The female body is something supernatural. Our body is capable of such miracles that men never dreamed of.
Take, for example, the changes that occur in the female body during pregnancy and after childbirth. Here are just 16 of them related to breastfeeding. Spoiler alert – half of these facts were a real discovery for us.
1. Mother’s milk has a unique scent that babies can recognize. The kid will never confuse mom’s milk with someone else’s. And no, he cares.
2. Breast milk contains substances that relieve pain. If breastfeeding hurts, try massaging some milk into the sore spots. A simple procedure is quite capable of bringing some relief.
3. Babies who are breastfed are much less likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Doctors are not able to explain this – they simply suggest accepting.
4. Breastfeeding is a big savings. Formulas for feeding cost no less than 30 thousand rubles a year. Own milk is free.
5. Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancer. In addition, they are less likely to develop heart disease.
6. It is possible to breastfeed the baby if the mother suddenly caught a cold or caught ARVI. We become carriers of the virus before the first symptoms appear. This means that by that time we had already “introduced” the child to the infection. Moreover, it even benefits him! The fact is that the mother’s body analyzes the child’s saliva and begins to produce the antibodies that it needs to cope with the disease. And thus pumps his immunity.
7. The amount of milk that a woman’s body produces has nothing to do with how large her breasts were before pregnancy. By the way, there is such a syndrome as hyperlactation – when the body produces much more milk than the child needs. For example, the American Elizabeth Anderson-Sierra, suffering from this syndrome, donated 2500 liters of “excess” breast milk to other people’s children in three years. By the way, the stars also sometimes played the role of milk fairies – you can read more about this HERE.
8. Moms who breastfeed return to prenatal form a little faster than non-breastfeeding moms. In addition, hormones that are synthesized during feeding help the uterus shrink to pre-pregnancy size faster.
9. Breastfeeding during the day burns the same amount of calories as a ten-kilometer walk.
10. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to get sick, and it’s not just about colds and SARS. Babies are less likely to have ear infections and stomach problems, and the risk of developing asthma or diabetes is much lower in the future. In addition, natural babies are less likely to suffer from childhood obesity. Well, if the mother was given all the required vaccinations, then she shares her antibodies with the baby, protecting him from many viruses.
11. Together with the taste of milk, children taste the light taste of the food that their mother ate. Therefore, it is easier to introduce complementary foods for breastfed babies than for “artificial” ones.
12. You can buy breast milk. On the Internet, it is offered at 300 rubles per 100 milliliters. And in the west, mothers manage to earn thousands of dollars from breast milk. Just liquid gold.
13. Skin-to-skin contact during the first hours of a baby’s life helps establish breastfeeding. In addition, such contact awakens the necessary reflexes of the child, including sucking. And the mother’s body helps the child maintain the desired temperature by cooling or heating, depending on what the baby needs right now.
14. Almost 75 percent of mums are right-handed. That is, the right breast produces more milk than the left. Therefore, the right breast, after the termination of feeding, often remains larger than the left.
15. The consistency and composition of breast milk changes several times a day – it all depends on what the child needs at the moment. Moreover, the color of the milk changes! So, there was a case when it turned blue – the baby was vaccinated the day before, and so the mother’s body adjusted to his needs. And another mom said that her milk became the color of a strawberry smoothie – all because of the beets she ate.
16. Some people believe that milk comes from only one hole in the nipple. In fact, all women have a different number of holes.