Breast feeding is highly beneficial for children.
Hettie Grové, a lactation consultant at Parkland St Mary’s advises that mothers feed their babies within the first two hours after birth.
The earlier a child lactates from his mother, the more milk the mother will be able to produce and a bond is created between her and the child.
The mother also benefits from breast feeding, because her bone density increases while the little one is busy feeding from her.
She says a mother can breast feed her child as long as she wishes and the longer this continues, the more the benefits to both mother and child.
The shortest period for breast feeding a child is six months, where the child’s only “food” comes from his mom’s breast.
A mother who is HIV positive may also breast feed, but only if she is on ARVs.
Hettie says the incidence of ear infections in children being breast fed decreases by 80% because of the negative pressure the sucking action causes inside the baby’s mouth.
Breast fed children are more healthy and have less allergies because their mothers pass on their antibodies against illnesses to their babies.
“Each time you breast feed your child, it is like immunization to the baby,” she says.
Hettie says studies have revealed children who are breast fed have better eye development and vision, as well as higher IQs as the babies not being breast fed.
She says because a baby’s stomach capacity is about 5ml he needs to feed at least eight to 12 times in 24 hours.
Breast feeding is not supposed to hurt a mother, but help is needed if it is not possible for the child to drink from the mother.
Hettie says if a woman cannot breast feed, she still can feed her child on her milk.
One option is by decanting the breast milk into a special cup before giving it to the baby.
