Benefits of breastfeeding
The Department of Health, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation recommend exclusively breastfeeding your baby for the first six months of their life.
At West Herts, we are committed to supporting you to achieve your breastfeeding goals.
Breast milk has all the nutrients that your baby needs for the first six months of life and helps to protect them from a variety of infections, illnesses and allergies.
Breastfeeding not only protects your baby, it also helps to reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, it also helps to prevent bone fractures, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in later life.
Breastfeeding may also help you to shed any weight gained during pregnancy, as it burns 500-800 calories a day!
Breastfeeding is good for the environment and helps to reduce your carbon footprint and it saves you money as well.
The most important benefit of breastfeeding to you and your baby is that you develop a strong, loving bond that helps your baby’s brain to develop and reduces your chance of developing postnatal illness.
Every day that you breastfeed your baby makes a difference to their overall well being. Babies who are not breastfed have a greater incidence of:
- Gastroenteritis that requires hospital admission
- Chest infections that lead to hospital admission as a result
- Ear infections
- Constipation
- Childhood obesity that continues into adult life
- Allergies
- Gut related problems
Whilst we recommend breastfeeding your baby, we are also here to help you if you decide to formula feed your baby or switch from breastfeeding to formula feeding.
You can find further information on the benefits of breastfeeding on the NHS website.
