The Benefits of Breastfeeding

“Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers” Statement taken from the world health organization publication on the nutrition of exclusive breastfeeding.
The first years of life are the most crucial years for brain, immune system and overall physiological development. This is why, it is extremely important to achieve optimal nutrition standards in these early years. Studies have shown that having optimum nutrition in infancy can lead to profound benefits throughout the lifespan of the person. Breastfeeding is extensively recommended, as the best way to achieve the most advantageous start for new-born babies, from the multifunctional aspect of both nutrition and enhanced protection against infectious agents.
Breast feeding is a natural phenomenon and has numerous benefits to both baby and mother associated with it. The world health organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Suckling is an instinctive nature of all mammalian and provides their offspring with a pure, wholesome, nutritional food. Therefore, mothers and babies are genetically designed to gain from this natural process. Studies in humans have demonstrated that breast feeding of babies for even their first 3 months, can induce favourable health repercussions for many years after. However, the benefits are not just for the baby, breast feeding has also been shown to exhibit many beneficial effects both transient and sustained in the mother too.
Breast milk is produced uniquely by a mother for her infant’s consumption. This means that it is manufactured wi...

... middle of paper ...

...repercussions throughout life such as allergies and autoimmunity. This is considered to be one of the paramount advantages breast milk possesses because, it is exclusive to mother’s breast milk and duplication of these factors in formula or animal milk is at this present time unattainable.
In recent years the government and health organisation are coming together to try promote breastfeeding after the significant decline seen in the last quarter of a century. Since March 2007 a mother is entitled to 26 weeks maternity leave. On return to work, if the mother continues to breast feed her infant, the law states that an employee who is breastfeeding is entitled to one hour each day off work, as a paid breast feeding break. This is a great scheme to promote breast feeding however, much more needs to be done, to once again make it a social norm to breast feed your baby.