Chapter 1. The Importance of Breastfeeding
Despite all the fantastic things humans have accomplished, they’ve never been able to come up with a better food for your baby than breastmilk. That’s not to say they haven’t tried, though, because the formula options available can be mind-boggling. Luckily for you, the simplest choice is also the healthiest choice. No infant formula can meet your baby’s needs the way your own breastmilk does.
Breastfeeding Is Good for Your Baby
Breastmilk is the elixir of life for your baby. Each precious drop gives her exactly what she needs in just the right amounts. It’s an incredible mixture that’s constantly changing to meet your baby’s needs.
Digestibility
One of the greatest advantages of breastmilk is how easily your baby can digest it. This is especially important during the first year of life when your baby will be growing more rapidly than at any other time. Part of the reason breastmilk is so digestible is that the proteins are smaller than formula proteins. The vitamins and minerals in breastmilk are also more easily absorbed by your baby’s body than those found in formula or other supplements. But breastmilk goes beyond just being easy to digest.
 | There is no question that breastmilk is the best milk for your baby. All of the following organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN), the Federation International of Gynecology & Obstetrics (FIGO), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Program (WIC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |
Enzymes in breastmilk work with your baby’s digestive system to help her get the most out of every feeding. As a result, breastmilk goes through your baby’s system twice as fast as formula while providing her with better nourishment than any other food source.
Yes, this means that your young, breastfed baby will have more frequent bowel movements than formula-fed babies of the same age. It also means your nursing baby will want to eat more frequently than a formula-fed baby. On the other hand, your baby will spit up less and have fewer cases of indigestion. Because breastfed infants generally eat smaller meals than formula-fed babies, there’s less opportunity for spitting up.
 | “Katie was constipated and didn’t have a bowel movement for an entire week. We took her to the doctor, and he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then we took her to a lactation specialist. She told me that my breastmilk was so compatible with Katie’s digestive system that it was absorbed. She didn’t need to poop.” —Stephanie |
Because breastmilk is more easily digested, it can also lessen the severity of gastroesophageal reflux (GER). GER is a heartburn-like pain that happens when stomach acids back up into your baby’s esophagus. There’s a circular muscle where the esophagus meets the stomach that normally prevents GER from occurring, but in some babies it takes most of their first year of life for that muscle to develop properly.
If you’ve ever had acid reflux, just imagine having it as a baby. You’d cry, too, if it happened to you!
Stools
As a direct result of breastmilk’s digestibility, your baby’s stools will be smaller, softer, and less likely to knock you out. No one is promising that diaper changing will be like a trip to the perfume counter, but with fewer fats and proteins passing through your baby’s system undigested, the smell of stools is not just reduced, it’s changed for the better. In addition, your breastfed baby is less likely to suffer from constipation.
Immunity
At birth and until approximately four months of age, your child’s immune system is underdeveloped. All sorts of viruses, fungi, bacteria, and other villains will try to invade your baby’s body. Without a mature immune system, she’s an easy target. But, once again, it’s breastmilk to the rescue!
Many of the ingredients in your breastmilk help fight infections or promote the growing strength of your baby’s own immune system. Breastmilk contains ingredients that shield the intestines, help friendly bacteria grow, keep necessary iron away from the invading cells, and cut through the invaders’ cell walls.
Most amazingly, breastmilk is a living substance. Like blood, it’s teeming with millions of disease-fighting cells called antibodies. These antibodies are nature’s way of immunizing your baby against every disease you have ever been exposed to, and that protection constantly improves. If you are exposed to a new germ, your body will pass on immunity to that germ to your baby through your milk. “Breastmilk immunization” can happen before you even notice the first symptoms of illness.
Breastfed babies have remarkably lower incidences of many diseases, including certain types of cancer.
 | A protein in breastmilk is being studied as a potential treatment for cancer. It undergoes a change when it is digested, becoming a cancer killer researchers named HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumors). It actually causes cancer cells to commit suicide. According to the researchers, HAMLET is deadly to “every cancer we test it against.” |
Adults who were breastfed as infants have lower incidences of many diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and coronary heart disease. Furthermore, research finds that breastmilk kills germs in babies’ mouths and helps heal mothers’ cracked nipples. Some moms even put it on cuts and scrapes or use it to treat pink eye and nasal congestion. It’s like your immune system distilled into an easy-to-use liquid.
Type 2 Diabetes
Another surprising advantage of breastfeeding is that it reduces your child’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. A 2006 study found that breastfed babies have lower levels of insulin and glucose in their blood than do formula-fed babies. Their blood insulin levels remain lower as adults, and that reduces their risk for diabetes.
Intelligence
Your baby’s brain grows at a fantastic rate in those first few months. You won’t always be able to tell as she lies in your arms looking so serene, but this is her brain’s busiest developmental stage. There’s a firestorm of activity behind that cute brow as neural pathways form. With every moment, some paths are strengthened and others fade. Your baby needs the proper materials for this important work, and your breastmilk is a virtual Home Depot, packed with everything the blueprint calls for. Studies have found up to a ten-point IQ advantage in breastfed children.
Babies need fat for brain development for at least the first two years of their lives. Fats and sugars in your milk are custom-tailored for brain growth. The fats found in your breastmilk help form the insulation on the electrical wiring of your baby’s brain, and they make your baby smarter, too.
Human milk is specially made for your baby, just as cow’s milk is made for calves and goat’s milk is made for baby goats. The types of proteins, fats, and other nutrients found in cow’s milk are just what a calf needs, but your baby’s needs are different. Your breastmilk will actually change as your baby grows.
For example, your body produces breastmilk with less fat for older babies than it does for newborns while premature infants receive breastmilk that’s richer and higher in calories. So your breastmilk is not only like a Home Depot, it’s also like a pharmacy.
Colic
Colicky babies cry and fuss a lot. A lot. It’s impossible to overemphasize just how much. Colic is like an unending stomachache. While the exact causes are unknown, one thing remains true across the board: Babies with colic are unhappy. Mothers with colicky babies aren’t exactly thrilled about it, either.
The good news is that babies who are exclusively breastfed have a much lower incidence of colic (although that’s not to say it can’t happen). Breastfeeding infants can be colicky since a newborn’s digestive system might not be able...