You’ve heard it before — “breast is best” when it comes to feeding your little one! For many years, science has backed up the countless benefits of breastfeeding your baby. From the moment they are born up until their adulthood, breast milk already offers an unmatched nutritional, immunological, developmental, and mental advantages.
Story Time
When I would talk to other mommies about breastfeeding and it’s benefits, they would always talk about the immediate benefits which are great. But, I always wondered about how breastfeeding would affect my baby later in life. After speaking to many lactation and nutrition experts, I was so amazed to learn how breastfeeding’s benefits actually extended all the way into adulthood — one of the main benefits being gut and digestive health! I have certainly been able to see this with my kids since they rarely get sick from any stomach issues, even though they literally put anything in their mouth!
In A Nutshell:
- From birth, your child benefits the most from colostrum. It builds their immunity and protects them from the common infections in their environment. It also has a laxative effect that eliminates the waste products they’ve accumulated during childbirth.
- From the first few months to the first year, exclusively breastfed babies have lower risks of middle ear infections, respiratory infections, and gut infections. They also have greater protection against SIDs and other skin and allergic diseases.
- Breastfeeding’s benefits extend until the adult years. Adults who were breastfed have a reduced risk of obesity and chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and digestive issues. In addition, they may also have intellectual advantages later in life.
From 0 to 1 Month: Benefits from Colostrum
According to the Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding of the WHO and UNICEF, it’s imperative that mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first hour after delivery. This is the golden period where your breasts start producing colostrum — the thick, sticky, concentrated first milk that contains a rich mix of protein, sugar, fats, and immune factors.
Your baby needs some time to get used to its new environment when they are born. That means their immune systems aren’t as strong yet to defend the common infections. Colostrum has the power to give immunity and protection to your baby while they adjust to their surroundings.
Colostrum: Immunity and Laxative Benefits
First, the colostrum yields a protective coating to the intestine of your baby. This acts as a shield against the germ and viruses so they can’t be absorbed into the baby’s system. Colostrum can also fight harmful microorganisms (like bacteria and other viruses) and prevents inflammation.
Another advantage of giving colostrum is its laxative effect. When babies drink the first milk, their digestive tract can easily clear out the meconium. This is a sticky, tar-like substance that is made up of mucus and amniotic fluid. Early clearing of the meconium reduces your baby’s risk of jaundice.
From 1 Month to 1 Year: Initial Benefits of Breastfeeding Your Baby
There’s a reason many health experts and organizations are standing behind breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months has been the advocacy of public health organizations like the WHO, UNICEF, and AAP due to the several pieces of evidence that link it to a myriad of positive health effects.
Breast milk offers all the nutritional needs of your child for the first six months of their life. They don’t need any more additional foods or liquids to supplement in their diet. So with just breast milk alone, your baby achieves optimal growth and development.
In addition to that, breastfeeding also has a profound list of health benefits.
Here’s a list of all the health advantages your baby gets initially with breastfeeding:
- Lower risk for middle ear infections. According to studies, babies that have been exclusively breastfed for at least 3 months or more, have a 50% lower risk of contracting middle ear infections.
- Fight respiratory infections better. Exclusively breastfed infants have a 72% lower chance of contracting respiratory tract infections. They even have a 63% lower risk of contaminating the colds and throat infections.
- Stronger immunity against gastrointestinal diseases and infections. When born, babies still have a weak gut making them prone to the common GI infections. If breastfed, they have a 64% reduced risk from gut infections. They also have about 30% fewer chances of developing inflammatory bowel disease and 52% less likely to develop celiac disease.
- Protection from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS for babies that have been exclusively breastfed for at least 2 months by at least 50%. Breastfeeding can boost the baby’s brain development, strengthen their immune system, promote safer sleep, increase maternal awareness, and support the baby’s suck and swallow coordination.
- Reduces risk for skin and allergic diseases. Giving your baby solely breast milk for the first 3-4 months can give them a lower risk of having dermatitis, eczema, and asthma.
From 1 Year To Adulthood: Long-Term Benefits Of Breastfeeding Your Baby
The wonders of breastfeeding can extend past the early years of your child! There are various researches done that looked into the long-term benefits of breastfeeding your baby.
These amazing discoveries showed that exclusively breastfed babies are less likely to develop chronic diseases. Other than that, they also reap healthier weights and improved intellects later on in their life. Here are some more ways on how breastfeeding builds a lifetime of positive health:
- Chronic disease prevention. There has been strong evidence that breast milk prevents chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and other digestive diseases. Initial studies suggest that breastfed babies have livers that can better metabolize cholesterol, which protects their heart health in their adult years. Breastfeeding also holds promising benefits in the prevention of digestive diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In addition, they have lesser chances of developing diabetes due to the delayed introduction of cow’s milk in their diet.
- Healthier weights and obesity prevention. Even when they are little, breastfed babies are a lot leaner than those that have been formula-fed. Studies have shown that even past their adolescence, those that been breastfed are less likely to be overweight and obese. Breastfed babies have better appetite control even in their infancy, which puts them at a healthier weight even in the early years of their life. Thus, this has been linked to better weight management up until adulthood.
- Linked to better intellect later in life. An interesting study in Brazil followed 6,000 babies from birth until they were 30 years old to explore a breastfed baby’s long-term cognitive development. They discovered that those that have been breastfed were more intelligent and spent longer time studying in school.
The Bottom Line…
At the end of the day, nothing beats what breast milk can give to your child. The benefits of breastfeeding your baby go beyond nutrition. The positive health effects from birth up until adulthood extend in all aspect of their life — immunity, physiologically, and intellectually. All of these are things that can not be achieved by commercially manufactured milk. That’s why breast milk remains to be the unequaled and unrivaled source of nutrition for your child.
Thinking of prolonging breastfeeding? Extended breastfeeding introduces a wide range of benefits! Learn more about it in our article: The Real Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding!
