of course we know:

Why breast is best
Breast milk is the best food for your baby. Just ask pediatricians and other medical professionals, all of whom will say the healthiest way to feed an infant is to nurse her. The health benefits are so great, in fact, that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least the first year of a baby's life (exclusively for the first six months), and longer if both you and your child are willing. For details on the health benefits of breastfeeding, click here.

Breast milk is a complete food source; it contains all the nutrients your baby needs — at least 400 of them — including hormones and disease-fighting compounds absent in formula. Remarkably, its nutritional makeup even adjusts to your baby's needs as she grows and develops. And apart from the brain-building, infection-fighting benefits of mother's milk, which no formula can duplicate, nursing helps build a special bond between you and your baby. When you nurse, your child thrives on the skin-to-skin contact, the cuddling, and the holding. You will, too.

but also:

- it's cheap

- less stress / Breastfeeding itself is a calming act.  Sitting or lying down several times a day while you are snuggling a secure, comfortable baby is sure to make even a hyperactive person slow down. During the breastfeeding process your brain will manufacture chemicals that will calm you, give you a feeling of well-being and promote maternal behavior.  Your baby's sucking stimulates nerve endings in the areolae, which send messages to your hypothalamus and pituitary gland (in your brain), causing them to start releasing oxytocin and prolactin, breastfeeding hormones that will begin to calm and relax you. 

- weight loss / Breastfeeding burns calories.  Over 600 calories a day for breastfeeding women who don't supplement with formula.  600 calories!  That's like getting two hours of aerobic exercise each day.  A study published in the Journal of American Dietician Association shows breastfeeding melting off inches around your hips and buttocks.

- decreases infant risk of ear infections, diarrhea, rsv and other respiratory infections, sids, eczema; even into childhood...

- improves/enhances child's iq, cognitive development...

- decreases mother's risk of female cancers


http://www.breastfeeding.com/
http://www.babycenter.com/baby/babybreastfeed/index/
http://www.lalecheleague.org/bfinfo.html


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"Money isn't real." - BLOW
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