Breast Feeding

• Provides Essential Fatty Acids, Proteins and many other nutrient


• Offers strong baby immunity - Macrophages (cells that destroy bacteria, viruses and fungi) can help with common diseases like pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, urinary tract infections and ear infections


• Breast Milk is always sterile and never contains the bacteria that may cause diarrhoea in bottle-fed infants.


• Protects against allergies. The antibodies in breast milk work to form a protective coating on the inside of a baby’s intestines, protecting them from potential allergens. Babies are never allergic to their own mother’s milk. They may react to some of the foods that she eats - common examples are cow’s milk and Brussels sprouts - but if the mother eliminates the problem food from her diet, the symptoms in the baby soon go away


• Creates strong physical growth through the act of suckling by exercising the baby's jaws and facial muscles and encouraging the growth of straight, healthy teeth


• Establishes a close bond between mother and baby. This is further developed when there is skin to skin contact during feeding. This, together with the feelings of warmth and security that come from being cuddled help to establish an early psychological balance in the infant, usually resulting in a more placid temperament. Interestingly, at birth a baby can only focus on things between 12 and 18 inches away - precisely the distance between the mother’s face and the infant’s eyes during breast feeding.

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