Advantages of Breastfeeding

It's best for the baby. Breast milk has antibodies, which pass from the mother to the baby and help protect the baby against illness and allergies.

Breast milk is easily digested. Mothers don't have to worry about their babies being constipated or thirsty, because babies get an adequate amount of water from breast milk.

Sucking at the breast helps with good oral development. Breastfed babies have fewer speech impediments. Breastfed babies have good cheekbone development and jaw alignment.

Breastfeeding also is good for the mother. The baby's sucking at the breast causes uterine contractions right after birth. The contractions lead to less bleeding for the mother and return the uterus to its pre-pregnancy shape much faster.

Breastfeeding burns calories. A breastfeeding mother can lose much of her pregnancy weight faster than if she were bottle feeding her baby.