When preparing to have a baby, there are many things to consider and many choices to make. How you plan to feed your baby is perhaps one of the more important choices you must make.
Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for infants, specially formulated for your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that infants be breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life.
Advantages
Breastfeeding has many advantages for both mom and baby.
- Breastfeeding has been shown to have a protective effect on children during infancy and beyond. Research shows that children who are breastfed have a lower incidence of various health problems, such as ear infections, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, allergies, meningitis, and SIDS.
- Breast milk is easy for your baby to digest, does not require any preparation, and costs nothing.
- Breastfeeding also provides mom and baby with valuable time to bond with one another.
- Breastfeeding has several advantages for the mother as well. The hormones excreted during breastfeeding allow the uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy size faster. In addition, the calories burned during lactation help the mother to shed postpartum weight more quickly.
- Breastfeeding is also correlated with lower rates of breast and ovarian cancer later in life.
The decision to breastfeed is a personal one. Though the benefits of breastfeeding are well established, some women are unable to breastfeed for various health reasons, or choose not to breastfeed for individual reasons. If you have any questions or need additional information, please speak with your pediatrician or nurse practitioner. We are committed to promoting breastfeeding while respecting your personal decisions as a parent.
Common Concerns
View answers to commonly asked questions concerning breastfeeding.
Web Links
For more information about breastfeeding, try these helpful links:
- www.lalecheleague.org
- www.aap.org/healthtopics/breastfeeding.cfm
- www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding
- www.gotmom.org
