Human milk is more than food. A drop of breast milk contains around one MILLION white blood cells, which gobble up germs. Colostrum, the milk mothers produce in the first few days after birth, is power-packed with antibodies and is custom designed to provide her infant with immunity and protection.
Statistics
Globally less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. The WHO recommends infants should be exclusively breastfed until age 6 months, and then continue to be breastfed until age 1 to 2 years or beyond.
In Texas, the number of babies ever breastfed is 75.8%, breastfed at 6 months is 43.6% (exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months is 11.1%) , breastfed at 12 months 21.8%.
Recommendations
- To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, the World Health Organization (WHO) and The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend:
- Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life
- Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months – that is the infant only receives breast milk without any additional food or drink, not even water
- Breastfeeding on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night
- No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers to prevent nipple confusion
Benefits for the Child
- Helps mother and baby bond
- Gives baby antibodies to help their immune system
- Breastfed babies get fewer ear infections, have higher visual acuity, fewer problems with reflux, less diarrhea, and less constipation.
- Beyond the immediate benefits for children, breastfeeding contributes to a lifetime of good health. Adults who were breastfed as babies often have less allergies, less respiratory diseases (like asthma, influenza, and pneumonia) lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol, as well as lower rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes. Children breastfed for more than a year have less need for orthodontics. There is evidence that people who were breastfed perform better in intelligence tests.
Benefits for mother
- Encourages uterine contractions after birth to allow uterus to return to normal size
- Allows mothers to lose pregnancy weight faster
- Is convenient (Breast milk is always warm, clean, and available)
- Saves money
- Your period is less likely to return quickly, which is a natural (though not fail-safe) method of birth control.
- Protective against cancer (breast, uterine, endometrial, ovarian, and cervical)
Breastfeeding Resources
La Leche League International http://www.llli.org/
Breastfeeding Advice http://www.breastfeeding.com/
Breastfeeding & Parenting http://www.kellymom.com/
