Page Last updated 14-05-2009
There is clear evidence that breast feeding has positive health benefits for both mother and baby in the short- and longer-term (beyond the period of breast feeding). Breast milk is the best form of nutrition for infants and exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months (26 weeks) of an infant's life. Thereafter breast feeding should continue for as long as the mother and baby wish, while gradually introducing a more varied diet weight.
Breast milk is baby's first immunization. It provides antibodies which protect babies from many common respiratory and intestinal diseases, and also contains living immune cells. First milk, colostrum, is packed with components which increase immunity and protect the newborn's intestines. Artificially fed babies have higher rates of middle ear infections, pneumonia, and cases of gastroenteritis (stomach flu). They are also five times more likely to be admitted to hospital with infections in their first year of life.
There are also multiple health benefits for mothers who breastfeed as well as increasing the likelihood of the mother returning to her pre-pregnancy weight. Mothers who breastfeed for at least 6 months throughout their lifetime have a decreased risk of breast cancer, and similar reduced rates have been shown for ovarian and uterine cancers, over and above the fact that women who were breastfed themselves are more likely to breastfeed their own children. Infant feeding recommendation, DH 2003
Three quarters of British mothers who stopped breastfeeding at any point in the first 6 months (and 90% of those who stopped in the first 2 weeks) would have liked to have continued for longer. This suggests that much more could be done to support them. The British figures also contrast with data from Norway, where over 80% of mothers breastfeed for the first 6 months (Lande et a.l 2003).As a consequence of the clear benefits of breast feeding, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Strategy Infant and Young Child Feeding 2003, recommends that optimal growth, development and health is achieved through exclusive breast feeding for the first six months of a child's life, and continuation into the second year of life.