Breastfeeding Benefits for Baby

Since 2011, August has been celebrated as National Breastfeeding Month due to the overwhelming benefits that breastfeeding has for your baby. While there are many ways to feed, care for, and support your child, the benefits of breastfeeding are just undeniable.

To celebrate and educate, we have compiled a list of benefits for you to consider:

• Breastfeeding provides the ideal nutrition for babies with a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, antioxidants, and more to stimulate healthy growth and development.
• Breastfeeding can create a stronger immune system for baby which leads to fewer colds and respiratory illnesses like pneumonia, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, and ear infections.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that breastfeeding plays a role in preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Babies that are breastfed are proven to have a healthier weight. Not only does breastfeeding promote a healthy weight gain after birth, but it has also been linked to lower risks of type I and II diabetes and less likelihood of becoming obese later in life.
• Breastfeeding can promote a healthy and active brain. Babies that are breastfed show higher brain development leading to higher intelligence scores.
• Breastfeeding has also been linked to a reduction in the risk for childhood leukemia.

These are only a few of the many, many benefits that breastfeeding can bring to your baby. However, BMH also recognizes that breastfeeding is not a realistic path for all parents and babies and that's okay. If you have any questions about breastfeeding or other resources, please fill out this form so that our Director of Nursing, Sulane Knight, can answer them: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DHMC3xAfXP7zFbVIPh9JZZu6tJEtw-sYEuytR6hPF-k/edit