Why breastfeed exclusively

It recommends that colostrum, the yellowish sticky breast milk that is produced at the end of pregnancy as the ideal food for newborns; to be given within the first hour of birth, a process referred to as early initiation. Infants breast fed within the first hour of birth are three times more likely to survive than those who have their first breast milk after a day. The only exceptions are rehydration salts and syrups that contain medicine.

Why It Matters. Minus Related Pages. Benefits for Infants. Benefits for Mothers. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address. For a variety of reasons, not least of which are the social pressures faced by new moms, breastfeeding is an extremely emotionally charged topic.

And the debate among researchers about its benefits is more complicated than I imagined. But it does mean that a large majority of US mothers breastfeed their children at some point. And many mothers think it is important. After controlling for maternal intent to breastfeed, the researchers found no difference in the health outcomes in the two groups.

Quartz spoke to four outside experts in epidemiology, statistics, and social demography. They also disagreed with one another about the conclusion that breastfeeding may not be as impactful as we have been led to believe. What they all agreed upon, however, was that the Population Health study had serious limitations. One concern that many cited was the small sample size of about 1, expectant mothers.

Apart from the fact that larger studies yield more reliable results, critics also point out that the 1, expectant mothers are not nationally representative, which makes generalizing the findings difficult. Critics also point out that the study measures infant health through only three factors, all of which are self-reported by the mothers.

This raises the possibility of inaccurate reporting for things like antibiotic use or ear infection prevalence. That does not account for the fact that the mothers of children who were not breastfed might be more inclined to avoid reporting health problems, given the stigma attached to women who do not breastfeed.

Breastfeeding is also associated with higher educational achievement. Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months compared to 4 months improves babies' motor development. Longer breastfeeding is associated with more sensitive maternal responsiveness and the emotional security that comes with attachment.

The risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease is also increased if a woman does not breastfeed. Breastfeeding is good for the environment. Human milk is a natural, renewable food that involves no packaging, transportation, or fuel to prepare.