Why Is Breastfeeding So Important?

With your first baby you will get a lot of advice from everyone. Each person you come in contact with will give you advice; whether you asked for it or not. Breastfeeding is one of those topics that people will give their opinion on. Whichever way you look at it, breastfeeding is very important in your baby’s development.

Breastfeeding has so many benefits for your baby. Here are some of them.

• It has all the vitamins and minerals that your baby needs for its development. Your breastmilk produces the correct amount of each vitamin to supplement your baby’s growth, thus giving them a very good start in life.
• It has millions of antibodies. Your breastmilk produces valuable antibodies that are integral to your baby’s immune system. It gives your baby the immune boost that it needs in this early stage of its life.
• The first breastmilk that you produce, that yellow to clear shade substance, is essential to boosting your newborn’s immune system. This will be the building block for their immune system and could play a positive role in their life as adults.
• It is ever-changing. It changes according to your lifestyle and your baby’s needs. Breastmilk will always contain all the nutrients that your baby will require. Plus the flavour changes according to what you eat. So your baby gets to enjoy all the flavours in the breastmilk. They get to experience different flavours instead of only one. As human beings we enjoy different tastes and so should your baby.
• It is beneficial to the mommy too. Yes, you benefit from it also. Producing and expressing breastmilk has a way of pulling your uterus in and back to normal. Your post baby pouch will become smaller within a few months if you continue. It is also a preventative measure against certain cancers by reducing your chances of contracting breast or ovarian cancer.
• Breastmilk is so dynamic that it produces a sleep hormone at night time so that babies can get used to the day/night sleep cycle. The sleep hormone produced at night will help your baby to sleep when it’s dark and should then regulate your baby’s sleep cycle.
• It is essential for brain development. Breastmilk contain nutrients that specifically assist in the development of the young brain.

Giving your baby the best nutritional sustenance will benefit their development in the long run. You could also get more advice at a fertility clinic or your doctor. Babies are a gift so it is only natural that you would want to give them the best.