Breastfeeding: benefits for the baby and for the mother.

Breast milk not only provides essential nutrients and antibodies against diseases to babies. As mentioned earlier, the advantages of breastfeeding are not just for newborns. Moms can also benefit from breastfeeding or nursing.

Recent studies suggest that breastfeeding may protect or decrease the risk that women who received cancer treatment in their childhood will develop cancer again. In fact, researchers believe that warning women about these benefits should be part of the treatment.

It is estimated that 80% of children and adolescents who receive modern therapies against cancer today, survive. This is wonderful, but with longevity, the number of people who will have to face new challenges in the future in terms of their health increases. Among other things, these may be due to the side effects of the treatment or treatments they have received, such as: problems in their development (more common in the case of children and adolescents), problems in the functioning of an organ, difficulties with their reproductive system and, sometimes, the development of some other type of cancer or recurrences.

In the case of mothers who have overcome some cancer in their childhood, they will be able to obtain more defenses when breastfeeding. In this regard, researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States, found that breastfeeding has the potential to positively influence bone density, risk factors for metabolic syndrome, diseases cardiovascular and secondary tumors.

Other benefits that women obtain when breastfeeding are:

• Strengthen the bond with your child
• Lose weight more easily.
• Being less likely to have menstrual periods during the time they are breastfeeding.
• Stimulate the contraction of the uterus and help it return more quickly to its normal size, because when breastfeeding a hormone called oxytocin is released that produces this effect.
• Decrease the risk of developing breast (breast) cancer, some types of ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.
• Save time and money in feeding, milk preparation and cleaning and preparing bottles for the baby. (Breast milk is always available and at the correct temperature).

The decision to give your baby breast milk is yours. In general, unless there are some health problems such as: HIV infections (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), herpes, tuberculosis or other complications, it is recommended that women breastfeed their children, because breast milk It is the ideal diet during the first year of life and the fact of receiving it, even for a short time, provides very important benefits to the baby for its growth and its immediate and future development.

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition during the first 6 months of life because it contains the appropriate amounts of carbohydrates (sugars), protein and fat, and provides the digestive proteins, minerals, vitamins and hormones that babies need . In addition, it contains antibodies that the mother passes on that can help the baby not to contract several serious infections in what he or she is ready to form their own antibodies.

In short, babies breastfed by the mother are less likely to have:

• Children's allergies, wheezing, pneumonia and bronchiolitis.
• Infections of the ear, stomach and / or bowel.
• Gases, constipation and diarrhea.
• Skin diseases.
• Sudden infant death syndrome (known as SIDS)
•Dental caries
• Obesity or weight problems
•Diabetes

In spite of all this, there are sometimes complications in the mother or the baby that make this possibility difficult and prevent the mother from giving her child breast milk or from the baby being able to breastfeed. In these cases, do not feel guilty, there are alternatives so that your baby can grow healthy and your pediatrician can guide you.

If you have had cancer and you are expecting a baby, talk to your doctor and consider breastfeeding your child. Both will benefit from something so natural that it will not only help them stay healthy, but it will also give them the chance to increase the strong bond between mother and child. Nature is very wise.