Ten Benefits of Brestfeeding to Babies.

Ten Benefits of Brestfeeding to Babies.
Once thought to be "no longer worth the bother"1, breastfeeding has been rediscovered by modern science as a means to save lives, reduce illness, and protect the environment.
Breastfeeding promotion and support has been recognized as a healthcare priority by the World Health Organization .

Why is Breastfeeding so Important for Infants?
1-Human milk is easy to digest and contains all the nutrients that babies need in the early months of life.
2-Human milk contains special enzymes to optimally digest and absorb the nutrients in the milk before infants are capable of producing these enzymes themselves.
3-Breastmilk contains multiple growth and maturation factors.
4-Factors in breastmilk protect infants from a wide variety of illnesses.
Breastmilk contains antibodies specific to illnesses encountered by each mother and baby.
5-Research suggests that fatty acids, unique to human milk, play a role in optimal infant brain and visual development.
In several large studies, children who had been breastfed had a small advantage over those who had been artificially fed when given a variety of cognitive and neurologic tests, including measures of IQ.
6-Lack of breastfeeding is a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Human milk seems to protect the premature infants from life-threatening gastrointestinaldisease and other illnesses.
7-Infants who are exclusively breastfed for at least four months are half as likely as artificially fed infants to have ear infections in the first year of life.
Breastfeeding reduces the incidence and lessens the severity of bacterial infections such as meningitis, lower respiratory infections, bacteremia and urinary tract infections in infants.
8-Breastfeeding is protective against infant botulism. 59
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of "baby-bottle tooth decay" in infants.
Breastfed infants are less likely to have diarrhea.
Evidence suggests that exclusive breastfeeding for at least two months protects susceptible children from Type I insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).
9-Breastfeeding may reduce the risk of subsequent inflammatory bowel disease and childhood lymphoma.
10-Breastfeeding confers some protection against allergy.

New research suggests that older children and adults who were breastfed as infants, arelikely to have less adult illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension and auto-immune diseases.

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23 December 2008