Breast milk is the first and best food which can be given to a newborn baby. Nothing in this world can replace breast milk and found to be superior to breast milk. The benefits of breast feeding is not only for the baby but also for the mother as well as this community.
Benefits of breast feeding to the baby:
- It is the best complete food for the newborn baby which contains all the needed nutrients for the baby
- Easily available and cheap
- No need to prepare, more physiological than anything.
- Easily digestible
- Increases IQ of the baby, helps in better brain development.
- Decreases chance of infections
- Prevents some infections like malaria
- Increased absorption of minerals like calcium, iron etc.
- Less chance of milk protein related allergy
- Decreases incidence of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases etc
- Less chance of obesity in the future
- Less chance of allergic diseases like bronchial asthma in future
- Less incidence of respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases etc in the childhood period
Benefits of breast feeding to mother:
- Helps in post delivery weight loss
- Gives a natural contraception through postpartum amenorrhoea
- Decreases breast cancer, cervical cancer and ovarian cancer
- Increases emotional bonding with the baby
- Helps for better involution and shrinking of uterus to normal
Benefits of breast feeding to community:
- Less financial burden to community as it the cheapest food available to babies
- Less childhood morbidity and mortality
- Better childhood survival rate
- Helps in family planning too.
So in short, there is no substitute for breast milk. So let us promote breast feeding and make all women aware about its benefits.