We all want the best for your babies, that’s a given. We spend hours, days and even months preparing for their arrivals. We decorate the nursery and we decide on the best diapers to use. We even think about what college they should attend long before they can take their first step. When it comes to feeding our babies, the best nutrition is mother’s milk. Here are 7 top reasons why you should breastfeed your baby:
1. The Nutritional Value of Breast Milk Can’t Be Copied Cow’s milk and manufactured formulas contain healthy nutrients for your baby. But they can’t compare to breast milk. Everytime you breastfeed your baby, you’re supplying their growing little bodies with a host of natural fatty acids, amino acids, antibodies, lactose and more. Studies have shown that babies who are breastfed are sick less than babies who aren’t. Breastfed babies are shielded from bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, ear infections and German measles, just to name a few illnesses.
2. Breast Milk is Naturally Sterile and Safe
When you feed a baby bottles of cow’s milk, or a store-bought formula that’s mixed with water, you have to be ultra careful that everything involved with the feeding is sterile. Otherwise, your baby can pick-up germs and organisms that can be harmful to their health. The most common illness associated with dirty bottles is diarrhea.
Breastfeed your baby on the other hand, and you can be sure, as long as you keep your nipples clean, the breast milk, along with the feeding process, will be sterile and safe for your baby.
3. It’s Always the Right Temperature
Another top 7 reason why you should breastfeed your baby is that this nutritional food is always the right temperature. You don’t have to worry about the milk being too hot, or not warm enough, like you do when you use bottles and cow’s milk or formula. Nor do you need to worry about contaminated water or expiration dates.
4. Mother’s Milk Itself Never Causes Allergic Reactions
If you feed your baby natural breast milk, you’ll never have to worry about them suffering from allergic reactions. Your baby may get gas, for example, from a food that you’ve eaten. But, if that happens, all you need to do is to stop eating that food to remedy the problem.
Cow’s milk contains healthy proteins, but it’s these proteins that can cause the adverse reaction. According to Dr. Paul.com, milk allergies are the most widespread food allergies in babies and young children.
5. Breast Milk Costs Less Money
Obviously, breast milk is essentially free because a mother’s body produces it to feed her baby. Cow’s milk is running nearly five dollars a gallon, and manufactured baby formulas cost even more. For example, you can expect to pay about $25 for a 25.7 ounce container of plain Similac®. One quart of the “ready-to-feed” liquid variety costs around $8.00. Of course, the bigger your baby grows, the more formula s/he will need, and the more money it will cost.
6. Mother’s Milk Helps Reduces Female Breast Cancer
Studies show that females who were breastfed as infants grow up with a 25% less chance of developing breast cancer when they become adults. So, besides fortifying your baby’s health now, you can help protect your daughter’s health in the future as well, if you feed her breast milk instead of cow’s milk or store-bought formula.
7. Breast Milk is Better for Our Environment
Since mother’s milk comes in its own natural container, breastfeeding a baby involves no bottles, paper, wrappers, canisters or any man-made material of any kind. Feeding your baby cow’s milk or formula produces tons and tons of waste paper, tin, plastic, glass, rubber and other materials every year. These biodegradable materials add to our nation’s already overcrowded landfills. This is another top reason why you should breastfeed your baby.
