The Benefits Of Breastfeeding For You And Your Baby

The benefits of breastfeeding are extensive.

Breastfeeding provides your baby with maximum nutritional support, before solids are introduced. It sustains your baby’s development and supports your baby’s future health. 

Some of the benefits of breastfeeding include:

• Reducing your baby’s risk of developing conditions like eczema if you breastfeed exclusively for the first three months.

• Reducing the risk of your baby experiencing the following chronic diseases in later life: juvenile diabetes, obesity, diabetes, food allergies, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, and malocclusion.

• Improved cognitive development and higher IQ.

• Reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

• Lower risk of developing childhood diseases such as asthma, childhood obesity, ear infections, rotavirus and respiratory infections.

Breastfeeding is also beneficial for you. 

Research shows breastfeeding may reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis and postnatal depression. It also supports the contraction of your uterus and healthy post pregnancy weight loss. 

Having said all that, breastfeeding isn’t for everyone. 

Medical complications after delivery can prohibit breastfeeding for some women. For others, learning to breastfeed may become overwhelming and stressful. And some women may just not want to do it. That’s totally okay. 

Henrietta Norton says it well: even though “evidence does show that breastfeeding gives the best possible start in life, we need to accept that for some of us, despite our best efforts, breastfeeding just isn’t possible and that switching to formula doesn’t make us a bad mother.”

However, if you have your heart set on breastfeeding your newborn, trust that your maternal instinct will kick in and you will know what to do. According to Francesca Naish, a qualified naturopath and fertility management specialist, your maternal instinct has the best possible chance of being heard when you have a natural and positive birth experience and when breastfeeding is quickly and easily established. It’s further enhanced when the bonding period is undisturbed and when your baby feeds as often and for as long as he or she wants.

Nonetheless, breastfeeding —although natural, doesn’t always come naturally. 

Breastfeeding can be something that takes time to learn, for both you and your baby. The first few weeks can be challenging as you adjust to a new routine, figure out the best position, help your baby latch properly, and get used to spending hours on the couch with a baby on your boob.

It took my daughter and I the best part of 6 weeks to find our breastfeeding groove. 

Allegra was born with a tongue tie, lip tie and two cheek ties which made it difficult for her to latch properly. This resulted in severe nipple pain. On top of that, I had two bouts of mastitis (which I managed to heal naturally, without medication). I was determined to breastfeed. However, I felt overwhelmed during the early postpartum period. 

I didn’t know what I was doing so we hired a lactation consultant to guide and support us. 

I’ll be forever grateful to Kellie Eason of Milk Early Parenting Support, who taught me how to get the perfect latch, how to care for my breasts to prevent blocked ducts, and gave me the confidence I could do it. Getting reassurance that my experience was normal and affirmation that something wasn’t quite right and needed troubleshooting was priceless.

Once I got the hang of it, I absolutely loved breastfeeding my daughter. 

It was the most wonderful experience to breastfeed Allegra for the first two years of her life. “Milk drinks” were our time together, just the two of us. Breastfeeding brought us both immense comfort and nourishment, and helped us to form an unshakable bond. 

To help you prepare for your breastfeeding journey, we highly recommend attending a breastfeeding class while you’re still pregnant. You may also find it beneficial to spend some time with breastfeeding mums so you can see firsthand how often babies feed. And having a lactation consultant who you can call on will be an immense support to you during those first few weeks after your baby is born.