Breastfeeding 101: The Benefits of Breastfeeding
Lesson 1: Benefits of Breastfeeding
Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby
Breast milk is the recommended source of nutrition for babies under one year old by both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. Benefits to your baby include:
- Helps keep baby healthy: Immunity and protective antibodies. One drop of breastmilk includes up to 3 million white blood cells!
- Customized and always changing: Your milk is tailor-made for your baby! The composition of breast milk is always changing to meet your baby's unique needs. Milk varies from feeding to feeding and day to day.
- Aids in digestion: Breast milk is great for baby's digestive system and prepares their gut for solid foods to be introduced later in the first year.
Benefits of Breastfeeding for Mothers
The benefits of breastfeeding do not stop with your little one. Breastfeeding provides many benefits to mothers as well!
- Reduces your risk for some health problems: Breastfeeding your baby can reduce your risk for breast and reproductive cancers, as well as osteoporosis. Additional studies have shown that breastfeeding may reduce a mother's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease.
- Breastfeeding your baby saves money: Feeding your baby breast milk can have monetary benefits, since the cost of formula is eliminated.
- Promotes postpartum healing: The contractions caused by breastfeeding after birth help to shrink your uterus and can help to reduce postpartum bleeding.
- Breastfeeding may lower your risk for PPD: Many mothers experience a decreased risk of postpartum mood disorders. This is due to the hormones involved in breastfeeding and making milk.
- Breastfeeding allows additional closeness with your baby: The hormones produced in relation to making breast milk and when doing skin-to-skin aid in bonding. These moments can be empowering in your motherhood experience.
- Prolactin: Produces a peaceful, nurturing sensation that allows you to relax and focus on your child.
- Oxytocin: Promotes a strong sense of love and attachment between the two of you. Oxytocin also helps mothers to relax and can aid in ease of sleep.
- Breastfeeding may delay your menstrual cycle: Because ovulation may be delayed by the hormones related to making breast milk, Some mothers experience delayed menstruation throughout the duration of breastfeeding.
So many of the benefits of breastfeeding will be in quiet moments with you and your little one. As you feed and hold them, you will learn to know them, and skin-to-skin has relaxing benefits for both of you. Of course, dad or other caregivers can also experience these moments feeding a bottle of breast milk or helping to soothe the baby after mom is done nursing.
Other Benefits
And last, but definitely not least, there are some benefits to society including:
- Less employee absence and potentially lower cost in medical care: The immune benefits of breastfeeding help to keep the baby healthy, resulting in fewer sick days used for working moms.
- Cost savings to public health programs: Many programs such as WIC (Women, Infants and Children) receive benefits for breastfeeding promotion. Again, the immune-boosting benefits of breast milk are not only for your little one, but also contribute to overall health in our society.
The benefits of breastfeeding are long-lasting, for both you and your baby. And every single drop counts! It is proven that breastfeeding just through the early days, and getting baby colostrum, can help prevent many childhood illnesses.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding - Safest way to warm breast milk
The CDC and USDA guidelines recommend that breast milk should be warmed slowly, and at a low temperature. A microwave should never be used to warm breast milk, as it can cause hot spots and damage the composition of breast milk. We know the importance of protecting the precious nutrients in your liquid gold.
Heating at a low temperature, with a nutrient-safe circulating water bath, our Kozii SafeHeat Pro safely warms your milk without compromising the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and proteins naturally occurring in breastmilk. Using patented SafeHeat technology, you can safely warm breast milk, formula, and pureed foods. This warmer can be used with Twist breastmilk storage pouches as well as reusable or disposable bottles, bags, and jars.
With an easy-to-clean lift-out basket, built-in timer, and auto shut off, the Kozii warmer is a safe and secure way to quickly warm your baby's meal.
Benefits of Breastfeeding – The best breastmilk cooler for busy families
Transporting your milk to and from work, donating milk, or traveling with your baby on the go can all be challenging for moms. There are many instances when you need a safe place to keep your liquid gold nice and cold.
We created the Twist Cooler Bag with busy families in mind. A popular product among families, the bag features:
- Slim pockets designed to hold breastmilk storage bags
- Zippered pockets to keep ice packs secure
- Innovative design with two reusable ice packs that touch each storage pouch
- Back pocket to provide safe storage for pump parts and other accessories
No matter where life takes you, the Twist breastmilk cooler bag is designed to simplify a safe feeding experience for you and your little one.