Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad

Breastfeeding is considered to be the best and optimal mode of infant feeding, providing health benefits for both the child and the mother. Maternal milk contains all the necessary nutrients, strengthens the baby’s immune system, reduces the risk of cancer, allergies, and food intolerances, supports...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zuzanna Chęcińska-Maciejewska, Andrzej Ciborek, Hanna Krauss, Magdalena Gibas-Dorna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Termedia Publishing House 2024-07-01
Series:Journal of Health Inequalities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.termedia.pl/Advantages-of-breastfeeding-for-the-mother-infant-dyad,100,54371,1,1.html
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832587278581497856
author Zuzanna Chęcińska-Maciejewska
Andrzej Ciborek
Hanna Krauss
Magdalena Gibas-Dorna
author_facet Zuzanna Chęcińska-Maciejewska
Andrzej Ciborek
Hanna Krauss
Magdalena Gibas-Dorna
author_sort Zuzanna Chęcińska-Maciejewska
collection DOAJ
description Breastfeeding is considered to be the best and optimal mode of infant feeding, providing health benefits for both the child and the mother. Maternal milk contains all the necessary nutrients, strengthens the baby’s immune system, reduces the risk of cancer, allergies, and food intolerances, supports nervous system deve­lopment, and provides emotional benefits for both baby and mother. The advantages of breastfeeding for mothers also include protection from lowered mood disorders, lowered risk of some types of cancer and cardio-metabolic disorders, and chronic inflammatory disorders. Modified milk feeding is available when breastfeeding is impossible or unwilling; however, it cannot offer as many vital nutritional and health bene­fits as human milk. Although breastfeeding is highly recommended by the World Health Organization and scientific associations as the best and optimal nutrition during the first months of life, some mothers still decide to choose infant formula as an acceptable and safe alternative. This is usually due to inadequate knowledge of breastfeeding benefits, poor family and professional support, or marketing of infant formula. In fact, infant formula is a good option but only when breastfeeding is unavailable. Therefore, it is important for mothers to make decisions about the type of feeding based on the actual state of knowledge regarding health benefits, medical counselling, individual needs, and other important circumstances. This paper provides an overview of the advantages of breastfeeding for infants and their mothers according to the current literature.
format Article
id doaj-art-3d3f3efeefed4b6194d893c44f200722
institution Kabale University
issn 2450-5927
2450-5722
language English
publishDate 2024-07-01
publisher Termedia Publishing House
record_format Article
series Journal of Health Inequalities
spelling doaj-art-3d3f3efeefed4b6194d893c44f2007222025-01-24T13:59:48ZengTermedia Publishing HouseJournal of Health Inequalities2450-59272450-57222024-07-01101647110.5114/jhi.2024.14099454371Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyadZuzanna Chęcińska-MaciejewskaAndrzej CiborekHanna KraussMagdalena Gibas-DornaBreastfeeding is considered to be the best and optimal mode of infant feeding, providing health benefits for both the child and the mother. Maternal milk contains all the necessary nutrients, strengthens the baby’s immune system, reduces the risk of cancer, allergies, and food intolerances, supports nervous system deve­lopment, and provides emotional benefits for both baby and mother. The advantages of breastfeeding for mothers also include protection from lowered mood disorders, lowered risk of some types of cancer and cardio-metabolic disorders, and chronic inflammatory disorders. Modified milk feeding is available when breastfeeding is impossible or unwilling; however, it cannot offer as many vital nutritional and health bene­fits as human milk. Although breastfeeding is highly recommended by the World Health Organization and scientific associations as the best and optimal nutrition during the first months of life, some mothers still decide to choose infant formula as an acceptable and safe alternative. This is usually due to inadequate knowledge of breastfeeding benefits, poor family and professional support, or marketing of infant formula. In fact, infant formula is a good option but only when breastfeeding is unavailable. Therefore, it is important for mothers to make decisions about the type of feeding based on the actual state of knowledge regarding health benefits, medical counselling, individual needs, and other important circumstances. This paper provides an overview of the advantages of breastfeeding for infants and their mothers according to the current literature.https://www.termedia.pl/Advantages-of-breastfeeding-for-the-mother-infant-dyad,100,54371,1,1.htmlbreastfeeding infant health maternal health formula feeding
spellingShingle Zuzanna Chęcińska-Maciejewska
Andrzej Ciborek
Hanna Krauss
Magdalena Gibas-Dorna
Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
Journal of Health Inequalities
breastfeeding
infant health
maternal health
formula feeding
title Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
title_full Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
title_fullStr Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
title_full_unstemmed Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
title_short Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother-infant dyad
title_sort advantages of breastfeeding for the mother infant dyad
topic breastfeeding
infant health
maternal health
formula feeding
url https://www.termedia.pl/Advantages-of-breastfeeding-for-the-mother-infant-dyad,100,54371,1,1.html
work_keys_str_mv AT zuzannachecinskamaciejewska advantagesofbreastfeedingforthemotherinfantdyad
AT andrzejciborek advantagesofbreastfeedingforthemotherinfantdyad
AT hannakrauss advantagesofbreastfeedingforthemotherinfantdyad
AT magdalenagibasdorna advantagesofbreastfeedingforthemotherinfantdyad