Benefits of Breastfeeding

The International Breastfeeding Logo

You can probably find tons of information about the benefits of breastfeeding all over the internet, but during my days as a student nurse, I came across this handy mnemonic. It uses the word BREASTFEEDING as an acronym. Here it is:

Best for babies
Reduces incidence of allergies
Economical
Antibodies
Stool-inoffensive
Temperature always correct and constant
Fresh
Emotional bonding
Easy once established
Digested easily
Immediately available
Nutritionally balanced
Gastroenteritis greatly reduced


It's just now that I've learned where this information came from - it's from a publicity leaflet by the TIBS support group, Trinidad.

This is a very useful learning tool indeed, but there are still some other advantages not mentioned above. Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the child's risk of becoming obese later in life. Also, studies have proven that women who breastfeed have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. But even then, knowing just 3 or 4 of those benefits, I think, is more than enough to make one want to breastfeed her child, or at least go for mixed feeding.

There are some issues though, that may really interfere with breastfeeding. Aside from time constraints for mothers who are working full-time, there are some medical conditions that might make breastfeeding contraindicated.