15 Really Cool Breastfeeding Facts You May Not Know
How to feed your baby is one of the most important decisions you will make. We firmly believe that fed is best and that every parent should feed their babies in the way that's best for their families.
You may have already decided to breastfeed, or still, be thinking about it. No matter where you are in your journey, these breastfeeding facts are fascinating.
15 Really Cool Breastfeeding Facts
- Breast milk boosts a baby’s immune system – when a baby eats at the breast, mama’s body absorbs baby’s saliva and starts making antibodies to fight any illness or infection present. Even if you exclusively pump, your body still responds to any germs that may be in the air.
- Breastfeeding reduces the mother's risk of ovarian and breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. The longer she breastfeeds, the higher the benefit. Also interesting – breastfeeding a baby girl actually reduces her lifetime risk of breast cancer by 25%.
- Producing breast milk consumes 25-30% of the body’s energy; the brain only uses 20% by comparison.
- On average, babies remove 67% of the breast milk mama has available – baby eats until they are full, a breast is never truly empty.
- A mother’s breast can detect even a one-degree fluctuation in a baby’s body temperature and adjust accordingly to heat up or cool down baby as needed.
- Breastfeeding exposes your baby to many different tastes. Breast milk is constantly changing not only to meet your baby’s nutritional needs but with flavor varieties as well.
- Your breast milk has a unique smell, and your baby knows it. The smell may be similar to the amniotic fluid that your baby was exposed to in the womb. This helps your baby find the breast after birth and is also why your baby “roots” or turns their head toward your smell as a feeding cue.
- Breast milk contains stem cells, and studies have shown they can be directed to cells in other parts of the body (fat, bone, brain, and liver) to aid in healing.
- Breastfeeding promotes proper oral development. Studies have found that babies who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months were less likely to have teeth alignment issues such as open bites, crossbites, and overbites, than those exclusively breastfed for shorter lengths of time or not at all.
- What happens to one breast during breastfeeding may not happen to the other breast. For example, breast engorgement may leave one breast larger than the other. This also means that a mother may be able to breastfeed from just one breast if some type of breast trauma is present.
- Each nipple has 10-20 pores and milk is expressed from different pores at each feeding.
- About 75% of women report that their right breast expresses more than their left.
- Researchers are working hard to replicate a component in breastmilk that may be able to fight cancer cells (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells or HAMLET).
- Breastfeeding may help infants establish sleep schedules. The hormones melatonin and tryptophan are both present in breastmilk.
- Breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS by 50% throughout all ages of infancy.
How’s that for a cool list of what the human body can do? Remember that breastfeeding isn’t all or nothing, nor does it look one certain way for all families. Breastfeeding encompasses all forms of human-milk feeding, be it exclusively pumping, using a supplemental nursing system, or some other alternative.
5 More Really Cool Breastfeeding Facts:
- Breastmilk has healing properties: You may have heard your prenatal care provider or lactation professional encourage you to rub breastmilk into sore nipples. This is because breastmilk has anti-inflammatory properties, antibodies and aids in wound healing You can also use it in a bath or on your little one’s bottom to help soothe a diaper rash.
- Can you see me? A newborn baby can only see about 15 inches in front of them. This is just about the distance from a baby to their mother's face, when breastfeeding. The Omega-3 fatty acids found in breastmilk help to aid in proper eye development.
- So sleepy As hard as it is to believe since frequent night waking is developmentally normal, a study found that breastfeeding parents who feed their baby breastmilk in the evening or night average about 40 more minutes of sleep per night (and we will take all we can get!). Breastmilk also has hormonal properties that make both mom and baby sleepy – this may aid and encourage rest and healing after birth.
- Taste the rainbow Breastmilk can vary in color from a deep yellow or gold color to creamy white and even have tints of blue, green or red. The color of milk can be influenced by different factors including antibodies, fat content, water content, and even what the mother is eating. But don’t fret, all of these colors are just variations of normal and do not indicate a need to stop breastfeeding.
- The body remembers A 2015 study found that the bodies of women who have been pregnant before “remember” and respond to the hormones, specifically estrogen and progesterone, produced during pregnancy. The study suggests that the mammary tissue responded more quickly and began to expand and divide more rapidly than in tissue that had never experienced pregnancy.
Did you know that Kiinde has been voted the Best Breastmilk Storage System?
The Twist breastmilk storage system allows you to securely store your milk with no need for transfers or extra dishes to wash. Some of the innovative benefits of the Twist system: No need to transfer – with the Twist breastmilk storage system you can direct pump, store, warm, and feed all with the same pouch! Less to wash – All you need to wash is the nipple! Fewer dishes means more time to spend with your family. Peace of mind – The innovative Twist cap ensures that your liquid gold is protected, no matter where you go.
Special Offer: FREE Starter Kit + 20 Pouches
See what the hype is all about, for FREE! Each Breastfeeding Starter Pack includes:
- Twist Pouches, our recyclable breastmilk storage bag
- Standard Direct-Pump™ Adapters (adapter is compatible with pumps from Medela®, Hygeia®, Ameda®, ARDO®, Spectra®, Avent® and Evenflow® and other pumps with a standard thread)
- Spectra/Avent Direct-Pump™ Adapters
- Twist Squeeze Natural Feeding Bottle
- Twist Active Latch Slow-Flow Nipple with Case
References
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/123/3/e406
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/aztopics/b/breastfeeding
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17440749/
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(15)00390-3