Breast Milk is the Best Milk
Nature designed human milk especially for human babies, and it has several advantages over substitutes. Mother’s milk contains just the right balance of nutrients in a form most easily used by the your baby’s immature body systems. Here are some reasons why breast milk is best:
Nutrients: Mother’s milk is rich in the nutrients that best promote brain growth and nervous system development. It is the perfect first food to help your baby achieve every aspect of ideal growth and development. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all breastfed babies receive a supplement
of 400 IU per day of vitamin D. Consult your baby’s physician for details.
Anti-infective Properties: Only mom’s milk is alive with many different kinds of disease-fighting factors that help prevent mild to severe infections. Babies who are fully or almost-fully breastfed have significantly fewer gastrointestinal, respiratory, ear, and urinary infections. Other anti-infective factors create an environment that is friendly to “good” bacteria, referred to as “normal flora,” and unfriendly to “bad” bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Human milk also appears to have properties that help a baby’s own immune system work best. If your baby does become ill when breastfed, the infection is likely to be less severe.
Suitability: Mom’s milk allows your baby’s body to function most efficiently while spending a lot less energy on body functions. Suitability is also thought to be one reason that breastfed babies are less likely to develop allergic-related skin conditions and asthma.