The way a baby is fed matters for their health and their mum's.
Here's why breastfeeding is important.
We've known for a long time that breastfeeding is important for the health of both you and your baby.
Many years of research have shown that:
the longer you exclusively breastfeed your baby within the first 6 months, the lower their health risks.
the longer you breastfeed all up, the lower the health risks for you and your baby.
Risks or benefits?
When sharing information about health and breastfeeding, you may notice we talk about the risks of not breastfeeding, rather than the benefits of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is the biologically 'normal' way to feed babies. And human breastmilk is a baby's natural first food. This is why the health results of any other way of feeding a baby have to be compared to breastfeeding.
There is robust scientific evidence about the link between breastfeeding and the following health conditions in mums and babies. For each of these, there is a dose-response relationship between breastfeeding and the health result. This means the risks increase with less breastfeeding.
For babies
Not being breastfed (or being breastfed for a shorter length of time), increases the risk of:
gastrointestinal infections
respiratory infections
ear infections
SIDS
necrotising enterocolitis in premature babies
sepsis in premature babies
leukaemia
dental malocclusions
overweight and obesity
lower IQ.
For mums
Not breastfeeding, or breastfeeding for less time, increases the risk of:
breast cancer
ovarian cancer
type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure
heart disease and stroke.
© Australian Breastfeeding Association December 2024
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