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Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed babies. It is recommended by both the European and American Academy of Pediatrics as the best and most valuable way of feeding babies from birth. It provides the child with proper weight gain and optimal health. Research confirms that naturally fed babies are better physically and intellectually developed. Breastfeeding is not only the best nutritional solution for a baby, it is also of great benefit to the nursing mother.
Breastfeeding Benefits For Your Baby
Among the benefits of breastfeeding for a child, we can distinguish direct benefits, i.e. those revealed during breastfeeding, and long-term benefits that occur after the end of breastfeeding.
The direct benefits include: stimulation of maturation and development of gastrointestinal motility, improvement of the antimicrobial protection system and defense against acute infections.
Experts prove that hormones contained in breast milk (including cortisol, insulin or thyroid hormones) may affect the development of the digestive tract and improve the functioning of its mucosa. Similar properties are attributed to growth factors or free amino acids. The gastrointestinal motility is improved by mediators such as neurotensin or motilin. Anti-inflammatory agents (eg interleukin 10) reduce the inflammation that may appear in the intestine and reduce the risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis in newborns (NEC). Immunoglobulins, IgA and IgG, contained in breast milk, also protect against NECs, which increase the body’s immunity.
Breast milk contains many antibacterial factors, whose effectiveness is due to their resistance to the action of digestive enzymes. They act locally, i.e. directly on the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, respiratory tract or urinary tract. The most important of them are proteins: secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), lactoferrin and lysozyme. The production of sIgA occurs when a woman is exposed to foreign antigens, both respiratory and those entering the body through the alimentary tract. SIgA is produced by mast cells in a woman’s mammary glands and then excreted into breast milk. The newborn who consumes them with the mother’s milk, and later the infant, is provided with passive immunity to these antigens. This is extremely important because the baby’s body does not have the ability to produce them until the end of the third month of life. The amount of sIgA needed to ensure proper immunity is not reached by a child until about the first year of life. By binding iron, which is essential for the growth of bacteria, lactoferrin limits their expansion. The effect of lysozyme is the breakdown of bacterial cells. Another important component of human milk is the so-called long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are lacking in cow’s milk. They are responsible for the myelination of the central nervous system, i.e. the maturation of the child’s brain and eyesight. The effect of these acids is to improve visual acuity in a child. Free fatty acids also play a big role in fighting infection. Thanks to their properties similar to detergents, they enable the destruction of viruses, bacteria and protozoa, eg Giardia lamblia. On the other hand, bicarbonates contained in breast milk change the composition of the intestinal bacterial flora, enabling the growth of Bifidobacrium and Lactobacillus species. These bacteria favorably regulate the digestive tract by displacing the pathogenic bacterial flora. Human milk also contains the cellular elements of the immune system, such as white blood cells, most of which are neutrophils and macrophages, mainly responsible for phagocytosis, i.e. killing bacterial cells.
Compared to modified milk, breast milk reduces the risk of developing bacterial infections during the period when it is fed with it. If a child becomes ill, the course of the infection is milder and shorter. These children less frequently require outpatient treatment or hospitalization, and the mortality among them is lower.
Breastfed babies are less likely to suffer from gastrointestinal tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections, acute and recurrent otitis media or urinary tract infections. Studies have shown that gastroenteritis occurs in 3% of breastfed babies compared to 15,7% of formula-fed babies in the first 13 weeks of their lives.
Babies who have been breastfed according to the guidelines are better protected later in life against acute infections, overweight, obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes, ischemic heart disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Moreover, they are less likely to develop cancer and achieve better psychomotor development.
Scientists cannot clearly say by what mechanism the risk of obesity in these children is reduced. Most likely, breastfed babies are able to skillfully regulate the energy supply from food themselves and thus avoid sudden weight gain. Let us note that children who are fed in this way eat up to 12 times a day and are usually not obese. It is also due to the unique composition of human milk, the most important component of which are proteins. Although their content in human milk is lower than in cow’s milk, the ratio of whey proteins to casein proteins is optimal and very easily absorbed by the young organism, which fully meets its needs. In addition, breast milk contains essential vitamins (only vitamin D3 supplementation) in the amount needed for the child’s development.
Research shows that breastfeeding reduces the overall risk of childhood cancer, lymphoma and leukemia.
Breastfeeding has a significant impact on reducing some modifiable risk factors of ischemic heart disease, such as dyslipidemia and obesity.
Breast milk does not stimulate a cellular response to the same extent as cow’s milk, and is therefore believed to reduce the risk of developing especially type 1 but also type 2 diabetes.
Human milk is an immunologically active mixture that also has other long-term beneficial effects. These include reducing the risk of atopic dermatitis, wheezing attacks and lower respiratory tract infections, as well as allergies to cows’ milk proteins in early childhood.
Some studies show a strong influence of breastfeeding, especially its duration, on the better psychomotor development of a child in the future. In addition, breastfeeding reduces the stress level in a child, which is most likely caused by the hormones oxytocin and prolactin, the role of which is, among others, on strengthening the bond between mother and child and increasing resistance to sometimes painful medical procedures.
Breastfeeding Benefits For Mother
Breastfeeding enables an extraordinary and strong bond to form between mother and baby. Currently, the aim is to place a child in the mother’s arms immediately after birth, if its health condition allows it. This is an extremely important moment for both the mother and the child who feels that they are in a safe place. After about an hour, she starts looking for food by herself and then the first feeding should be started, which then continues “on demand”. This ensures that the discomfort of the woman during the puerperium is reduced. In addition, it accelerates the mother’s return to good physical condition. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in a nursing mother and protects her against osteoporosis in the elderly. It should not be forgotten that it is a very convenient and at the same time cheap way of feeding a child.
How long should you breastfeed?
Specialists recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child’s life, as it does not yet have sufficiently mature defense mechanisms and a fully functional digestive system. During this time, it is not necessary to give the child additional food, water or modified milk. In children from 6 months of age, breastfeeding should be adapted to the child’s needs and gradually introduced to the diet of other foods. Care should be taken that complementary foods do not completely replace breast milk. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and maintaining breastfeeding with additional food until the end of the second year of life (or longer). There is no upper age limit for babies up to which they can be breastfed.
Breastfeeding contraindications
There is a small group of babies who cannot be breastfed. These include babies diagnosed with galactosemia or congenital lactose intolerance. On the mother’s side, such contraindications are HIV infection, active tuberculosis, mental illness, drug addiction, severe heart failure or the use of drugs prohibited during breastfeeding. It sometimes happens that a woman, despite her great willingness to breastfeed, is not able to provide her baby with this type of food. The task of such a mother should be to provide the child with optimal safety conditions combined with feeding with modified milk.
Text: lek. Jagoda Kumik