Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother.
Mother’s milk is the only reliable source of feeding the baby with its unique formula that protects the newborn from infections, does not cause allergies in children and is better absorbed by the infant’s intestines.
Breast milk also contains immunoglobulins, which protect the baby’s intestines from foreign bacteria and prevent colds.
Milk also contains lysozyme, lactoferrin, live leukocytes, lymphocytes, bifidus factor and other substances of high biological complexity that perform protective and immunomodulatory functions.
Pediatrician, Maryam Sivolina, explained that mother’s milk not only provides the child with unique protection from infection, but also stimulates the development of his own immune system, becoming a kind of vaccine to protect health from external threats.
According to Sivolina, breastfeeding has many benefits for the mother as well.
In particular, lactation helps to cope with postpartum depression: in the body of a nursing woman, neuropeptide hormones are present in large quantities, including endorphins – hormones of joy.
In addition, women who breastfeed their babies are less likely to develop ovarian and uterine cancer.
This is likely due to frequent ovulation cycles and the effect of estrogen, whose levels are higher in non-breastfeeding women.
There are studies confirming that women who breastfeed for 12 months have a 26% lower risk of developing breast cancer and a 37% lower risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding reduces a woman’s risk of type 2 diabetes by 32%.
The pediatrician also said that there are studies confirming the existence of a high risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in women who refuse to breastfeed.
It is also important that breastfed babies cry less, and that women experience less stress.
On the other hand, skin-to-skin contact allows you to create a deeper bond between mother and child, and in the future has a positive effect on the psychosomatic state of the child.
The doctor says: “It is important for every mother to know that the first sensations of a child under the age of three shape his potential in life. The bond that develops between mother and child during breastfeeding can reduce behavioral and social problems for the child as he grows. A child who receives direct contact with the mother feels Breastfeeding is always safe and therefore less anxious.”
“The longer a woman breastfeeds her baby, the better her chances of dealing with stress in the future.”
