Why you should breastfeed your baby?

World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for at least six months. As breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health, and if scaled up to near-universal levels, it is responsible for saving about 820,000 children's lives every year.

Full of ingredients like stem cells, white blood cells, beneficial bacteria, antibodies, enzymes and hormones, it helps fight infection, prevent disease, and contribute to the overall health development of your baby.

Babies, who are breastfed, at least for the first six months, are less likely to suffer from:

• Diarrhea
• Gastroenteritis
• Ear and chest infections
• Colds and flu

How breastfeeding benefits your baby's sleep?

• Breastfeeding provides relief and reduces crying
• Breastfed babies get back to sleep sooner than formula-fed ones
• When breastfed, the baby's body produces oxytocin- a natural promoter of sleep
• Nucleotides present in the mother's milk helps the baby to develop healthy sleep-wake patterns

Breastfeeding and baby's brain development

• Sixteen-year-olds who had been breast-fed for at least six months as babies were more likely to get higher grades in their school exams, claims a UK study.
• People who'd been breastfed for at least one year tended to earn more money by the time they turned thirty, as per a Brazilian study.
• Infants who are breastfed exclusively are more likely to have higher IQs than formula-fed babies

The lifelong benefits of breastfeeding for your baby

• Every breastfeeding session increases the level of oxytocin, the 'love hormone', in both the baby and the mother's body, thereby, encouraging bonding
• Breastfeeding lowers your baby's risk of becoming obese or developing type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the future
• Children who were breastfed as babies are less likely to be exposed to cancers such as leukemia and lymphomas, according to a study
• Breast-fed kids have lower rates of respiratory illnesses and fewer speech and orthodontic problems
• In adulthood, the baby is less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, heart diseases, pre and post-menopausal breast cancers