Benefits Of Breastfeeding for Baby

If you are wondering about the benefits of breastfeeding for your baby, you might be amazed to know about the natural goodness you carry in your set of boobs! Every natural approach has a huge edge over its artificial replacement (in this case formula milk), and breast milk is no exception.

In this article:

Whenever we are told about a certain thing that is good for us, our first question is always "why". Why this? Why not that? So when it comes to breastfeeding, many new moms come up with the same set of questions.

Why breastfeeding?

Because breastfeeding benefits you and your newborn like no alternate approach can. Period.

There has been a never-ending debate between benefits of breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, and no matter how good a certain brand of formula milk is, breast milk has always been a clear winner. For details, refer to our breastfeeding versus bottle feeding article. Once you start to breastfeed, it will soon feel like your second nature and when the time comes, you may start thinking about extended breastfeeding.

However, there are times when you do not or cannot opt for this wonderful feeding technique due to medical, social, or personal reasons. Read our article on when not to breastfeed.

What are the Benefits of Breastfeeding for baby?

Let us look into some of benefits of breastfeeding for your baby. Even if you plan to bottle feed your newborn, it is always a good idea to take a wise decision after going through all the details.

1. Fights infections in newborn babies:

There are uncountable benefits of breastfeeding for babies. Through breast-milk, you may be able to prevent or reduce the following occurrences in your newborn baby:

Diarrhea
Ear Infection
Asthma
Allergies
Obesity
Respiratory Infections
Meningitis
Jaundice
Constipation

2. The Perfect Meal:

One of the top benefits of breastfeeding for baby (that the formula milk lags behind in) is that breast milk can be easily digested by the tiny body, hence causing a lower chance of your baby getting diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting.

Furthermore, breast milk contains vitamins and minerals that are required by your infant to grow.

Although formula milk companies are trying their best to replicate breast milk, and they are coming closer to an extent, yet, there are still many complex entities found in breast milk that these companies cannot replicate - not to mention there are some enzymes that humans still cannot figure out.

So, no doubt that the formula milk now available in the market is the best and the closest milk to breast milk that has ever been produced, it is still not the same.

3. Convenient:

There is no wait-time involved in breastfeeding! Breast milk is all natural and 100% free. It is also convenient for you to feed your child as you do not require any kind of bottle sterilization procedures or temperature control of the milk.

No matter where you go, you automatically carry your baby's nutritious meal with you! And the best part is, it does not run out of stock. The more milk you feed, the more will your breasts produce - just like the demand/ supply chain. This is one of the benefits of breastfeeding for baby, that formula-feeding moms do not get to enjoy.

4. Prevents Jaundice in preterm and newborn babies:

Many newborns have traces of Jaundice right after birth. The benefits of breastfeeding for baby (preemie or full-term) are uncountable especially if the doctor suspects your baby having some yellow-ness.

How exactly does breastfeeding newborn babies help in preventing jaundice? What is this thing called bilirubin in our baby's bloodstreams that we keep on hearing and reading about? Our highly informative article on Jaundice in Newborns covers it all.

Just like the benefits of breastfeeding for baby, breastfeeding has numerous physical and emotional benefits for mothers as well. Make sure you opt for this amazing milk. You can also express and store your breast milk so that you (your partner, or nanny) can provide a bottle loaded with the goodness of your breast milk even when you are away. This way, when you are not around, your baby has something of you to hold on to!

Return to Baby Health or Breastfeeding section.
Return to Homepage.