ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Breastfeeding-Tips

Updated on March 10, 2009

Breast feeding benefits



Breast milk is the best food for most newborns. Mother Nature has evolved breast milk were by it contains all the nutrients a newborn needs for healthy growth and development during the first six months of life, as well as substances that help protect a newborn from numerous infections.

The fetus gets all its needed nutrients from the mother through the blood vessels that travel from the placenta through the umbilical cord and into the baby's bellybutton, while it is growing and developing. This includes compounds that help protect the baby's immune system from harm.

The baby's immune system is still not fully mature even after birth. But nature has cleverly developed a solution, fortunately.


Colostrum

The added help the baby needs, they get in part from colostrum found in the mother's milk via breastfeeding. Breast feeding is usually recommended for the first 12 months of life.

During the first few days of the baby's life, the mother's breast forms and delivers colostrum.

Colostrum is rich with fats, very high in protein, carbohydrates, white blood cells and other compounds that both nourish and provides an important super boost of antibodies to protect your baby and strengthen their immune system.

Colostrum is their only defense against disease until their own individual immune system develops the ability to respond to disease challenges.

Colostrum is the thick, sticky, yellowish breast milk that mothers produce for their babies only for a few days after giving birth.

Colostrums contains a particular type of antibody proteins called immunoglobulin.

Placenta and Immunoglobulin

Unborn babies receive immunoglobulins from their mothers through the placenta; the organ that permits exchange between the baby fetus and the mother. Blood from the fetus (Unborn baby) and the mother do not directly combine, but the thin placental membrane permits the fetus to receive oxygen and nutrients from the mother. Bodily waste from the unborn can be removed through the placenta.

Simple put, the placenta brings the grocery to the unborn baby from the mother and remove the trash back to the mother.

So consequently, when the infant is born they already have a full complement of immunoglobulins antibodies in their blood to defend them against bacteria and viruses until their own immune system is fully functional.

These antibodies are one of the body's leading weapons against invading fungi, viruses, bacteria, and further disease causing organisms.

Antibodies in the colostrums milk coat the gastrointestinal tract and protect against infections preventing them from entering the baby's bloodstream.

The colostrums also contains numerous macrophages; large white blood cell, found primarily in the bloodstream and connective tissue, that assists the body to fight off bugs by eating the disease-causing germs.

Breast milk is the best food for most newborns. Mother Nature has evolved breast milk were by it contains all the nutrients a newborn needs for healthy growth and development during the first six months of life, as well as substances that help protect a newborn from numerous infections.

Fat

Human milk contains just the right essential amount of water, sugar, fat, and protein for human digestion, hormone regulation, brain and nervous system development, and growth.

Babies need fat, both unsaturated and saturated. It is essential for growth, especially for the development of the brain, which is 60-per-cent fat and of the nervous system.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates is a nutrient energy source that the body's uses.

Carbohydrate is another collective category of food that includes fiber, starch, and sugars.

It is the primary source of food calories and energy for the body that adults will often try to keep down, although 57% of our protein intake normally is converted to glucose for energy.

But babies should never be put on a diet.

Breast milk

Breast milk is loaded in carbohydrates of just the right balance of vitamins, minerals and fat in the right amounts to help the baby develop in the best possible way.

Numerous studies have revealed that breastfeeding is extremely advantageous for babies. Human breast milk is the ideal nourishment for human babies. Its protein content particularly suited for a baby's metabolism, and the fat content is more easily absorbed and digested.

Most strongly suggest that breastfed babies have a better head start in life than those who are only bottle fed. Breast milk protects against ALL infectious diseases of early life, including dental cavities.

The pace of infectious illness is lower amongst newborns who are breastfed. The odds of breastfed babies getting infant diabetes are lower according to some studies. Breastfed babies see fewer doctor and hospital visits.

Children breastfed as babies also score higher on their IQ tests - a distinctive blend of substances found ONLY in breast milk boosts brain growth.

Mothers

Breastfeeding is also good for the mother. Women who breastfeed for several months have significantly lower rates of osteoporosis later in life, ovarian, breast, uterine cancers, and urinary tract infections.

Nursing promotes relaxation in your body; it also helps to helps your uterus contract back to size after birth, resulting in less postpartum bleeding. Numerous studies have found, again that the longer women breastfeed, the more they`re protected against breast and ovarian cancer.

Nursing is also nature's contraceptive-- even though not an awfully reliable one. Regular nursing suppresses ovulation, making it less likely for a nursing mother to menstruate, ovulate, or get pregnant.

When a mother doesn't breastfeed, she may experience an uncomfortable sensation in the breast. Take the time to massage your breasts while in the shower or bath, periodically throughout the day - such as when you're in the bathroom, and especially while baby is nursing.

Artificial pumping

Artificial pumping to extract the milk is usually required. Manual pumps, by their very character, are very quiet. What power choices the pump offers is also of importance. Manual, battery, or small electric breast pumps are intended for infrequent use and only after milk supply is well established. Rental/hospital grade breast pumps can cost $1,200 or more to buy and are therefore more inexpensive to rent. Manual or electric, a breast pump is great for continuing breastfeeding even when you're away from your baby. Don't forget to take a power point adaptor if your breast pump is electric.

Breastfeeding eliminates the need to do so.

Some breast feeding mothers may wish to use a pump anyway, in order to have a store of mother's milk available.

Bonding

Medically the bonding that takes place between mother and their newborn infant during breastfeeding may be hard to measure.

But the benefits are observable and real. There's still a lot to learn in the scientific community about the bonding that accurse between mother and baby during breastfeeding. We do know that the strong ties between parents and their youngster provide the baby's first example for positive self-esteem and intimate relationships and foster a sense of security. And the child's social and cognitive growth can be affected by the parents' responsiveness to the infant's signals.

Reliable studies

Some reliable studies suggest that breastfeeding also helps lower the odds of breast cancer and ovarian cancer by 25% (Ovarian cancer occurs when a tumor forms in one or both of a woman's ovaries).

Breastfeeding also delays the return of ovulation (Ovulation is a phase of the female menstrual cycle that involves the release of an egg (ovum) from one of the ovaries. New life begins if the ovum meets with a sperm during its journey down the fallopian tube.) and menstruation (Menstruation is part of the process that prepares a woman for pregnancy. Each month the lining of the uterus thickens; if pregnancy does not occur, this lining breaks down and is discharged through the vagina.).

That gives the recovering mother a break from having to deal with ovulation and menstruation during a very busy time of her life.

By breastfeeding you're giving yourself many benefits and your newborn the best possible start in life.

Nature has evolved breastfeeding to optimizing the health of both mother and child. Take advantage of all that breastfeeding has to offer.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)