Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby and Mother

Created by Dr Deepak Solanki Updated on Feb 02, 2020

Breastfeeding, one of the most important acts of motherhood provides a bond of deep love and affection between mother and her newborn baby. This feeding not only is beneficial for baby but is beneficial for the mother too. Here is a concise description about the breastfeeding benefits.
Breastfeeding Benefits for baby:
1) Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants.
2) It has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat—everything your baby needs to grow and it is more easily digested than infant formula.
3) Breast milk especially Colostrum - contains antibodies that help your baby fight off viruses and bacteria.
4) Breastfeeding lowers your baby's risk of having asthma or allergies.
5) Babies who are breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months, without any formula feeds, have fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, bouts of diarrhea and also have fewer hospitalizations and trips to the doctor.
6) Breastfeeding has been linked to higher IQ scores in later childhood.
7) The physical closeness and skin-to-skin contact during breastfeeding, all help the baby bond with mother and feel secure.
8) Breastfed infants are more likely to gain the right amount of weight as they grow, rather than becoming overweight /obese.
9) Breastfeed is believed to lower the risk of diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers as well (in adulthood)
Breastfeeding Benefits for Mother:
1) It helps to burns extra calories, so it can help mothers lose pregnancy weight faster.
2) It releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth.
3) It lowers the risk of breast cancer (as much as 25% and directly proportional to duration of breastfeeding in months/years).
4) It reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer - due to the cancer-fighting effects of lower estrogen levels during lactation. It is thought that lesser estrogen is available to stimulate the lining of the uterus and perhaps breast tissue, thus reducing the risk of these tissues becoming cancerous.
5) Breastfeed lessens osteoporosis - Non-breastfeeding women have a four times greater chance of developing osteoporosis than breastfeeding women and are more likely to suffer from hip fractures in the post-menopausal years.
6) Cost/time effective - No need to buy and measure formula, sterilize nipples, or warm bottles, thus it saves mother's time and money.
7) Breastfeeding gives regular time to relax quietly with the newborn thus lowering daily stress levels .Studies show that breastfeeding mothers show less postpartum anxiety and depression than formula-feeding mothers.
8) Natural Child-spacing - Breastfeed delays ovulation, thus more longer a mother breastfeeds, more she is able to practice natural child spacing, if she desires.
Enjoy the mother child bonding!
This content has been checked & validated by Doctors and Experts of the parentune Expert panel. Our panel consists of Neonatologist, Gynecologist, Peadiatrician, Nutritionist, Child Counselor, Education & Learning Expert, Physiotherapist, Learning disability Expert and Developmental Pead.










| Feb 25, 2016
Hi suby, WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least till 6 months but one can feed as long as 1- 1. 5 years or even more. But weaning should start along with other top feeds 1 year onwards as breastmilk alone won't provide adequate nutrition for proper growth.



| Mar 07, 2016
Hi himaja ,I would suggest you breastfeed as much as possible at least till 1 yr of age .since you are giving formula feeds once a day along with breastfeeds ,I don't think you need to add any other top feeds as formula feeds available commercially according to a child's age provide adequate nutrition to them (do consult your family pediatrician about which one suits your child best ).


| Mar 08, 2016
Very nice article, my son is one month old, i am giving him only breastmilk, but he is feeding every hour for approx 20 mins, mostly not sleeping more than an hour, in late evening he wants to feed every half an hour, please guide me is this okay? Or my milk is not sufficient thts y hecis doing so?please guide me Dr

| Mar 08, 2016
Very nice article, my son is one month old, i am giving him only breastmilk, but he is feeding every hour for approx 20 mins, mostly not sleeping more than an hour, in late evening he wants to feed every half an hour, please guide me is this okay? Or my milk is not sufficient thts y he is doing so?plz guide me Dr

| Mar 08, 2016
Hi anuja, breastmilk is digested sooner than a conventional formula feed .Thus need for frequent feeding is there. No need to worry ,just continue the breastfeeding .The baby will demand feed as per his hunger so feed acoordingly .keep visiting your pediatrician on timely basis to make sure the growth milestones -height /weight , along with other milestones are in sync with your child 's age.


| Mar 08, 2016
Thanx dr for replying soon, i am taking perinorm 10 mg tab also twice a daily is tht okay because in starting days breastmilk milk was not enough so dr suggested me, now i am afraid to stop it whether my milk will decrease or what?plz plz plz guide me in this matter

| Mar 08, 2016
Hi anuja,perinorm increases prolactin levels and helps in breastmilk production but it's prolonged use can lead to side effects due to drug itself .Thus I would advise you to kindly consult your obstetrician /whoever started perinorm to decide about tapering the dosage and eventually stopping it .








| May 18, 2017
check out the Breastfeeding Tips for New Mothers. https://www.parentcircle.com/article/10-breastfeeding-tips-for-new-mothers/

| May 24, 2018
https://youtu.be/QPy0y-oFlTo Video about top breastfeeding benefits for nursing mothers hello and welcome to yet another video of women and baby care in previous video we have seen the breastfeeding benefits for your baby while in this video we will learn advantages of breastfeeding for mothers 00:00:52820 the first and foremost benefit of breastfeeding is that it enhances bonding between mother and baby breastfeeding creates a wonderful bond between mother and baby in a way that cannot be matched by bottle feeding for working mothers breastfeeding is a great way to maintain this special closeness to their baby. 00:01:13340 number two breastfeeding cause your uterus to contract faster breastfeeding immediately following delivery causes the uterus to contract lessening the risk of postpartum hemorrhage each time you breastfeed your baby it releases a surge of hormones which help your uterus to contract and shrink more quickly to its pre pregnant size 00:01:39379 number three breastfeeding reduces the risk of certain cancers breastfeeding mothers are less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer ovarian uterine and cervical cancers 00:01:56820 number four breastfeeding helps lose the weight gained as lactation is a calorie burning exercise a nursing mother can lose much of her pregnancy weight faster than if she were bottle feeding her baby breastfeeding requires an additional five hundred calories per day 00:02:13560 number five breastfeeding reduces the risk of anemia the delayed return of your periods although a benefit in itself has the additional benefit of reducing the risk of anemia because your iron stores are reserved while you are not menstruating 00:02:31910 number six breastfeeding is a natural stress reducer breastfeeding can help you to relax the hormone prolactin which is released during nursing promote the feeling of relaxation and well-being 00:02:47480 number seven breastfeeding decreased the risk of osteoporosis osteoporosis a loss of bone tissue occurs less often in women who breastfed osteoporosis may cause one out of every three women over the age of 50 years to experience a hip fracture in their lifetime 00:03:09090 and last but not the least number eight breast feeding is convenient and inexpensive breast milk is always ready to use at the perfect temperature there are no bottles to sterilize and no formula to buy measure and mix and also breast milk is free bottle feeding can become expensive the cost of infant formula alone for twelve months is approximately $1,000 to $1,200 add to this the cost of bottles nipples and sterilizing equipment that is all for this video we thank you for watching this video also do not forget to watch our next video And do not forget to Like share and subscribe to women & baby care Subscribe: YouTube: https://bit.ly/2IASdDQ Google+: https://bit.ly/2KFKLZ0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/2IvNhjH Facebook: https://bit.ly/2IwurZF

| Feb 07, 2019
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| Feb 09, 2019
I am also facing this issue, I tried to do it with the some tips online but It didn't worked. Kindly please help me with some solution... Thanks https://goo.gl/YjMtfo