In today’s modern times, mothers are increasingly failing to grasp the importance and need for breastfeeding for both themselves and their children. Many mothers believe that if they breastfeed their children then they may lose their body shape.
However, this is far from the truth.
This article is a guide to help mothers understand the benefits of breastfeeding for both their children and themselves as well.
Breastfeeding and its Benefits
Breastfeeding is a god gifted, the natural phenomenon of the formation of milk in mothers. Breast milk is the most nutritious milk which contains all kinds of vitamins, minerals, and growth enzymes that are essential for a newborn.
Breastfeeding is not only a wholesome experience for mothers but also has various implications on their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Let us take a look at the various ways in which breastfeeding can be beneficial –
Impact of breastfeeding on physical wellbeing
- Breastfeeding plays an important role in helping mothers to reduce pregnancy weight since the process of milk formation and feeding the baby can burn well over 500 calories every day.
- Breastfeeding also helps the mother in stimulating the uterus to return to its normal size.
- It also helps in having less bleeding post-delivery.
- This leads to fewer urinary tract infections and thereby helps them to stay happy.
Impact of breastfeeding on emotional wellbeing
- Hormones like oxytocin and prolactin are released which are very soothing hormones and result in bringing positive feelings and thoughts to the mind of the mother and thereby promoting stress reduction.
- It also provides a certain satisfaction to mothers and contributes to elevating their mood and spirits.
Breastfeeding also has a host of medically-proven benefits, such as –
- It lowers the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
- It also helps in reducing the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
- It also helps in decreasing the chances of endometriosis and osteoporosis with age.
- Mothers that breastfeed have very low chances of suffering from hypertension.
How does breastfeeding help babies?
Now let us look into the ways that babies can benefit from being breastfed.
It is noted that the immune system of breastfed babies is very strong and they do not frequently suffer from cold and flu. Breastfed babies also tend to develop fewer diseases and infections in the later years of their lives as well.
Some of the other benefits of breastfeeding include –
- Breastfed babies have fewer chances of developing leukemia and other infant cancers.
- Breastfed babies generally have few chances of asthma and other allergies to face.
- Also, diabetes and respiratory illness are found to be very less in breastfed infants.
- It also helps infants in developing favorable speech and orthodontic structures.
- Breastfed babies also have improved brain maturation.
Breastfeeding also shows major benefits in the later years of the baby, such as –
- Breastfed babies have a lower chance of developing heart disease.
- Breastfed babies have a lower chance of developing multiple sclerosis.
- There are fewer chances of developing lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Here’s the bottom-line
Breastfeeding has a lot of benefits for both mother and her child.
It is highly advisable for new mothers to breastfeed the baby exclusively for the first 6 months. Thereon, some solid foods should also be introduced along with regular breastfeeding. WHO, in ideal circumstances, recommends breastfeeding till the child attains the age of 2 years since it reduces the risk of breast cancer tremendously in the mother.
