Breastfeeding is one of the best gifts a mother can give her newborn baby. It boosts the immunity of your baby against disease and makes the child less prone to obesity. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) refers to the practice of feeding only breast milk to a newborn, to the exclusion of any other food (including water) for the first four months of life.

In India, EBF practices are shockingly low. Only 49 percent of urban mothers and 37 percent of rural mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their babies. Although exclusive breastfeeding during the first few months of your child`s life can get tiring for you and may seem inconvenient if you are planning to resume work or need to travel, don`t let this put you off. That is because breastfeeding is beneficial in a variety of ways for you too.

Here are some of the advantages for you if you are breastfeeding your child:

It helps with quicker recovery after delivery. The risk of bleeding and complications after delivery decreases if breastfeeding is initiated as soon as the baby is cleaned up after birth. Breastfeeding releases a hormone called oxytocin in your bloodstream. This hormone allows the placenta to detach from the uterus before it is expelled. Oxytocin ensures that the detachment of the placenta does not cause too much bleeding. Thus it protects you from one of the major complications that can result from childbirth - vaginal bleeding. The presence of oxytocin also helps the uterus to shrink more quickly to its pre-pregnancy size. Early initiation of breastfeeding also ensures that you do not develop painful engorgement of the breasts.

It helps you lose weight. Breastfeeding can help you lose the weight gained during pregnancy faster than if you bottle-feed your baby; exclusively breast feeding your baby will help you lose more weight than if you combine breastfeeding with the bottle. This is true even if you consume more calories and are physically less active, in the immediate period after childbirth, than mothers of bottle-fed babies. One of the reasons for this is the increased demand for nutrients in the body to make breast milk for your baby. The fat stores in your body burn faster due to this, leading to a rapid loss of the weight gained during pregnancy.

Diet for babies (0 to 12 months)

It offers protection from anemia and pregnancy. Breastfeeding exclusively can delay the return of your menses by as much as 20-30 weeks. This has a dual benefit. The delay in the resumption of your menses protects you from blood loss for a while, which in turn protects you from the anaemia that is common after childbirth due to blood loss and the loss of the body`s iron stores. The second benefit is that it acts as a protection against pregnancy. Exclusive breastfeeding for six months has a high chance of preventing the possibility of pregnancy and thus serves as a natural contraceptive to some extent. It is advisable, however, to use a more effective method of contraception alongside.

It may protect you against cancers. Breastfeeding may offer you long-term protection against ovarian, endometrial (cancer of the uterus) and pre-menopausal breast cancers. The longer you breastfeed, the greater the protection you gain. Mothers who breastfeed their infants for two years or longer can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by at least 50 percent while mothers who have not breastfed their babies at all are found to have a risk of developing ovarian cancer that is 1.6 times higher than the risk for those who have breastfed. These women are also found to be at greater risk for the development of endometrial or uterine cancer later in life.

Lactation may protect against breast cancer in two ways. One is that breast tissue is altered in breastfeeding mothers. Women who have never been pregnant have non-secretory and undifferentiated breast tissue. With pregnancy and lactation this tissue changes into a form that may be less prone to becoming cancerous. The other source of protection is that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months can suppress the production of ova from the ovary and the resumption of menses. This suppression of ovulation for a few months after childbirth prevents the hormonal surges associated with each menstrual cycle. This also plays a role in protecting the breasts, the ovaries and the uterus from cancers.

Weaning food for babies

It protects you against osteoporosis. This is a dreaded bone disease that affects perimenopausal (phase before menopause) and postmenopausal women. The bones, due to lack of calcium and other essential minerals, turn brittle and become prone to fractures.

Breastfeeding your baby protects you against osteoporosis to a large extent because of its beneficial impact on the body`s calcium stores. Mothers who do not breastfeed are at a four-fold higher risk of osteoporosis than mothers who do. The reasons for this are the lifestyle and diet changes associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Most women avoid coffee, alcohol and smoking while they breastfeed. This helps in better absorption of calcium during that time. Also, lactating mothers recover their calcium balance more rapidly than non-lactating women. This is because exclusive breastfeeding helps lactating mothers lose pregnancy weight faster, with a corresponding reduction in the load on the bone structure of the body.

It helps you bond with your baby. This is the most important benefit of all. Breastfeeding can bring you and your baby closer. New mothers are often anxious and apprehensive about their new responsibility. By helping you develop a close bond with the baby and nurturing your relationship, breastfeeding helps you feel more confident in your new role.

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