Is breastfeeding that important?
The United States like to think of itself as a world leader. Yet, America has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world with very low rates of initiation and extremely low rates of exclusive breastfeeding. This contributes to the high amount of infant hospitalization and mortality in the US. Breastfeeding significantly reduced diarrhea (a leading cause of infant death) and lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breastfed babies are protected against bacterial meningitis, have lower rate of pneumonia, allergies, ear infections, asthma, gastrointestinal illness, inflammatory illness juvenile diabetes, childhood lymphoma, and learning and behavioral difficulties. One study has shown that premature breastfed babies had higher IQs than artificially-fed babies. Breastfed babies also have lower rates of dental decay and obesity and are less likely to develop heart disease in adulthood. Can you get pregnant when you’re breastfeeding? Breastfeeding is nature’s contrace
