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Here in Singapore, paediatricians encourage mothers to exclusively breastfeed babies at least for the first six months. Many times you heard if from the television and your mother that breast milk is best for the baby and its benefits extend to basic nutrition. In contains nutrients and vitamins that your baby needs in the first six months of his/her life.

Here is the list of the benefits of breastfeeding to your baby:

1. Breastfeeding will protect baby from illnesses

This is a giveaway. When you breastfeed, you are sure that it will protect your baby from a long list of diseases and illnesses. Exclusive breastfeeding should be enough to keep the stomach viruses, ear infections, lower respiratory illnesses and meningitis offer protection. There are studies that proved it can lower risks of type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well.

When you hear exclusive breastfeeding, it means that you do not get to feed the baby with solid food, formula or even water. The baby only consumes breast milk. There was a study conducted by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The study revealed that babies between ages 28 days old and 1 year old who are breastfed have 20% lower risk of dying.

2. Breastfeeding can protect against allergies

Scientists proved that babies who are fed with formula (cow’s milk or soy) have more allergic reactions than babies who are breastfed. The reason is that only breast milk have IgA that can prevent allergic reactions by providing additional layer of shield to the intestinal tract of the baby.

Knowing this, babies who are not breastfed are more vulnerable to allergies, inflammation and other health issues.

3. Breastfeeding will boost the child’s intelligence

There is no doubt that some research found a link between cognitive development and breastfeeding. The fatty acids in the breast milk play a big role in the IQ of the children. In fact, there was a study that covered 4,000 children who were breastfed. The study revealed that breastfed children score higher on vocabulary tests.

4. Breastfeeding may lower the risk of SIDS

A mother’s nightmare is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is so sudden and unknown that it cannot give you enough time to process it. In 2009, a German study was published and it revealed that breastfeeding have lower risk of SIDS.

When you breastfeed, you also give yourself additional protection. According to some studies, breast feeding can reduce your risk of postpartum depression and stress level. Not only that, there are studies that claim breastfeeding can lower your risk of some types of cancer.