Foundation of life

Breastfeeding not only provides physical, emotional, and mental health benefits but also builds the lifelong bond between a mother and her child. To focus on advocating breastfeeding as an important part of mother and baby’s health. Often, there are many misconceptions among women in India regarding Breastfeeding. Here is the list of facts and advice to new mothers

Advantages of Breastfeeding:

• Breast feeding increases the bond between mother and baby.
• Breast feeding decreases the risk of respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, asthma, food allergies in babies.
• Breastfeeding may also improve cognitive development and decreases the risk of obesity in adulthood.
• Food consumed by the mother doesn’t affect the baby’s health as it won’t be secreted in breast milk.
• Breast feeding doesn’t cause any disfiguration.

Advantages of breast milk:

• Breast milk is very nutritious and can easily be digested by the baby.
• Breastfeeding lowers baby's risk of sudden infant death syndrome by about half.
• It is also rich in lactose and enhances the growth of lactobacilli in the intestine.
• Hormone called oxytocin is released when baby sucks which helps the mom’s uterus to contract, and also reduces post-delivery blood loss. Also, breastfeeding will help your uterus return to its normal size more quickly.
• Breast milk is full of minerals. Some of the minerals in your breast milk are iron, zinc, calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and selenium. Minerals, like vitamins, are needed for healthy growth and development in the first six months of baby’s life.
• Breast milk has immunological factors like IgA, macrophages, lymphocytes, lysozymes, interferon which increase the immunity there by decreases infections in the baby.
• Breastfeeding can decrease baby's risk of some childhood cancers. And mothers have a lower risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Dr Annam Ashwini, consultant - obstetrician and gynecologist, Aster Prime Hospital.