Breast milk provides all the nutrients your baby needs for healthy development in the first stages of life. Breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby and has many important benefits for both mother and baby.

The importance of breastfeeding

Exclusive breastfeeding (giving your baby breast milk only) is recommended for the first six months of your baby's life as breast milk provides all the nutrients a baby needs. After this, you can still continue to breastfeed with other food and drinks for as long as you and your baby like. Breastfeeding your baby is important because:

• breast milk is the natural first food for babies - it's the food specifically designed for your baby
• breast milk changes as your baby grows so your baby will get all the nutrients, growth factors and hormones needed for optimum nutrition, development and health
• breast milk contains antibodies from you which helps protect your baby from infections
• breastfeeding helps to avoid constipation in your baby
• breastfed babies are less likely to get allergies like eczema
• breastfed babies are less likely to become obese in later childhood

Ill or pre-term infants especially benefit from the antibodies, hormones, enzymes and growth factors contained in breast milk. The human milk bank can provide donor breast milk for babies in neonatal units.

Mothers

Breastfeeding is important for mothers because:

• it can help to build a strong bond between you and your baby
• it lowers your risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer
• it is free
• it naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
• there is no need to sterilise bottles, prepare feeds or keep your baby waiting
• you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere
• it's a lot easier than bottle-feeding, especially in the middle of the night
• your womb will return to normal size more quickly

Any amount of breastfeeding has positive effects for both child and mother. The longer you breastfeed your baby, the greater the effect on improving your child's health.