Feeding Your Infant
Good nutrition for your little one right from the start will get him off to a healthy beginning. Breast milk or formula is the only food your infant needs for his first four to six months of life. If you decide to breastfeed, following some sound nutritional guidelines can ensure you are getting all of the calories and nutrients needed to nourish your baby properly.
Why Breastfeed?
One of the very first decisions new parents make is how to feed their newborn. Many health professionals agree that the ideal method is breastfeeding, though for some women this is not the best choice for physical, health, or personal reasons. For some mothers, breastfeeding is an easy transition. For others it may take some time and patience before the process is a smooth one. It is perfectly normal for it to take some time and practice. A lactation consultant should visit you in the hospital to help you get started.
Essential: The American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both recommend that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first four to six months of life and then breastfed with complementary foods for at least twelve months.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Even though breastfeeding is not your only option, there are many benefits to using this method to nourish your newborn in the beginning. Breastfeeding can aid in the physical, emotional, and practical needs of both the baby and the mother. Other benefits include these:
- The infant is able to eat on demand without any trouble. When the infant is hungry, the milk is ready instantly without any measuring, mixing, or warming of bottles.
- There is no concern over proper sterilization.
- Breast milk is easy for babies to digest, so there is less spitting up.
- Breast milk is rich in antibodies that can help protect the baby from intestinal, ear, urinary, and lower respiratory-tract infections, as well as pneumonia.
- If breastfeeding is continued through at least the first six months of life, it can help decrease the risk of the baby's developing food allergies.
- In babies with a family history of food allergies, breastfeeding can help lower the risk of developing asthma and some skin conditions.
- The quality and the quantity of fat in breast milk tends to be more nutritious than the fat found in most formulas.
- Breastfeeding is less expensive than formula feeding.
- New studies indicate that breastfed infants may be less likely to become obese later in life and therefore less likely to develop diabetes.
- Women who breastfeed usually return to their pre-pregnancy weight more quickly, and the uterus also returns to its normal size more quickly.
- Breastfeeding can help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and, in premenopausal women, breast cancer.