I found this great article that discusses the benefits of breastfeeding. The link is attached above in the title, however I'll post a few key points here:
For the baby- complete form of nutrition for infants
- Premature babies do better when breastfed compared to premature babies formula fed
- Breast milk has agents (called antibodies) in it to help protect infants from bacteria and viruses
- Breastfed babies score slightly higher on IQ tests
For the mother
- Nursing uses up extra calories, making it easier to lose the pounds of pregnancy
- Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers
- It saves time and money
- Breastfeeding can help a mother to bond with her baby
And one little fact that I learned while breastfeeding my son: breastmilk can cure pink eye->I had ended up developing a mild case of pink eye while I was nursing my son years ago, and my doctor prescribed an antibiotic to me. Well I immediately read the warnings and it said: do not take if you are nursing!!! Frustrated, I contacted a friend of mine who was part of La Leche League. Thankfully she gave me the scoop: take a dropper and fill it with your breastmilk. Use it like eye drops and the infection will disappear naturally! So I did it, and within less than 24 hours the infection was gone!
