What is the best way to give your baby a great start in life? Breast feeding is one of the best things you can do to optimise your baby’s health and protect him from illness. One of the main benefits of breast feeding is that it’s free!

 

Along with saving you money on HMR (Human Milk Replacement), breast feeding can also help you to keep your medical bills down.  Babies that are fed with formula get sicker more often and more seriously than babies that are breast fed  They also have more ear infections, respiratory infections, and other health problems. 

 

This can be even more true if your family has had a history of allergies.  When a baby is breast fed, the antibodies pass on from the mother to the baby, helping to protect against illness and allergies.  As your baby’s system matures, his body will begin to make it’s own antibodies and he’ll be more equipped to handle sensitivities of food.

 

Sucking on the breast will also help with the development or jaw alignment and the development of the cheekbone.  For this very reason, there is less of a need for costly orthodontic work when the child gets older.

 

Breast milk is more convenient. It is available 24/7 and is always at the correct temperature for feeding. Breast milk also contains all the necessary nutrients in the way of vitamins and minerals for a growing baby. 

 

Not all the benefits of breast feeding are just for baby. Moms can benefit by the fact that breast feeding burns more calories than bottle feeding and that will help her lose weight – always a great benefit! At the same time she can create a special bond with her baby which is not always possible with formula feeding. The sucking action of the baby also causes contractions of the uterus, helping it to return to normal a lot faster.

 

If you’re a mom who’s unable to breast feed for one reason or another, this article is not intended to make you feel bad in any way. Bottle feeding is still a good option and there have been some considerable improvements to the formulas available today with added nutrients such as probiotics and omega 3.