Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/ask-dr.-sue-breastfed-babies-in-child-care/5012022/
The Benefits of Breastfeeding . . .The new policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics issued on breastfeeding has implications for child care programs that serve infants. In December 1997, the Academy did not just reiterate the support by pediatricians for breastfeeding as the optimal form of nutrition for infants. What is new is the review of evidence that shows compelling advantages to infants, mothers, families, and society from breastfeeding. The data confirm the superiority of human milk over all substitutes (formulas) for feeding infants.
. . . to Babies
Breastfeeding decreases the incidence and/or severity of diarrhea, lower respiratory infection, ear infections, blood infections, bacterial meningitis, botulism, urinary tract infection and, in newborns, inflammation of the bowels. Some evidence suggests that in addition to the overriding importance of putting infants to sleep on their backs, human milk provides some protection against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Amazingly, several studies suggest that being breastfed in infancy offers lifetime protection against insulin-dependent diabetes, lymphoma, allergic diseases, inflammation of the bowels, other chronic digestive diseases, and enhanced cognitive development.
Remarkably, no amount of breastfeeding is too little to see some benefit. The relationship between the amount of breastfeeding and the benefits is direct: the more breast ...