Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding burns extra calories, so it can help you lose that pregnancy weight faster. This is because it releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps your uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth. Breastfeeding also lowers your risk of breast and ovarian cancer. At the same time, it is believed to lower your risk of osteoporosis as well.

Since you don’t have to buy and measure formula, sterilize nipples, or warm bottles, it saves you time and money. It also gives you regular time to relax quietly with your newborn as you bond.

There’s a bugging question usually in the minds of new moms and the question is: “Will I make enough milk to breastfeed?” Well, here comes the answer.

The first few days after birth, your breasts make an ideal “first milk” and this is called colostrum. Colostrum is thick, yellowish, and in small quantity, but there’s plenty to meet your baby’s nutritional needs. A baby does not need much colostrum because it’s a precursor to the actual breast milk. Its function is to help a newborn’s digestive tract develop and prepare itself to digest breast milk.

As your baby needs more milk and nurses more, your breasts respond by producing more milk. Experts recommend breastfeeding exclusively (no formula, juice, or water) for 6 months. If you supplement with formula, your breasts might make less milk.

Even if you breastfeed less than the recommended 6 months, it’s better to breastfeed for a short time than no time at all. You can add solid food at 6 months but also continue to breastfeed if you want to keep producing milk.