature and facilitate
bonding. Another position is the football hold. This
involves the infant being cradled with the arm with its
head in the mothers hand and the feet oriented
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towards the mothers elbow.

Breast Feeding Technique

Presenting the breast to the infant: The mother can
use the scissor grasp or palmar or C grasp. With the
palmar grasp, the mother puts her thumb finger above the
areola and her remaining fingers below the breast to form a
C or a cup. The scissor grasp involves the mother placing
her thumb and index finger above the areola and her
remaining fingers below the breast. This should look as if
you are creating a V between the index and middle
fingers. The nipple should not be pointed upward when
using either grasp and the grasp itself should not prevent
the infant from achieving a proper attachment to the nipple.
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Breast Feeding Technique

Achieving latch-on: The suckling reflex is initiated when the
nipple touches the upper lip. The infants tongue will extend and at
this time the mother should manoeuvre her nipple into the mouth.
The infants mouth should cover the entire areola. The mother
should observe and listen for the infants feeding rhythm which is
suckling and swallow. This is an indicator of proper latch-on.
Breastfeeding should be done for 30-40 minutes every 2-3 hours.
Alternate breasts should be used for the feeding intervals to
ensure to breast is emptied. Do not feed with one breast for every
feed throughout the day. In addition, if the 2 or 3 hour mark has
arrived and the infant is sleeping, you should wake the infant for
the feed.
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