Written by Ingrid Vennonen, Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) graduate (2017)
It’s World Breastfeeding Week!
Let’s celebrate by learning some interesting benefits to mum and baby.
Evidence shows breast milk is the best nutrition a mother can offer their baby. For babies which can be breastfed, there are numerous health benefits, both physiological and mental.
Benefits to Mum:
- Saves money! (no need to buy formula)
- Helps mum to heal faster, like helping her uterus to shrink faster and return to her pre-baby weight
- Less likely to develop breast cancer later in life
- Hormones released during feeding creates feel good emotions
Benefits to Baby:
- Designed to cater for baby’s nutritional needs in the first 6 months of life
- Colostrum, produced in the first 2-4 days of the baby’s life, is rich in proteins essential for the development of a healthy immune system
- Contains special immune system protective proteins which are important as a newborn’s immune system is still developing while a newborn
- Research shows breastfed babies are less likely to develop allergies
- Breast fed babies lead to smarter babies! Infants tend to have higher IQ’s due to adequate brain development
- Reduces the baby’s risk of developing specific diseases later in life
- Breast milk changes to what the baby’s nutritional profile is (ie. milk made for a three month old is different to that for a nine month old) – formula doesn’t do this
Benefits for both:
Additionally, some joint benefits for both include the promotion of bonding between mum and baby and satisfying emotional needs.
Breast feeding also promotes sleep and calmness, which helps both to sleep for longer periods during the night, compared to those who formula feed.
Are you a breastfeeding mum at UTS? Did you know there are a number of breastfeeding rooms on campus for staff and student use?
Find your nearest breastfeeding room at UTS (see ‘Student support services’)
Inside | Out 