Benefits of Breastfeeding

The health benefits of breastfeeding for mother and especially for the child have been proven by numerous studies.

Premature infants

Breast milk may promote brain growth in premature infants. In one study, preterm infants whose diet consisted of at least half (pumped) breast milk during the first few weeks had larger or better-developed brains at the calculated date of birth than did preterm infants who received significantly less breast milk or were fed only replacement formula. It is thought that the composition of breast milk promotes brain development better than replacement feeding.

Allergy and food allergies

Breast milk has quite a few factors that protect against allergy. This is due to the faster maturation of the infant’s intestinal mucosa, which protects the digestive tract from infection-causing bacteria and thus reduces the rate of absorption of food antigens. For this reason, gastrointestinal infections (colic) or allergic reactions such as eczema and bronchial asthma occur less frequently in breastfed infants, with protection against allergies extending well into infancy. A newborn’s risk of allergy is genetically determined. Children born to parents with a family history of allergies are particularly susceptible to food intolerance. For this reason, affected mothers should avoid common food allergens such as eggs, wheat, nuts, cow’s milk, chocolate, and citrus fruits during breastfeeding, as these can reach the infant via breast milk and trigger intolerances. Exclusive breastfeeding (≥ 4 months) reduces the risk of cow’s milk protein intolerance in the first years of life. Non-breastfed infants are more at risk of allergy in comparison. Consequences of food allergy:

  • Bronchitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchi).
  • Diarrhea (diarrhea)
  • Eczema
  • Vomiting
  • Colic
  • Rhinitis
  • Urticaria (hives)
  • Behavioral disorders
  • Diaper dermatitis (skin lesions (skin irritation, soreness) in infants in the diaper area).

Breastfeeding mothers are recommended to supplement omega-3 fatty acids (polyunsaturated fatty acids) via supplementation nicely during pregnancy. A Swedish study shows that this can reduce allergy susceptibility (IgE-associated food allergies) in newborns.

Other benefits of breastfeeding for the baby

  • Studies have been able to show that breast milk does not lose its immunological value during the first months of the infant’s life. Thus, the content of lysozyme in breast milk has been shown to increase until the sixth month of the infant’s life. Lysozyme has anti-inflammatory (anti-inflammatory) and bactericidal (bacteria-killing) effects.
  • The number of hospital admissions of infants in the first year of life is reduced.
  • Breastfeeding has an impact on the development of the child – It positively affects the personality, the ability to self-control, problem-solving skills as well as stress resistance (to a lesser extent).
  • Prevention of childhood obesity (overweight) – According to a study that followed children over a period of more than 20 years, the risk of becoming overweight was 12 to 14% lower if their mothers had breastfed them compared to children who received industrial food.
  • Breastfed children have a lower risk of developing Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (inflammatory bowel disease) compared with children who were never breastfed. The decisive influencing factor is the duration of breastfeeding: the risk of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases decreases with increasing duration. For example, the risk is reduced by approximately 80% with a breastfeeding duration of ≥ 12 months.
    • Crohn’s disease: by 90% (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 0.10 (95% confidence interval between 0.04 and 0.30).
    • Ulcerative colitis: by 84% (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 0.16; 95% confidence interval between 0.08 and 0.31)
  • Prolonged breastfeeding, particularly in children with nonatopic asthma (i.e., these children do not have a genetic predisposition to react to environmental agents), has a positive effect on lung function.
  • Breastfed children (breastfeeding ≥ 6 months) have a lower risk of developing leukemia compared to children who have never been breastfed.
  • A Chinese study showed that babies who were exclusively breastfed for the first three months had lower total cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol levels as adolescents (average age: 17.5 years) compared to babies who were fed both breast milk and formula or formula only.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother

  • Breastfeeding causes the uterus to contract, consequently the involution is accelerated.
  • 20% of mothers who have delivered their child by caesarean section (Sectio caesarea) suffer from chronic pain in the area of the caesarean wound for three more months. Breastfeeding for as little as two months can reduce the risk of this pain.
  • Less frequent occurrence of obesity (overweight) [risk reduction of about one-third] and diabetes mellitus type 2 – women who have breastfed have a reduced risk of developing diabetes mellitus type 2 in later life by about 40% compared to women who have not breastfed.
  • Prolonged breastfeeding (> 6 months) is more likely to keep mothers slim for up to ten years afterwards. As part of an observational study (POUCH study), which had searched for causes of premature birth, the participating women were examined again seven to 15 years after delivery. Waist circumference was also measured. Women who had breastfed their children for an average of 3.9 months had a waist circumference of ≥ 88 cm; if they had breastfed for 6.4 months, the waist circumference was smaller, and it was smallest in women who had breastfed for more than six months.
  • Pregnant women with insulin-dependent gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus after birth – studies show that breastfeeding (duration at least 3 months) significantly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (from 90% to 42%). A longer breastfeeding period has a positive effect on the mother’s metabolism: there is a change in the production of phospholipids and a reduction in branched-chain amino acids in the blood. These metabolites are associated with insulin resistance and thus with the development of diabetes mellitus type 2.Conclusion: the longer and more intensive breastfeeding, the lower the risk of developing diabetes mellitus type 2.
  • It is possible that breastfeeding for at least 10 months (in total) helps to reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis; hardening of the arteries) in old age. This assumption can be derived from the results of an American study, the CARDIA study. However, further long-term observations are still pending.
  • One study examined the association between breastfeeding or breastfeeding duration and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. In women who had breastfed for 6-12 months, the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 7%, by 11% after breastfeeding for 12-18 months, by 13% after 18-24 months of breastfeeding, and by 18% after breastfeeding for more than two years. Similarly, the risk of apoplexy (stroke) reduced.Again, the longer breastfeeding, the higher the risk reduction (per half year of breastfeeding reduction in the risk of apoplexy by 3%).
  • A prospective observational study could prove that mothers who breastfed their children for a long time were less likely to develop endometriosis (occurrence of endometrium (endometrium) extrauterine (outside the uterine cavity)) later (-40%). For every 3 months of breastfeeding, the risk decreased by 8% (hazard ratio 0.92; 0.90-0.94):
    • Breastfeeding <1 month: 453 endometrioses per 100,000 person-years.
    • Breastfeeding period > 36 months: 184 diseases per 100,000 person-years.
  • Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who breastfed their infants for two months or more after birth were significantly less likely to suffer a disease flare during the first six months.Breastfeeding even appears to protect women from developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life. In one study, mothers who had breastfed their children for at least 15 months were only half as likely to develop MS.
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (breast cancer risk), according to various studies.