Breastfeeding can be a challenge at times for a lot of mothers, between work, activities, and the daily hassles of life. But, when it comes to the benefits your baby will receive, it makes all the work worth it. Below you will find a list of health benefits your baby will have if you choose to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding Health Benefits

Brain

• Cholesterol and other types of fat in human milk helps to support the growth of nerve tissue in infants.

Eyes

• Visual acuity is higher in babies fed with breast milk.

Mouth

• There is less of a need to have orthodontic work done for a child who has been breastfed for over one year. The baby will also have improved muscle development in the face, because of the suckling at the breast. The subtle changes in the taste of breast milk prepares babies to start accepting a variety of solid foods when they get older.

Ears

• Breastfed babies will get fewer ear infections, because breast milk can fight infections and improve the baby’s immune system.

Throat

• A child who was breastfed, is less likely to require tonsillectomies.

Skin

• There is less allergic eczema in breastfed infants, which means less rashes and other skin irritation.

Respiratory System

• They will have fewer and less severe respiratory infections, less wheezing, less pneumonia, and less influenza.

Heart and Circulatory

• Breastfed child  have a lower cholesterol as adults. They will also have lower heart rates.

Kidneys

• There is less salt and protein in human milk, so it is much easier on the baby’s kidneys than formula.

Digestive System

• Breastfeeding exclusively for six months or longer, reduces the risk of the baby to develop food allergies. It will have less of a chance in getting Crohn’s disease and colitis when it reaches adulthood. They will also have less diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections from being breastfed.

Joints and Muscles

• The chance of having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is far less common in children that had been breastfed as an infant.

Urinary Tract

• Infants who are breastfed, will have fewer urinary tract infections than babies who are not.

For more information on the benefits of breastfeeding, you can check out the following article by clicking here.

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