Fascinating facts about breastfeeding

Breast milk is often considered synonymous with liquid gold because of the incredibly powerful benefits it provides to your baby.

To mark the beginning of World Breastfeeding week 2019, we bring you fascinating facts about breastfeeding that will motivate you - whether you are on the fence about breastfeeding, need a reminder on why you started it in the first place, or simply want to feel good about your decision.

• World Health Organization strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least the initial six months of life. Additionally, breastfeeding should begin within an hour of birth. It should be on demand –as often as the child wants day and night.

• World Health Organization strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least the initial six months of life. Additionally, breastfeeding should begin within an hour of birth. It should be on demand –as often as the child wants day and night.
• In 2012, a study by the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine revealed that mothers who breastfed were less likely to be diagnosed with postpartum depression over the first four months than those who bottle-fed.
• Not drinking enough water may affect how much milk you're making. So it's important to stay hydrated. However, over-hydration can decrease milk production, just as dehydration can. Judge your hydration levels by your urine color -light yellow means you're drinking just enough.
• Milk formation is likely to burn between 500-600 calories per day. This means that some mothers might end up losing weight without any additional exercise.
• A mother's first milk – colostrum, contains special proteins that coat your baby's intestinal tract. This protects your baby from harmful bacteria right from the beginning.
• When you or your baby is sick, the amount of antibodies and live white blood cells in your breast milk increases. This helps fight infection.
• The taste and smell of the mommy's breast milk is likely to change depending on the foods you eat. Exposing your baby to more flavors during breastfeeding can lead them to be less fussy eaters once you begin introducing solid foods.
• Breast milk may not always be white. Its color may vary depending what you eat or drink. Don't worry, it's OK and completely normal for your baby.
• The amount of breast milk the mother is able to produce has nothing to do with her breast size! A mother with small breasts can have just as much, or more, milk-making tissue as a mother with larger breasts.
• Mothers who breastfeed their babies have a comparatively lower risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes. In fact, the longer a woman breastfeeds in her lifetime, the more protection she receives with time.
• Your breast milk constantly changes to meet the needs of your growing baby. When you first start to nurse your baby, your milk is a watery bluish color. Toward the end of the feeding session, your baby begins to get thicker and fattier milk, which gives your baby the calories needed to grow strong and healthy.
• It is completely normal to have difficulties such as – the baby not latching properly, low milk supply, or breast pain. A survey published in Pediatrics in 2013 reveals that 92 per cent of new moms had at least one concern on their third day of breastfeeding.
• The hormones released while breastfeeding help your uterus to shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size. This allows your body to recover from pregnancy and childbirth quickly.
• Breastmilk heals. It is filled with special components that not only help fight infection but also cut down on swelling in the breast.