What are the benefits to my baby if I breastfeed?

• Breastmilk is custom-made just for your baby. Whenever your baby wants it, they have a nutritionally balanced, easily digestible meal that is served at exactly the right temperature, PERFECT!
• T he colostrum your body produces for your baby in the first few days of breastfeeding before the milk comes in is packed with antibodies which work to protect your baby from infections. This rich product is full of protein perfect for growth and repair and it encourages the excretion of the sticky black meconium through the bowel.
• A breastfed baby is better protected against infections and suffers from them less in their first year. An advantage to you, baby, and the NHS who save money in not having to provide treatment.
• Reduced risk of obesity in toddlers and older children
• Reduced risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, a bowel infection seen mostly in premature infants. This is known to be up to ten times more common in formula fed babies.
• Have a better tolerance to immunisations than formula fed babies due to the antibodies that pass from mother to baby. These antibodies encourage the body to mature faster which better equips them to fight infections.
• Breastfeeding reduces a child’s susceptibility of developing allergies which go on to cause: asthma, eczema, hayfever and nut allergies.
• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This should be done alongside the other guidance for the reduction of SIDS.
• The mechanism of breastfeeding develops the jaw, causes less dental problems, improves speech and language development and provides better protection from inner ear infections. It quite a different motion to the lazy way a baby feeds from a bottle!
• You can use expressed breastmilk to treat sticky eye, something that is very common in the newborn.
• Breastfed babies are more intelligent as it encourages better brain and nerve development