Benefits of breastfeeding

As a mother, you might have already read a lot of articles when it comes to the benefits of breastfeeding to your baby. Some of these articles talk about how the milk that comes from the mother's breast gives the best nutrition for babies. There are also specific studies that say babies who are breastfed from infancy are healthier than those who are formula-fed. Breastfeeding your baby makes their immune systems stronger, thus having less room for infections.

We all know how breastmilk is beneficial for babies. But now, we look at how it is going to benefit moms like you. Here's how you can benefit from feeding your own breastmilk to your child:

1. Burns calories

Almost all mothers have probably gained weight during their pregnancy period. In fact, women who have had an average weight before getting pregnant have gained about 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Now that the baby is out of your tummy, you secretly hope that the additional gained weight will come along with it. But no. It's not that easy to shed away your pregnancy weight. In fact, you might even have to work hard to get those 35 pounds off of you!

But thankfully, nature has its way of helping you lose that extra weight off! All you have to do is to breastfeed your child! That's right. You get the best of both worlds. Not only you're supplementing your baby's health by giving him the best kind of nutrition that he could ever receive at that point in his life, but you're also making yourself more confident in your skin and a lot healthier than you were before.

2. Makes you feel better

Of course, no one can't deny the happiness a mother feels when they can give their babies their milk. But aside from this fulfilment breastfeeding can provide you, it can also make you feel happy overall! Why? This is because breastfeeding stimulates the release of good hormones. These hormones are prolactin and oxytocin. Prolactin is a hormone that makes you feel more relaxed and focus on your child. Oxytocin, on the other hand, is known as the "love hormone". This is because it's the hormone that's responsible for making you feel loved and want to give love. This is the hormone that gives you a sense of connection to your child when you're breastfeeding him or her.

3. Helps you recover from pregnancy

Mothers who are breastfeeding their child usually recover faster in terms of pregnancy. Being pregnant is not a woman's natural body state. It is one of the states wherein your body is forced to adapt to. That's why it's essential that after birth, you can restore the standard conditions of your body. It may take quite some time, but breastfeeding your child will indeed help you achieve recovery faster than the usual. For one, your body can release feel-good hormones. Additionally, it helps your uterus go back to its original size, and it decreases the volume of bleeding after pregnancy.

4. Boosts your immune system

Studies show that women who breastfeed have reduced rates of certain diseases such as breast and ovarian cancer later in their life. It can also decrease the chances of getting illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases.

5. Gives you a sense of maternal fulfilment.

This is one of the most visible and undeniable benefits you can ever get from breastfeeding. You should keep in mind that not all women can breastfeed their child. Hence, breastfeeding is truly a responsibility that you should be grateful to be able to do. Not only that you can feed your baby, but you are also able to connect with your child through breastfeeding as well.

These are just some of the benefits you can get from breastfeeding your child At the end of the day, what's essential is that feeding your child with your breast milk will make you and your baby a lot healthier.

Written by Jessa