Internationally Recognized for Lactation Care

Breastfeeding your baby will have many benefits for you and your baby’s health. Here are just a few of many facts to consider when making this important decision.

• Breast milk is perfectly designed to provide your baby with the correct amount of proteins, fat and other nutrients.
• Breast milk is easier for baby to digest.
• Breast milk continually changes to meet your growing baby’s needs.
• Allergies occur less frequently in breastfed babies.
• Breast milk contains living antibodies that fight and protect your baby from infection.
• Risks of supplementing the breast fed baby include; reducing your milk supply, making baby more susceptible to illness, and can make baby less content with breastfeeding.
• Mothers who breastfed have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer.
• American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. Then continuing to breastfeed adding solid foods for as long as mom and baby desire.
• Breast milk is free, clean, and always available.
• Working mothers can continue breastfeeding once they return to work. Current laws support mothers who desire to pump while at work.
• No special diet is needed to make breast milk.
• Any amount of breastfeeding will benefit you and your baby, but the longer you breastfeed, the greater the benefits for you and your baby.

We hope you think about the many benefits of breastfeeding your baby and the impact your choice can have on your own and your baby’s health. Making an informed decision about the risks of formula and the benefits of breastfeeding will help you make the best choice for you and your baby.

Know that, if you decide to breast feed, there are many resources to help you such as: La Leche League, hospital and community lactation consultants, new mother and baby support groups, and your healthcare providers.

Risks of NOT breastfeeding your baby include:

• Full term infants have increased risk of the following:
  • Hospitalization for lower respiratory infections in the first year
  • Diarrhea and vomiting
  • Acute ear infections
  • Asthma, Eczema, and Diabetes
  • SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
  • Childhood obesity and some Childhood cancers
• Preterm babies are at an increased risk of NEC (Necrotizing enterocolitis)

Works Cited

Lawrence, Ruth A. & Lawrence, Robert M. “Breastfeeding, A Guide for the Medical Professional”, Eighth edition, ELSEVIER, 2016.

Wambach, Karen and Riordan, Jan “Breastfeeding and Human Lactation”, Fifth edition, Jones & Bartlett, 2016.