Breast Feeding: Benefits and Disadvantages for Child

What is Breast-Feeding?

Actually, breast feeding is an unequaled process of providing the perfect food for the healthy growth and development of infants. Also, it is an integral part of the reproductive way with important implications for the health of the mom. A recommendation from global public health– infants must be solely breastfed for the first six months of life to gain optimal growth and development of health.

Exclusive breast milk provides all of the nutrients vitamins and minerals an infant needs for growth for the first six months. Breast milk contains a 100% correct ratio of calories, fluid, protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins that are needed for a baby’s development and growth.

What is Meant by Exclusive Breastfeeding?:

Breastfeeding or nursing is feeding of babies and young children with milk from a women’s breast. The meaning of exclusive breastfeeding is that the infant receives only breast milk, no other solids or liquids are given, not even water except the oral re-hydration solution, or drops or syrups of vitamins, medicines, or minerals.

Advantage of Breastfeeding for Child:

There are so many advantages of breastfeeding which are pointed out below:

1. Breast milk contains antibodies, which will strengthen the baby’s immune system and protects against all types of illness.
2. The nutrients and vitamins in breast milk are easily absorbed compared to the nutrients in the formula.
3. Breast milk is easier to digest than formula.
4. Children that are exclusively breastfed, have a lower risk of gastrointestinal infections such as vomiting and diarrhea.
5. Reduced the risk of constipation and colic.
6. Reduced the risk of childhood diabetes in breastfed babies.
7. Exclusively breastfed children have a lower risk of asthma. Eczema, ear infections, and bronchitis.
8. Exclusively breastfed babies have a decreased risk of tooth decay.
9. Improved brain and nervous system.
10. Reduce the risk of ear infection and prevent recurrent ear infections.
11. Decrease the probability of sudden infant death syndrome.
12. Exclusive breastfeeding help to protect from allergies.
13. Reduce the risk of being 72 % hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia, bronchitis) in infants who are breastfed exclusively for more than four months.
14. If infants are being breastfed at the time of their first exposure to gluten, there is a 52 percent reduction in the risk of developing celiac disease.
15. A reduction of 20 % in the risk of acute lymphatic leukemia and 15% in the risk of acute myeloid leukemic has been seen in infants breastfed for six months or longer.
16. Another advantage of breastfeeding is totally free of cost.
17. Breast milk contains growth factors and hormones to help the baby’s development.

What is the Disadvantage of Breastfeeding for Child?

Usually, when we hear about breastfeeding, we only hear the good things about it- how beneficial it is to the baby, how special it is for the baby and mother, and more. Whoever thought that there might be a disadvantage to breastfeeding? There is a definite disadvantage, those disadvantages are usually downplayed to get more women to breastfeed their babies.

1. Lack of freedom.
2. Diet restrictions.
3. Passing on infections like chicken pox, HIV AIDS.
4. Incapability to measure the volume of milk the baby consumed.
5. No one else can feed the baby.
6. Breast-fed babies wake more often during the night to feed.
7. Breastfeeding can be difficult to establish without adequate support and information.
8. Breastfed babies need to be fed more often every 1 ½ – 3 hours.
9. Some medications are passed through breast milk.

Maria Mona

Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “maria.mona023@gmail.com”