Whether you are a new mom or an experienced one you must have heard a lot about breastfeeding your child.
It is widely claimed that if you do not breastfeed your child in the early years, the growth and development of the child is hampered or is slower than the other breastfed babies.
Moreover, Breastfeeding is thought to be one of the basic rights of your baby.
According to world-renowned paediatrics,
Breast milk harbours a huge amount of antibodies that cause the rapid development of immunity and organ mass.
Keeping in view the benefits of breastfeeding, many moms are confused between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. However, it is a very personal decision by a mom for her child. I believe that breast milk is the best gift a mom can offer to her child.
However, there are certain complications and busy routine when a mom cannot breastfeed her baby or cannot maintain the frequency to suffice the hunger of her rapidly growing child.
Here we will discuss the pros and cons of breastfeeding .
Pros of Breastfeeding
Breast Milk is Always Available:
Breast milk has an advantage over formula milk that it never runs out. The more you pump, the more it is formed. So, your baby is never hungry; and it is always enough to suffice his hunger. It is so convenient to have the food supply around the clocks so; you do not need to calm your screaming baby while you make the formula milk. Moreover, it is a great option to feed your child in the night when you are half asleep. Just assume a comfortable position anywhere anytime and get your baby to have his meal!
Breastfeeding Is Cheap:
Breastfeeding is economical. Nature provides this luxurious drink free for your child. Hydration is the best way to increase the supply of breast milk. Moreover, you need to have a healthy diet to ensure breast milk with full nutrients to your child. Formula milk can get a lot expensive and usually off the budget of the poor people when you add up the price of electricity, nipples, baby bottle, and formula milk powder. So, here you go with a portion of nutritious food for your baby free of cost. You do not have to spend a penny on your child’s diet in the first year he is born.
Breast Milk Develops Immunity:
Breast milk harbours a good amount of antibodies and white blood cells-essential to fight microbes and develop advance immunity in case of future infection. Breast milk develops passive immunity in your young ones. Breast milk is thought to be the best source to protect your child from deadly diseases and germs. Moreover, if your baby gets some disease or is sick due to any reason, your breast milk also changes. It increases its components to help your little one fight the deadly infections and develop his body’s immune system.
It Causes Brain Growth:
There is certain lipoid material in the breast milk that causes brain growth and development. Though intelligence is a hereditary trait, proper diet and breastfeeding in childhood cause it to express its full. Breast milk causes better brain growth, making your child a healthy and happy individual who is then ready to compete with this fast and advance world.
Breast Milk Provides Numerous Health Benefits:
Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits. It has proven health effects in the development of the proper digestive system, liver, and other organs. Breast milk provides numerous health effects apart from development in keeping your baby healthy and safe. Moreover, it also changes as your baby gets older to provide complete nutrients and elements essential for his growth. So, it gives a proper and a complete diet to your little one.
Breast Milk Tastes Good:
Breast milk tastes a lot better than the formula milk. Baby loves to have a drink sweet close to body temperature. According to a recent study, babies love to have breast milk or expressed milk much more than the formula milk.
Breastfeeding Prevents Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID) is the unexplained death of the childless than a year of age while sleeping.
Breastfeeding prevents sudden infant death syndrome. Studies have shown that breastfeeding reduces the chance of SIDS by 50%. The same studies depict that the breastfeeding survival curves showed improved even with partial breastfeeding.
So, breastfeeding is the best way to prevent SID chance in your baby.
Breast Milk Prevents Allergies:
Breastfeeding improves babies immunity. In mothers body, a large number of protein antibody complexes are formed. These complexes then travel to the blood of the infant through breast milk. Antibody A having a maximum concentration in breast milk plays the most important role in preventing allergies in your infant.
Breast Milk Prevents Asthma:
Breastfeeding develops your child immune system and the respiratory system. It develops such vital elements in the blood that helps fight agents, causing asthma. Thus, breast milk gave your child enough strength to show maximum resistance against the development of asthma.
Breast Milk Is Nutrients Rich:
Breast milk is rich in nutrient, vitamins, calories, and minerals. It has a great amount of calcium and iron necessary for the proper development and strengthening your child’s bones.
In every 100 ml of breast milk, there are 67kcal of energy and 1.3 grams of proteins. In the same 100ml, it has 4.2 gram of fat and 7.0 g of carbohydrate. Moreover, it has a good concentration of sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D.
So, now you know why breast milk is referred to as a ‘Complete Nutritious Diet.’
Breastfeeding Prevents Obesity:
How to lose weight after pregnancy? It has become the most asked question by the mothers. Believe me or not, breastfeeding is the quickest and the safest way to burn your calories and to reduce the weight. To feed your baby with healthy enriched milk, you need to have a healthy diet. Therefore, moms usually avoid unhealthy snacks and food that will ultimately help them lose weight and deceive obesity.
Breastfeeding Provides A Relaxation Time:
You know it is great relaxation time for you. Just leave all the things and assume the most comfortable position. It is all you and your baby time. Feed him, talk to him, and love him even more. You can never get such leisure and comfortable time else anywhere.
Natural Birth Control:
Breastfeeding can delay your period for 3–6 months or maybe even a lot longer. Do not worry; it is not permanent. Menstruation typically returns after a month once you have stopped feeding.
You can also opt for Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM) if you breastfeed your child without supplementing and your period has not returned yet. It is effective in 99% of cases if followed correctly.
This method typically employs the pattern of breastfeeding, postpartum time and return of the menstrual cycle. You can completely rely on this method as a family planning strategy.
