Breastfeeding has many short- and long-term benefits
'Exclusive' breast feeding
For the first few months, mother's milk is the only food your baby needs. Breastfeeding exclusively offers several advantages: you always have the baby food with you and it is available to your baby any time – and at the perfect temperature. No additional food or liquid is necessary.
The benefits for your baby
Breast milk is easy to digest and quickly absorbed into your baby’s system. It offers the best start for:
- Growth & maturation
- Brain & eye development
- Cognitive development
- Speech, jaw and mouth development
- Supporting your baby’s emotional development by creating a special bond between you and your
- Protection against infection, ilnesses, allergy and asthma
Breastfeeding your little one offers additional benefits
The composition of your breast milk changes with the growing nutritional needs of your baby. It even changes during a feed – the first milk is thirst quenching, while the later milk is rich, creamy and full of good fats. Nowadays we know that breast milk may influence healthy dietary patterns in childhood and adulthood. In fact, our taste preferences start to be shaped in the womb and this continues throughout the rest of our lives.
Supporting the immune system of your baby
Even before birth your immune system helps to strengthen that of your little one. Antibodies are passed from you to your baby through the placenta during the last trimester of pregnancy. This gives your baby some protection right from birth.
Breast milk contains many elements that support a baby’s immune system, including specific nutrients and ingredients that work against infections that are passed from the mother. Colostrum, the thicker, somewhat yellowish first milk is especially rich in antibodies. In addition, there are breast milk components that help the baby develop a more efficient immune system as it matures over the first few years of life. Short-term health benefits of breastfeeding include a reduction in ear infections, diarrhoea, respiratory infections (such as bronchitis) and eczema. Later in life, breastfed babies tend to be at lower risk of asthma, obesity and diabetes.
Helps to develop a healthy mix of gut bacteria
The gut immune system harbours about 70% of our body's immune cells, along with an enormous collection of about 100 trillion gut bacteria (that really is a lot!) that make up the gut microbiota. Some types are harmful and can lead to disease and some bacteria are healthy; they aid digestion and boost your baby’s immunity. When there is a good balance between healthy and harmful bacteria, your baby’s immune system is better prepared to ‘fight off the invaders’ such as viruses and harmful bacteria.
During birth, bacteria from the vagina are passed on to your baby. This helps to build the colony of bacteria in the gut that contributes to its immunity. Breastfeeding also helps a baby to develop a healthy mix of gut bacteria. Bacteria from you are passed on to your baby during breastfeeding (from your skin and your breast milk). Breast milk contains oligosaccharides (prebiotic fibre), for example, which provide food for the good bacteria in the gut and help them grow and thrive.
When the gut is full of good bacteria (such as bifidobacteria), potentially harmful bacteria have a lower chance of causing illness. These good bacteria also help the gut lining to mature.
Benefits for you
Breastfeeding has health benefits for you as well, such as a lower likelihood of developing diabetes or hypertension. It may also help you with weight loss after your pregnancy. Numerous studies have found that the longer women breastfeed, the more they are protected against breast and ovarian cancer. It is not entirely clear how breastfeeding helps, but it may have to do with changing hormone levels and the structural changes in breast tissue. Breastfeeding may also help prevent postpartum depression.