FOR BABY

• Mother's milk is tailor-made for your baby. In fact, it actually matches 50% of your baby's genetic material.
• It's composition changes with your baby's age, within a feeding, a day, etc.
• Mother's milk is easier to digest and almost completely assimilated by the baby. This is why breastfed babies feed more frequently than formula-fed babies. Breastfed babies also make liquid stools that contain almost no solid matter (and do not smell offensive).
• To date, we have identified over 200 components in breastmilk, and each plays a role not only in the baby's nutrition, but also in general development and growth as well as the development of the immune and nervous systems.
• Breastmilk composition is very stable, even when the mother has a poor diet or is ill.
• Mother's milk contributes significantly to the growth and maturation of the baby's digestive system, which is not complete until around 6 months of age.
• Mother's milk contains the fatty acids essential to the development of the baby's nervous system and vision. This may be one of the reasons why breastfed babies' IQ are 8 to 10 points higher than that of formula-fed babies.
• Mother's milk protects the baby from many diseases, both during breastfeeding and throughout life, first by conferring passive immunity and then by stimulating the baby's own immune system. These effects increase with breastfeeding duration.
• Breastmilk is always available, never spoiled and totally free.
• Incidence of all diseases studied is higher in formula-fed babies than in breastfed babies.
• Breastfed babies cry less and have less digestive troubles (such as « colic »)
• Breastfeeding releases endorphins, which creates a feeling of relaxation and well being in mother and baby, and is even an ideal pain reliever for the baby.

FOR MOTHER

• Breastfeeding is easy, even if it sometimes requires an initial period of learning and adapting for mother and baby.
• No preparation, sterilisation, etc. of bottles and formula (often while baby cries…)
• Breastfeeding saves time and money. Artificial baby milks and supplies are costly : 2000$ to 3000$ per year, per child in Canada, not counting medical costs and lost wages stemming from the higher illness rates associated with formula feeding.
• Breastfeeding protects the mother from pre-menopausal breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers, as well as osteoporosis. This protection increases with breastfeeding duration.
• A woman suffering from Gestational Diabetes has less risk of developing type-2 Diabetes later on if she breastfeeds after that pregnancy.
• The risk of post-partum haemorrhage is less if a woman breastfeeds.
• Breastfeeding mothers regain their pre-pregnancy weight more quickly than non-breastfeeding mothers.
• Exclusive breastfeeding, under certain conditions, is a very reliable form of birth control. It is 98-99% effective (similar to oral contraceptives), natural, and totally free. This is the Lactation Amenorrhea Method (LAM).
• Breastfeeding can reduce insulin requirements in diabetic mothers.

There is much more to breastfeeding than milk!

Breastfeeding is the natural next step to pregnancy and childbirth. After birth, there is a period of "external gestation" which lasts 9 to 12 months. Breastfeeding creates superior attachment between mother and child, and meets baby's every security, affection and physical contact need. This bond is difficult to describe, but it is nevertheless extraordinarily strong, complex and essential to the development of this new little human being.