The many benefits of breastfeeding
Reviewed by Dr. Laurie Jones
Regardless of whether you’re planning to (or are able to) breastfeed, it’s worth noting that each of the many compelling reasons to breastfeed reinforces the idea that breastfeeding has evolved to benefit both you and your baby.
Thanks to strong evidence about the benefits of prolonging breastfeeding, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently extended its recommendation for breastfeeding from one year to two years1.
This isn’t meant to stress you out, especially when you stop breastfeeding at some point (for any number of reasons), but rather to highlight that any amount of breast milk your baby receives is beneficial, and the longer that you’re able to provide any amount, the longer the benefits last!
While many of the mechanics and benefits of breastfeeding are well understood, “there is still so much we don’t understand about breastfeeding,” acknowledges Dr. Laurie Jones, pediatrician and founder of Dr. MILK (Mothers Interested in Lactation Knowledge). What we do know is that every time your baby latches to you, a conversation starts between your baby’s saliva and your mammary glands. And that’s where the magic begins.
Benefits for the lactating parent
There are many compelling reasons for parents to breastfeed. The skin-to-skin contact is good for you and your baby, and breastfeeding produces the hormones oxytocin and prolactin, which can be soothing and stress-relieving.
“Breastfeeding is not recognized as preventative medicine for the mother,” Dr. Jones says. But the benefits are myriad, including lowering the risk of you developing the following:
- breast cancer2,3
- ovarian cancer4
- type 2 diabetes and obesity in late middle age5
- osteoporosis6
- cardiac disease and hypertension7,8
- rheumatoid arthritis9
- postpartum depression10 and anxiety11
- postpartum bleeding and anemia12
Benefits for the baby
Breast milk is pretty amazing. It contains all the nutrients babies need during their first six months of life—and, remarkably, no more than they need. It’s capable of something called chrononutrition, where it adjusts to meet your baby’s demands based on age, health, and time of day. And because babies can regulate how much breast milk they consume, you can’t over-breastfeed your baby.
Your breast milk also exposes your baby to the wide range of nutrients and flavors that you consume, not to mention your natural immunities.
Breastfeeding lowers the risk of your baby developing the following:
- SIDS13
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes and obesity14
- cavities and malocclusion
- sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), retinopathy of prematurity, and a need for supplemental oxygen (for preterm infants)15
- leukemia
- asthma, atopic dermatitis, and eczema16
- autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis
- respiratory and ear infections17
- gastrointestinal infections and diarrhea, and other gut and bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis18
If my diet isn’t great, I shouldn’t breastfeed.
Benefits for the family
- Because your baby is sick less often, parents don’t miss as much work—six times less!19
- Although there are certainly costs like time and gear (bras, pumping accessories, etc.), breast milk itself is free.
- Breast milk is immediately available when your baby is hungry and therefore portable; you don’t need to mix up formula or worry about its temperature.
- Breastfeeding can be easy to do on the go—and on demand. (You can travel with less stuff and potentially less fussing.)
- Breastfeeding can help boost mental health and can assist with restful sleep—and that helps everyone in the house!
Set targets, not goals
Most of us are encouraged to have a birth plan but to expect labor to go very differently than planned. The same is true with breastfeeding.
It’s a good idea to have targets—not goals—because targets can be moved, whereas goals are fixed. Keep in mind that there are many ways to breastfeed, and your targets will likely shift, as life shifts with you and your baby. Your circumstances could change or prevent you from breastfeeding as much as you want (or at all), and that’s OK; many factors can impact your supply or your latch, not to mention your time with your baby. The process of raising children, more broadly, is fluid and dynamic.
It’s very easy to let breastfeeding become your all-consuming concern and effort. But to preserve your mental health and ensure that you’re addressing your own needs, resist the urge to self-sacrifice. (This is easier said than done, we know.)
Remember that any effort you make to provide any of your own milk is great. Just ensure that it’s “a paced effort,” Dr. Jones says, “meaning that it doesn't consume every waking minute for a few weeks, and then you stop all together from exhaustion.”
Keeping this perspective in mind can help prevent you from burning out on breastfeeding, and can help you remain responsive to your particular circumstances, while minimizing shame and feelings of failure.
While we share these benefits to get you excited and informed about breastfeeding, we acknowledge that not all birthing parents can or want to breastfeed. We also acknowledge that there are ways to get breastfeeding benefits without breastfeeding.
And if you aren’t exclusively breastfeeding, or you need to stop for any reason, take heart. You’ve done—and are still doing—wonderful things for your baby. “Small amounts of breast milk can benefit your baby, and protect against SIDS and infections,” Dr. Jones says.
References
1 https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057988/188347/Policy-Statement-Breastfeeding-and-the-Use-of?autologincheck=redirected&_ga=2.220538264.1646521108.1661369081-2084734624.1661169996
2 Chowdhury R, Sinha B, Sankar NJ, et al. Breastfeeding and maternal health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr. 2015;104(S467):96-113.
3 Chowdhury R, Sinha B, Sankar NJ, et al. Breastfeeding and maternal health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr. 2015;104(S467):96-113.
4 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
5 Aune D, Norat T, Romundstad P, Vatten LJ. Breastfeeding and the maternal risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;24(2):107-115
6 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27577724/
7 Schwarz EB, Ray RM, Stube AM, et al. Duration of lactation and risk factors for maternal cardiovascular disease. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;113(5):974-982
8 Natland ST, Nilsen TI, Midthjell K, Andersen LF, Forsmo S. Lactation and cardiovascular risk factors in mothers in a population-based study: the HUNT study. Int Breastfeed J. 2012;7(1):8.
9 https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-overview/
10 https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgrcl/2/2/22.full.pdf
11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7216213/#:~:text=Postpartum%20anxiety%20measured%20by%20BAI,anxious%20compared%20to%20breastfeeding%20mothers
12 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-the-benefits-of-breastfeeding-for-baby--for-mom
13 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
14 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
15 https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/breastfeeding-position-paper.html
16 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
17 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
18 Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 153 Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2007
19 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-the-benefits-of-breastfeeding-for-baby--for-mom
Additional resources
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