BREAST FEEDING – INTRODUCTION
Breast is best! A number of years ago this simple dictum was considered old fashioned, a burden for women and perhaps not the best for the baby. But we have since learned that nature was right and that breast milk is the ideal food for the young infant.
Breast milk is a complete food in the first few months of life and the baby does not need any other.
There are a number of reasons why all mothers should be encouraged to breast feed their babies.
In the first few days after birth before the milk comes in, the secretion from the breast, colostrum, contains immunoglobulins. These give the baby a number of ready made antibodies to protect it against infection while its own immune system is still immature.
Because the transfer of the milk is from the breast straight into the baby’s mouth there is little opportunity for germs to contaminate the supply system as may easily happen with artificial feeding.
This is an important factor in the developing countries where women have been switching from traditional breast feeding to bottle feeding. The standard of hygiene is often poor with the result that gastro-enteritis becomes common and this may well be fatal.
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