Benefits of Breastfeeding

In today’s highly competitive environment, many mothers do not want to sacrifice their careers and choose the option of bottle-feeding their babies. Whatever the reason new mothers give for bottle-feeding their babies, one thing is a fact that motherhood is said to be incomplete without breastfeeding. It is well known fact that doctors normally suggest that babies should only be breastfeed in their first six months. However, people still harbor doubts about the benefits of breastfeeding and in case you too have some then read on as we discuss the subject in detail.

Choice Between Breastfeeding & Bottle-feeding

After many researches, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) brought forward the fact that newborn babies should be breastfed for the first six months. Only after the first six months, mothers should start feeding them with other options like formula feeds and bottle feeds.

Advantages Of Breastfeeding

There are many reasons that doctors and old ladies recommend breastfeeding for a newborn. Here is a list of advantages of breastfeeding a baby:

• * Mother’s milk is full of vitamins, minerals, lactose, proteins and fats that is not present in that quantity in any other substitute.
• * Mother’s milk is easily digested by the newborn than any other substitute.
• * Mother’s milk contains antibodies that protect the infants from a number of infectious diseases like diarrhea.
• * Babies fed on mother’s breast milk are less prone to high cholesterol, diabetes, allergies and asthma.
• * Breastfeeding is a great way of burning calories and pregnancy weight for mothers.
• * Breastfeeding needs no preparation and can never go out of supply and is free of cost.

Limitations Of Breastfeeding

After having a look at the advantages of breastfeeding, now have a look at some of the limitations of breastfeeding.

• * The first limitation of breastfeeding is that often the mother starts feeling toed down by the baby’s constant demand of feed.
• * Many mothers start feeling tired after breastfeeding their baby for 2 to 3 hours in the first few months.
• * Some mothers can’t give up their career and need to go out for work and this proves to be the greatest limitation of breastfeeding, as they can’t opt for breastfeeding their baby in this case.
• * With breastfeeding only a mother can feed the baby, while with formula or bottle-feeding, any family member can feed the baby.

Symptoms Of A Hungry Baby

Now that you are aware why breastfeeding is so crucial for your baby, you should also try to learn when you baby needs to feed. Many new mothers worry about whether their baby is getting enough to eat or not. At times mothers have been noted to try feeding their baby about 12 times a day but this decreases with time and mothers feed when the baby demands. Following are the symptoms that show that your baby is hungry:

• * When the baby moves his head from side to side.
• * When the baby puckers his lips as if sucking
• * When the baby keeps opening his mouth.
• * When the baby place his hands and fists in his mouth.
• * When the baby sticks out his tongue.
• * When the baby nuzzles against his mother’s breast.