The Benefits of Breastfeeding
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Human milk is uniquely suited for human infants
• Babies were born to be breastfed.
• Human milk is easy to digest and contains more than 200 components that babies need in the early
months of life.
• Factors in breast milk protect infants from a wide variety of illnesses.
• Children who have been breastfed have less risk of becoming overweight or obese, even as adults.
• Research has shown that children who had been breastfed had higher IQs.
Breastfeeding saves lives
• Lack of breastfeeding is a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Human milk protects premature infants from life-threatening gastrointestinal disease.
• Breastfed children have lower risk of dying before their first birthday.
Breastfed infants are healthier
• Formula fed infants have twice the risk of having ear infections in the first year than infants who are
exclusively breastfed for at least 4 months.
• Breastfeeding reduces the incidence, and lessens the severity of a large number of infections, including
pneumonia and meningitis in infants.
• Breastfeeding protects infants against a variety of illnesses, such as diarrhea and infant botulism.
• Breastfed babies have less chance of allergies, asthma and eczema.
• Evidence suggests that exclusive breastfeeding for at least two months protects susceptible children
from Type I insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (DDM).
• Breastfeeding may reduce the risk for subsequent inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis and childhood cancers.
Breastfeeding helps mothers recover from childbirth
• Breastfeeding helps the uterus to shrink to its pre-pregnancy state and reduces the amount of blood lost
after delivery.
• Mothers who breastfeed for at least 3 months may lose more weight than mothers who do not breastfeed.
• Breastfeeding mothers usually resume their menstrual cycles 20 to 30 weeks later than mothers who do
not breastfeed.
Breastfeeding keeps women healthier throughout their lives
• Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months can help in child spacing among women who do not use
contraceptives (The Lactation Amenorrhea Method).
• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
• Breastfeeding may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
Breastfeeding is economical
• The cost of infant formula has increased 150 percent since the 1980’s.
• Breastfeeding reduces health care costs.
Breastfeeding is environmentally sound
• Unlike infant formula, breastfeeding requires no fossil fuels for its manufacture or preparation.
• Breastfeeding reduces pollutants created as by-products during the manufacture of plastics for bottles
and metal for cans to contain infant formula.
• Breastfeeding reduces the burden on our landfills, as there are no cans to throw away.
