WHO and UNICEF recommend breastfeeding as exclusive food for newborns up to 6 months of age, as it provides babies with all the nutrients they need to grow and for their immune system to fully develop. They also advise that up to 2 years old they eat a combination of it with adequate and nutritious foods for their age.
It has multiple benefits for children's health, such as protection against diseases, prevention of overweight or diabetes. But not only that, it is that it also has advantages for the health of the mother. These are some of its benefits:
Skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding cause increased levels of oxytocin, also called the hormone of love and happiness. In addition, a study indicates that women with higher levels of this hormone had fewer symptoms related to anxiety and depression.
Suction produces stimulation that increases the production of hormones that contract the uterus and facilitate the elimination of lochia, which is vaginal fluid made up of blood, tissue debris from the uterine walls, and leukocytes, and which is similar in shape to menstruation. . Its expulsion occurs in the days after delivery, and breastfeeding favors its elimination. In addition, by increasing oxytocin levels, bleeding is reduced and it also helps in the contraction of the uterus.
Another of the benefits of increased oxytocin levels is that, by preventing further blood loss, there is less chance of suffering from iron deficiency anemia.
Breastfeeding protects mothers against ovarian and breast cancer. According to the World Health Organization, women who breastfeed have a 26% lower risk of breast cancer and a 37% lower risk of ovarian cancer, compared to women who do not breastfeed or who breastfeed less.
It also protects against other diseases. According to WHO data, women who breastfeed also have a lower risk of suffering from hypertension and cardiovascular diseases and it is estimated that they have a 32% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, compared to women who do not breastfeed or do less.
Breastfeeding promotes attachment. The WHO indicates that “the attachment between mother and child increases when mothers interact with their children while breastfeeding. Longer periods of breastfeeding are associated with more sensitive responses from mothers and the security that comes with attachment.