Pumped Milk:
If you have more than a sufficient supply of breast milk, you can also pump it out and save in a bottle. This pumped milk usually referred to as expressed milk serves as an important feed to provide in public places, busy routine, in-office, or where you are reluctant to breastfeed your child comfortably.
Control Calories:
Breastfeeding cause you to lose calories with every feed. Typically, a breastfeeding mom loses 500-700 calories a day. It is the safest and most effective way to reduce weight and get back your figure after pregnancy.
Moreover, a woman tries everything to have a healthy diet because she knows she is feeding the child whatever she is taking in. Therefore, she avoids the use of drugs, alcohol, fast food items, sugar-rich products, artificial flavours, colas and a lot more stuff that have proven delirious effects on health.
In this way, not only the child gets the best possible diet; but also the mom establishes health with perfect BMI (body mass index).
Reduce The Risk Of Breast Cancer
During pregnancy and lactation, a woman is known to shed her breast tissue. Moreover, as breastfeeding cause a hormonal shift in the body, so it decreases the chance of exposure to the estrogen-a potent hormone in the development of breast cancer.
It is rare to develop breast cancer in the woman who is or had breastfed their child. The effect is more pronounced in women who breastfeed for more than a year.
A Better Bond With Your Child:
Breastfeeding offers you a chance to have a better and a stronger bond with your child. Having him close to you many a time in a day, your smell, the flavour, the thought that she is the one who can solve my problem. Woah, that sounds so great. Your baby can then develop a bond, and your name gets imprinted in each cell of his body that he could never forget in his life. Therefore, the great grand grannies force to breastfeed your child for more than one and half year if you want to keep them to you the whole life.
Return Uterus Back To Normal:
The uterus is a tissue that remains as the house of your child for nine months. It stretches in each pregnancy. Whenever you breastfeed your child, your body gets a signal to release oxytocin. This hormone helps the uterus contract and come back to its original position. Without breastfeeding, though uterus still contracts, however, it takes a lot more time than the other way round.
Cons Of Breastfeeding:
The same slogan goes from paediatricians clinic to pharmacy stores, from baby guides to general magazines; “Breast is the Best”. However, there are certain conditions when a mom cannot breastfeed her baby, and bottle-feeding should become a priority.
Tight Schedule:
For busy moms having tight schedules, breastfeeding may not be a good option. Leaving your child crying with hunger is never better than the feeding him on formula milk.
Now the formula milk is made in a way that it provides a complete nutrients rich diet to your child. Therefore, if you are worried about not getting enough time, and comfort zone to feed your child opt for bottle feeding expressed milk or the formula milk.
Partial breastfeeding can also be a good choice in this case.
Breastfeeding Can Become Painful:
Breastfeeding can become painful usually in the first few weeks of breastfeeding. The nipples can become swollen, crack, bleed or can have blistered. It can be extremely painful for the moms, and sometimes the situation worsen. So, many moms prefer shifting to a bottle or a partial breastfeeding technique.
Less Personal Time:
You are always engaged with your child and have to feed every 1 or 2 hours. You cannot visit your relatives or any other place even with leaving your child in the supervision of your partner. All-time you stay conscious of hearing the hungry cries of your baby and run to feed him as early as possible.
Embarrassment In The Public:
Many moms are not comfortable with feeding their child in public. The position and situation do not suit all. Therefore, they opt for bottle-feeding in case of emergency and the public. To make their baby comfortable to bottle, moms usually try to use body 1 or 2 times a day or completely shift to a bottle.
Difficult In Beginning:
Breastfeeding can be a great challenge for you in the beginning. Swollen nipples are usually the biggest challenge when you have just started. Others can be low milk supply, cluster feeding and growth spurts, engorgement, plugged milk ducts, fungal infections, change in breast and nipple size and shape etc.
As a beginner, you may be facing some or all of these problems. So, breastfeeding can be extremely difficult, painful and challenging for the new moms.
You Cannot Eat Or Drink Whatever You Like:
When you know you have to feed your child, you have to eat healthily. You cannot eat whatever and whenever you like. You can never take alcohol, unhealthy stuff, and other junk foods. You always need to take care of staying hydrated. Moreover, to increase your milk supply, you also need to take some extra nutrients and exercise regularly. All of this can be difficult for some busy moms.
Less Medicine:
You have to watch out the use of drugs you take for any ailment you encountered. Most of the drugs have a good concentration in breast milk, which will directly go into the body of your child. It can directly harm your child’s vital organs, including liver and kidney.
Therefore, you always need to be conscious of lactation safe medication and take medicine when there is no way to avoid it. Similarly, you cannot take painkillers and other related stuff.
Fatigue:
Breastfeeding is a continuous job. You always have to be on your feet ready to feed your child anytime anywhere. Therefore, it is quite a hectic process. It can lead to extreme fatigue, and you can also run out of energy by the end of the day.
Key Takeaways:
There are different benefits and certain disadvantages of breastfeeding. It is your personal decision to either adopt it or not.
Pros Of Breastfeeding:
- 24 hours availability
- Convenient in most of the situations
- A complete diet
- Develops immunity
- Helps fight infections
- Calorie control
- Decrease weight
- Decrease the chance of breast cancer
- Prevents allergies and asthma
- Returns uterus to normal
- A better bond
Moreover, a lot more…
Cons Of Breastfeeding:
- Hectic job
- Busy schedule
- Embarrassment in public
- Less personal time
- Less personal food
- No favourite food
- Difficulty for beginners
- Painful process
Therefore, it is always okay to adopt breastfeeding or omit it.
You are the one who can choose best for your child.
It is always your right.
Choose Best; Choose Wise
