The general American opinion on breastfeeding has taken a turn for the odd. Though breastfeeding is a completely natural process, and in fact the reason women even have breasts, the vast majority of American women get squeamish about the idea, turning instead to store-bought powdered and liquid formulas. Nature tends to know best, though — human breast milk is more than just milk, and the genuine article is difficult to replace.
Breastfeeding not only sustains your baby with all of the nutrients and vitamins necessary for the first six months — just breast milk, nothing else required — but it’s completely free, it’s already warm so there’s no need to heat it, and it even protects your baby from illness.
Ear infections, respiratory illnesses, stomach upsets and more occur much less in breastfed babies, and even when they do end up sick, the sickness is less severe. The National Institue of Environmental Health Sciences even found that exclusively breastfed babies — no solid foods or baby formula or juice — had a whopping 20 percent less chance of infant death during the time between 28 days of age and 1 year of age. Breastfed babies even have reduced chances of developing serious illnesses later in life, including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and allergies.
A mother’s breast milk is specially made to match her child’s needs. Whatever diseases a mother’s immune system has encountered, antibodies are passed along in the breast milk to help the child develop a resistance to the same diseases. There may be yet more benefits to breastfeeding, but it’s already clear that breastfeeding is better for babies than any formula.
