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Your breast milk is the best possible food for your baby, and will give him the best start in life.
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Breast milk is a specialized food designed to meet the needs of infants. Every time your baby nurses, you are giving her advantages in life—advantages of health, optimal growth, and development, while also helping to decrease the risk for a large number of diseases—now and in the future. The breast milk you make for the first few days is colostrum and is full of infection-fighting antibodies. Even when your colostrum turns to mature milk, your breast milk provides a natural defense against infections and allergies. As baby grows, the composition and amount of your milk changes to meet baby's needs. Recent research suggests that breastfeeding leads to normal weight gain for your baby, which may protect against obesity later in life. And if all that wasn't enough, breast milk offers a bright beginning because it contains special fats that are needed for optimal cognitive development.
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Aside from the emotional closeness you'll feel when nursing your baby, you can look forward to many physical benefits too. During the first few weeks after the birth, breastfeeding will help your uterus contract more quickly than if you weren't breastfeeding. Plus, nursing will help you use up extra calories to help you return to your pre-pregnancy weight.
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Breastfeeding is the best start for a lifetime of health for your baby. Read more about how to establish healthy habits now.
Click here.
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