The bond that connects a mother with her child

Breast milk - your baby’s first immunisation

Breast milk may be thought of as a baby’s ‘first immunisation’. Colostrum, the first milk secreted by the mother’s mammary glands a few days before and after childbirth contains many essential antibodies that confer immunity on the infant. Overall, breast milk protects the baby from diarrhoea, ear infections, chest infection and other conditions. It provides nutritional support against childhood diseases like Juvenile-onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, obesity, gastroenteritis, respiratory diseases and urinary tract infections. It also prevents certain conditions like atopic disease and raised blood pressure from developing later on in life.

Breast milk - the quintessential health food for your infant

The act of breast feeding helps your baby develop feelings of security and comfort and also helps him to positively relate to you in terms of trust and love thereby facilitating good emotional and cognitive development. Recent research supported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), USA suggests that breast milk is enriched with fatty acids which help in the development of brain.

Breast milk is full of all the essential nutrients and antibodies a baby requires for the first six months after birth. It has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein required for adequate growth and development. Moreover, antibodies present in breast milk protect the infant from common childhood illnesses

Cow’s milk is no substitute for breast milk

Working mothers, who are hard pressed for time might think of cow milk as a substitute for breast milk as. Mothers who have some medical problem, say for instance inverted nipples, might also think of cow milk as an option. But cow milk is no substitute for breast milk.

In general, experts are unanimous that cow’s milk is not the right food for babies less than a year old and doesn’t offer any benefits in the second year either. Cow’s milk is not only low on nutrients like iron but the iron in it is also poorly absorbed compared with breast milk. Add to this the possibility of the child developing an allergy to dairy products if cow’s milk is given to him too early on in life.

Again, cow’s milk, unlike breast milk does not confer immunity on an infant since it lacks antibodies. Women, who find it difficult to feed their babies for various reasons, can always take recourse to expressed milk. Milk can be expressed using breast pumps. It can then be stored in milk containers and given to the baby as required. Storing milk in maternal milk containers helps keep it intact with all its essential nutrients.

source: ibnlive