What are the health benefits of breast milk?
The health benefits of breast milk for children are unparalleled. Breast milk not only contains immunological properties that protect a newborn, but research has shown that the overall risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is twice as great for formula-fed infants compared with breastfed infants. The widespread health benefits of breastfeeding extend beyond their child’s first few months of life. Children that are breastfed experience an overall 72 percent reduction in the risk of hospitalization due to lower respiratory tract diseases. There are numerous health benefits, listed on Table 1.
Table 1 Health outcome improvement correlation with breastfeeding
Improved Health Outcomes
Reduction of Risk in Percentages 3
Asthma
* 27- 40 percent
Acute otitis Media
* 23-50 percent
Atopic Dermatitis
42 percent
Childhood Leukemia
15 percent
Childhood Obesity
24 percent
Gastrointestinal Infections
64 percent
Type I Diabetes
19 percent
Type II Diabetes
39 percent
* *Percentages varied due to the duration of breastfeeding and family history of disease.
In addition to improving infant health outcomes, breastfeeding also reduces the risk of several maternal health outcomes. For each year a women breastfeeds her child, studies have shown that she is 4 to 28 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.4 According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 202,964 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,598 of those women died from the disease in 2007 (the most recent year numbers are available).