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Health benefits of breastfeeding over formula

Jun 9, 2020, 21:26 IST
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Breast milk is an effective form of birth control for the first 6 months after giving birth.shurkin_son/Shutterstock

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  • Breast milk contains antibodies that can help protect the baby from infection and reduce the risk of leukemia, obesity, and diabetes.
  • For the mother, breastfeeding has been shown to aid postpartum weight loss, reduce postpartum bleeding, and reduce the risk of certain diseases like breast and ovarian cancer.
  • It's OK if a mother doesn't produce enough breast milk to exclusively breastfeed. In that case, lactation consultants can help you decide how best to proceed, whether it's combining breast milk with formula or some other alternative.
  • This article was medically reviewed by Olivia P. Myrick, MD, who is a clinical assistant professor with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone.

After a mother gives birth, one of the many major changes to her postpartum life is breastfeeding.

Not every mom will choose to breastfeed her infant, and that's okay. However, there are many benefits for both you and your child if you choose to breastfeed.

Here's how this age-old practice helps moms recover from pregnancy and babies get the nutrition they need after birth.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the baby

Heather Dicioccio, DNP, a registered nurse at the Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital's Obstetrics and Family Maternity Center describes human breast milk as "a living fluid," because it adapts to a baby's needs.

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Unlike formula, the nutritional consistency of breast milk changes from one feeding to the next, ensuring that babies have the nutrients they need to grow. Its contents include antibodies, vitamins, minerals, fat, and lactose. Three benefits of breastfeeding for the baby are as follows:

1. Breastfeeding helps treat and prevent infection

A mother's body is able to produce immunoglobulins that the baby then gets through breast milk. Immunoglobulins, otherwise known as antibodies, are large proteins used by the immune system to neutralize pathogens like bacteria and viruses. If a baby falls under the weather, these are essential to help fight infection, as a newborn's immune system is not yet fully developed and needs to rely on the mother's defenses as well as its own.

Dicioccio says the milk also has antibodies and anti-inflammatory capabilities, which tends to protect the baby in both the short and long-term. Dicioccio says that breastfeeding reduces the risk of:

  • Ear infections
  • Leukemia
  • Obesity
  • Type 1 and 2 diabetes

There's also emerging evidence that it, "even later in life, there may be a reduced risk of hypertension. They are [also] starting to see in babies that are exclusively breastfed a reduced risk of Crohn's and ulcerative colitis," Dicioccio says.

2. Breastfeeding aids digestion

Thanks to its well-balanced nutritional profile, breast milk plays an important role in digestion for newborns. Breastfed babies tend to "have lower rates of gas, colic, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and other feeding problems," says Evelyn Mitchell, MD, an OB-GYN with the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine.

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Breast milk is also easier to digest than formula. While formula contains equal parts whey and casein — two different types of proteins — breast milk has a higher ratio of whey during a baby's first six months. Whey is digested at a faster rate than casein, making it gentler on a newborn's stomach.

3. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of SIDS

Another surprising research finding is that breastfed babies have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) — a syndrome that results in a baby's unexplained death, usually while sleeping.

However, Mitchell says doctors don't know the specific mechanism behind the association between breast milk and SIDS.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the woman

The benefits of breastfeeding extend beyond a baby's health — it can also help foster the bond between mother and child as well as improve the mother's health. Here are five benefits of breastfeeding for the mother:

1. Breastfeeding increases the mother-child bond

Dicioccio says researchers are unsure if emotional facilitation can be attributed to breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, or some combination of both. The baby's positioning when nursing creates the perfect opportunity for eye contact between mother and child, which she says can help the two feel "in tune with one another."

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When your baby is snuggled up close, it is easier to notice subtle shifts in mood or behavior."Is the baby unhappy? Does the baby need a diaper change? Is something bothering the baby? You can start sensing that information," Dicioccio says. A 10-year study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that those who breastfed exhibited greater displays of maternal sensitivity towards their children up to the age of 11.

2. Breastfeeding may aid postpartum weight loss

For many women hoping to return to their pre-baby body, breastfeeding offers another perk: it can help shed the baby weight.

