What You Need to Know About Breastfeeding
One of the most important decisions you need to take as a new mother is whether to breastfeed or use formula milk for your baby. As you may know by now, there are so many benefits in breastfeeding, not only for the child, but for the mother as well. While breastfeeding is the best option according to experts, we cannot deny the fact that a lot of women still choose formula milk for various personal reasons.
Before weighing your options and deciding what you will choose, here are some important information that you should know.
When it comes to breastfeeding, it has two stages namely colostrum and regular milk.
Colostrum is the very first milk that you will have. It is a whitish, thick liquid that is expected during the first three days post-delivery. What you need to understand is that this is the best milk for your child because it contains not only protein and carbohydrates, but antibodies as well, which your baby needs to strengthen his immune system.
Colostrum also plays a big role in the newborn’s digestive system because it has a laxative effect. It will help the baby pass meconium, the baby’s first stool. Aside from this, it also helps in clearing out bilirubin to prevent newborn jaundice. To sum it all up, colostrum will help the baby adjust to the new environment.
The next stage is the regular milk. This milk is thinner than colostrum. Just like colostrum, it also contains antibodies that will help your baby to fight off different illnesses. It can strengthen the immune system to ensure that the body will be able to fight off germs and bacteria. To put it simply, the antibodies ward off the germs that may threaten your baby’s health. While this does not mean that breast-fed babies will not experience any sickness, they usually recover faster than those who have been fed formula milk.
Aside from the antibodies that breast milk can give, it is also known to help protect your baby from the following:
-Respiratory illnesses such as colds
-Ear infections
-Various types of allergies
-Digestive System disorders
-E-coli infections
-SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
-Childhood Cancers
-Diabetes-Meningitis
-Urinary tract infections
-Chron’s Disease
-Arthritis Aside from the benefits it can give to the baby, breastfeeding can also help the mother.
-It reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer.
-It helps the mother lose unwanted weight post delivery.
-It is a natural way to prevent pregnancy (Gives you the chance to space out your children)
These are just some of the great benefits of choosing breastfeeding over formula milk. Just like what we mentioned earlier, choosing between the two is a personal decision.