Why is mother's milk considered the most appropriate food for a newborn infant? (2024)

FAQs

Why is mother's milk considered the most appropriate food for a newborn infant? ›

The mother's milk during the initial days after delivery is called colostrum. It contains abundant antibodies (IgA) that protect the neonate against many diseases. So, mother's milk is considered the most appropriate food for a newborn infant.

Compared with formula, the nutrients in breastmilk are better absorbed and used by your baby. These include sugar (carbohydrate) and protein. Breastmilk has the nutrients that are best for your baby's brain growth and nervous system development.

Breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby. It contains just the right amount of nutrients. It is also gentle on your baby's developing stomach, intestines, and other body systems. It is recommended that you breastfeed until your baby is 6 months old, then breastfeed with solid foods until at least 1 to 2 years old.

Breast milk is the best nutrition for infant growth and development, and is also rich in antibodies that provide the first source of adaptive immunity in a newborn's intestinal tract.

Breast milk helps keep your baby healthy.

It supplies all the necessary nutrients in the proper proportions. It protects against allergies, sickness, and obesity. It protects against diseases, like diabetes and cancer.

Breast milk has hormones and the right amount of protein, sugar, fat and most vitamins to help your baby grow and develop. Breast milk has antibodies that help protect your baby from many illnesses. Antibodies are cells in the body that fight off infection.

Breast milk contains all the nutrients that an infant needs in the first 6 months of life, including fat, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water (1,2,3,4). It is easily digested and efficiently used.

Milk and dairy products are a good source of protein and calcium. Calcium helps build bones and keep teeth healthy. They also contain vitamin A, which helps the body resist infections and is needed for healthy skin and eyes.

your breast milk meets all of your baby's nutritional needs. breast milk protects your baby from infections and diseases. breastfeeding provides health benefits for you. breast milk is available for your baby whenever your baby needs it.

Breastfeeding is good for both you and your baby. Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most babies. As your baby grows, your breast milk will change to meet his or her nutritional needs. Breastfeeding can also help protect you and your baby against some short- and long-term illnesses and diseases.

Why is mothers milk better than formula? ›

As a group, breastfed infants have less difficulty with digestion than do formula-fed infants. Breast milk tends to be more easily digested so that breastfed babies have fewer bouts of diarrhea or constipation. Breast milk also naturally contains many of the vitamins and minerals that a newborn requires.

Perhaps most important, breast milk is the perfect food for a baby's digestive system. It has the nutrients that a newborn needs, and it's easily digested. Commercial formulas try to imitate breast milk, and come close, but can't match it exactly.

The first milk that that comes out of breasts after giving birth–known as colostrum–is especially rich in antibodies. As you continue to nurse, your baby will take in more antibodies, which helps them resist illness and infection now and in the future.

Breast milk contains a unique mix of fatty acids, lactose, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other important factors that combine to make the perfect infant food. It has everything a baby needs for easy digestion, brain development, and protection from illness and infections.

Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants. It has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat -- everything your baby needs to grow. And it's all provided in a form that's more easily digested than infant formula. Breast milk contains antibodies that help your baby fight off viruses and bacteria.

The mother's milk during the initial days after delivery is called colostrum. It contains abundant antibodies (IgA) that protect the neonate against many diseases. So, mother's milk is considered the most appropriate food for a newborn infant.

Breast milk offers the best nutritional start​ for your baby

Breast milk contains all the nutrients your baby needs, and in the right proportions. It also contains valuable antibodies to help him fight infections and build immunity during his initial days.

Human milk is sweeter and tastes better than formula. Studies have shown that newborns prefer the taste and smell of their own mother's milk.

For infants, not being breastfed is associated with an increased incidence of infectious morbidity, including otitis media, gastroenteritis, and pneumonia, as well as elevated risks of childhood obesity, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

While the practice isn't commonly discussed, some people enjoy adult breastfeeding. You might want to experiment with this practice for many reasons, though you might also find it uncomfortable. There aren't major health concerns in most cases, so if you're intrigued, free to try breastfeeding your husband or partner.

Why do mothers produce milk for babies? ›

Why do people lactate? The primary reason people lactate is to feed a baby. Lactation is a biological, hormonal response that occurs during and after pregnancy to feed a newborn baby. Your body triggers specific hormones to initiate milk production and ejection (releasing of milk).

Breastfeeding helps defend against infections, prevent allergies, and protect against a number of chronic conditions. The AAP recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months. Beyond that, breastfeeding is encouraged until at least 12 months, and longer if both the mother and baby are willing.