By Michael Sze, M.D., Southern Ocean Medical Center, Obstetrics & Gynecology

 
For a new mom, the experience of breastfeeding is special for many reasons, including the bonding with baby, and the health benefits for both mother and newborn.

Human milk is recognized as the optimal feeding for all infants because of its proven health benefits to infants and their mothers. The World Health Organization (WHO), The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and The United States Preventive Services Task Force all recommend exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months of life. However, the rates of exclusive breast-feeding at six months were only at 12 percent in 2010 in the US. In the era of promoting healthy mom and healthy babies, breast-feeding has been on the forefront in emerging new trends.

Stages of Breastfeeding
Breast milk in the earlier stages of feeding is extremely beneficial for a baby’s health. Colostrum is the thick yellow fluid that a new mother’s body creates just after birth; the milk is very rich in nutrient and antibodies to protect your baby. This early period of breastfeeding is the most crucial as a mother’s antibodies are passed onto the baby who is vulnerable to germs, bacteria, and illness.

The colostrum changes into what is called mature milk. By the third to fifth day after birth, this mature breast milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein to help newborns continue to grow.

Benefits of Breast Milk over Formula
For all 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. There are no antibodies in formula to protect your baby. 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.

Formula-fed babies have higher risks of:
•    Ear infection
•    Diarrhea
•    Necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects gastrointestinal tract
•    Lower respiratory infections
•    Asthma
•    Obesity
•    Type 1 + 2 diabetes
•    Childhood leukemia
•    Atopic dermatitis (skin rash)
Breastfeeding has also been shown to lower the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Mom benefits too
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!

Formula and feeding supplies can cost well over $1,500 each year. Breastfed babies are also sick less often, which can lower emotional trauma and health care costs.

Physical contact is important to newborns. It can help them feel more secure, warm, and comforted. The skin-to-skin contact can boost the mother’s oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is a hormone that helps milk flow and can calm the mother.

Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these health problems in women:
•    Type 2 diabetes
•    Breast cancer
•    Ovarian cancer
•    Postpartum depression

Many studies have reported greater weight loss to ideal body weight for breastfeeding mothers than for those who don’t. Breastfeeding mothers miss fewer days from work because their infants are sick less often.

If you have questions about breastfeeding, talk to your physician to learn more about the health benefits for both you and your baby.