"It takes about an extra 500 calories a day to breastfeed your baby," says Dicioccio. "Your body is constantly making that milk, so it burns off extra calories."

And it's not just a few extra pounds. One study of over 2,000 women found that those who breastfed exclusively for at least the first 3 months were more likely to return to their pre-pregnancy BMI (Body Mass Index) compared to women who did not breastfeed or only partially breastfed.

3. Breastfeeding can reduce postpartum bleeding

For the first few days postpartum, the uterus slowly shrinks back to its normal size. This is normal, but it can cause uncomfortable cramping and bleeding.

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Breastfeeding can help by speeding up the rate at which your uterus shrinks back to its pre-pregnancy size, says Mitchell. That's because nursing causes the brain to release oxytocin, a hormone responsible for uterus contractions and decreased bleeding after birth.

4. Breastfeeding is a form of birth control

When mothers choose to exclusively breastfeed — meaning they nurse every four hours during the day and every six hours at night, in addition to skipping formula — their body naturally stops ovulating.

"Breastfeeding exclusively will actually induce what we call lactational amenorrhea," says Mitchell. "Basically, the brain stops producing hormones that would stimulate the ovaries and result in ovulation. So, that's an effective form of birth control for up to six months. After six months, your body will start to produce those hormones again and you could ovulate, have periods again, and become pregnant."

It is not a perfect form of birth control, as there is about a 6% chance of conceiving at 6 months postpartum. But many women opt for consistent breastfeeding as a way to try and prevent ovulation.

5. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of certain diseases

Lastly, breastfeeding produces a host of protective health benefits for the mother. "The hormones in a breastfeeding patient are very different from the hormones in a non-breastfeeding patient," Mitchell says.

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"Generally, in breastfeeding, your hormones are pretty consistent. They are not really fluctuating throughout the month. That consistency does a lot in terms of short-term and long-term effects on the body," she adds.

For example, breastfeeding lowers a woman's life-long exposure to the hormone estrogen, which is linked to an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancers. So, women who breastfeed have lower rates of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, in addition to lower rates of type-two diabetes and high blood pressure.

How long to breastfeed

In an ideal world, mothers would exclusively breastfeed for one year, says Mitchell. "But honestly, I tell my patients any time is great. If you can get to a year, that would be ideal, but even if you can do six months, or three months, any amount of breastfeeding can be beneficial for mom and baby."

According to a 2017 study published in Pediatrics, even two months of non-exclusive breastfeeding was linked to a reduced risk of SIDS by 50 percent.

At around four to six months, parents usually start introducing solid food to the baby. Infants at this age have typically developed the motor skills needed to swallow foods, not spit them out. During breastfeeding, moms might "follow the baby-led weaning process," where children are given true solid foods, or start with the purees and cereals, says Dicioccio.

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Breastfeeding is not always possible, and that's OK

While breastfeeding is great, it can be very hard on new moms. "Personally, I found breastfeeding to be the hardest part of postpartum, and a lot of my patients agree with that," says Mitchell.

"You feel a lot of pressure, as a mom, to produce milk for your baby… If things are not going well, it can lead to a lot of anxiety, even postpartum depression and blues in some cases," she says.

For moms struggling to breastfeed, lactational consultants can be extremely helpful, says Mitchell, as well as making sure you're eating at least 450 to 500 extra calories in balanced meals and snacks. Sometimes, doctors prescribe supplements like gummies or lactational cookies to help.

"But we have to keep in mind, some women just do not produce a lot of breast milk," says Mitchell. If a patient is still unable to breastfeed after trying the above treatments, and their doctor is concerned about the baby's nutritional needs not being met, then they may need to supplement with formula. Mother's can still continue to try nursing while using formula.

"You can combine formula and breast milk," says Dicioccio. "The main thing is to make sure the baby is fed."

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The mental health of a breastfeeding mother is critical. "If breastfeeding is a source of anxiety and depression for her, that risk is not worth the benefit of breastfeeding," says Mitchell. "We have to always keep that in mind, as well, and not put unrealistic expectations on her or unnecessary pressure."

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