There are many benefits to breastfeeding your baby.
Lactation Consultant with Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Tina Wehberg, tells us about the benefits of breast feeding for mom and baby.
“For baby, breast milk is easily digested which reduces the GI disturbance in the infant’s gut,” Tina says. “It also has a host of antibodies that protect the infant from infection as well as reduces the risk of SIDS.”
Babies that are breastfed also has a reduced risk of childhood obesity, asthma, and allergies.
Benefits for mom is that a lot of calories are burned while breastfeeding. Other benefits include a reduced risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease.
Tina also talks about the bonding experience that takes place between mom and baby when breastfeeding and what breast milk offers that formula can’t.
“When a mother holds her baby and begins to breastfeed and the baby is snuggled up against mom, that baby hears the rhythm of the mother’s heartbeat and is comforted,” Tina says. “It also helps the mother relax and have an overwhelming feeling of contentment.”
She also has words of encouragement for mothers who want to breastfeed, but cannot because their body does not produce enough milk.
“I would always encourage mothers who are concerned about her milk supply to reach out to a lactation consultant to figure out ways to boost that that milk supply,” Tina says. “A little bit of breast milk is better than none at all.”
If a mother is having issues with breastfeeding or any questions, they can call the hotline, 410-543-7199.
