By Godfrido F Mallya – Art in Tanzania internship         

Breastfeeding is one of the most important ways to ensure a child’s health and survival. However, nearly two out of three infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended six months, a rate that has remained unchanged for two decades…World Health Organization

Breast milk is the ideal food for infants. It’s safe, clean, and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breast milk provides all the needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year and up to one-third during the first year of life.

Many experts, including the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, strongly recommend breastfeeding exclusively (no formula, juice, or water) for 6 months. After introducing other foods, it is recommended to continue breastfeeding through the baby’s first year of life.

How often you should breastfeed your baby depends on whether your baby prefers small, frequent meals or more prolonged feeding. This will change as your baby grows. Newborns often want to feed every 2-3 hours. By 2 months, feeding every 3-4 hours is common, and by 6 months, most babies feed every 4-5 hours.

Signs that will indicate your baby is Hungry

  • Licking their lips or sticking out their tongue
  • Rooting, which is moving their jaw, mouth, or head to look for your breast
  • Putting their hand into their mouth
  • Opening their mouth, sucking on things

Benefits of Breastfeeding for the Baby

  • Breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants, a perfect blend of vitamins, protein, and fat, containing everything your baby needs to grow.
  • Breast milk contains antibodies that help your baby fight off viruses and bacteria.
  • Breast milk lowers a baby’s risk of having asthma or allergies, ear infections, respiratory illness, and bouts of diarrhoea.
  • Breastfeeding has been linked to higher IQ scores in later childhood in some studie.s
  • Breastfeeding creates a good bond between the mother and her baby
  • Breastfed infants are more likely to gain the right amount of weight as they grow, rather than become overweight.

Breastfeeding benefits to the Mother

  • Breastfeeding burns extra calories, so it can help you lose pregnancy weight faster, it release hormone oxytocin which help mother uterus return to its pre pregnancy size and many reduce uterine bleeding after birth.
  • Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Also the osteoporosis
  • Breastfeeding saves time and money and also provides a woman with regular time to relax quietly with a newborn as she bonds.

ABCs of Breastfeeding

  1. Awareness: Watch for your baby’s signs of hunger and breastfeed whenever they are hungry. This is called on-demand feeding. In the first few weeks, you may breastfeed your baby 8 to 12 times every 24 hours.
  2. Be Patient: Breastfeed as long as your baby wants to be breastfed each time. Don’t hurry your baby through feeding.
  3. Comfort: Relax while breastfeeding, and your milk is more likely to let down and flow. Get yourself comfortable with pillows as needed to support your arms and a footrest to support your feet and legs before you begin to breastfeed

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