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Benefits of breastfeeding
Immediately after birth, the repeated suckling of the baby releases oxytocin from the mother's pituitary gland. This hormone not only signals the breasts to release milk to the baby (this is known as the milk ejection reflex, or "let-down"), but simultaneously produces contractions in the uterus. The resulting contractions prevent excessive bleeding and help the uterus return to its normal size.
As long as a mother breastfeeds without substituting formula or foods for feedings at the breast, the return of her menstrual periods is delayed. Unlike bottle-feeding mothers, who typically get their periods back within six to eight weeks, breastfeeding mothers can often stay without their periods for several months. This condition has the important benefit of conserving iron in the mother's body and often provides natural spacing of pregnancies.
Breast-feeding is good for new mothers as well as for their babies. There are no bottles to sterilize and no formula to buy, measure and mix. It may be easier for a nursing mother to lose the pounds of pregnancy as well, since nursing uses up extra calories. Lactation also stimulates the uterus to contract back to its original size.
A nursing mother is forced to get needed rest. She must sit down and relax every few hours to nurse. Nursing at night is easy as well. If she's lying down, a mother can doze while she nurses.
Nursing is also nature's contraceptive--although not a very reliable one. Frequent nursing suppresses ovulation, making it less likely for a nursing mother to menstruate, ovulate, or get pregnant. There are no guarantees, however. Mothers who don't want more children right away should use contraception even while nursing. Hormone injections and implants are safe during nursing, as are all barrier methods of birth control. The labeling on birth control pills says if possible another form of contraception should be used until the baby is weaned.
Breast-feeding is economical also. Even though a nursing mother works up a big appetite and consumes extra calories, the extra food for her is less expensive than buying formula for the baby. Nursing saves money while providing the best food possible for the baby.
Long-Term Benefits of Breastfeeding
- It is now becoming clear that breastfeeding provides mothers with more than just short-term benefits in the early period after birth.
- A number of studies have shown other potential health advantages that mothers can enjoy through breastfeeding. These include improved health, reduced risk of various cancers, and psychological benefits.
- Another important element used in producing milk is calcium. Current studies show that after weaning their children, breastfeeding mothers' bone density returns to prepregnancy or even higher levels. In the long-term, lactation may actually result in stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis (thin bones). In fact, recent studies have confirmed that women who did not breastfeed have a higher risk of hip fractures after menopause.
- Non-breastfeeding mothers have been shown in numerous studies to have a higher risk of reproductive cancers. Ovarian and uterine cancers have been found to be more common in women who did not breastfeed.
Conclusion: Breastfeeding reduces risk factors for three of the most serious diseases for women- female cancers, heart disease, and osteoporosis-without any significant health risks.
Psychological Issues for Breastfeeding Mothers
- There is much more to breastfeeding than the provision of optimal nutrition and protection from disease through mother's milk. Breastfeeding provides a unique interaction between mother and child, an automatic, skin-to-skin closeness and nurturing that bottle-feeding mothers have to work to replicate.
- Prolactin, the milk-making hormone, appears to produce a special calmness in mothers and helps them cope with stress better.
