List the benefits of breastfeeding for the infant and for the mother

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Benefits for Infants
Provides the appropriate composition and balance of nutrients with high bioavailability
Provides hormones that promote physiological development
Improves cognitive development
Protects against a variety of infections and illnesses, including diarrhea, ear infections, and pneumonia
May protect against some chronic diseases—such as diabetes (both types), obesity, atherosclerosis, asthma, some cancers, and hypertension—later in life
Protects against food allergies
Reduces the risk of SIDS
Supports healthy weight

Benefits for Mothers
Contracts the uterus
Delays the return of regular ovulation, thus lengthening birth intervals (this is not, however, a dependable method of contraception)
Conserves iron stores (by prolonging amenorrhea)
May protect against breast and ovarian cancer and reduce the risk of diabetes (type 2)
Increases energy expenditure, which may contribute to weight loss

Other
Cost and time savings from not needing medical treatment for childhood illnesses or leaving work to care for sick infants
Cost and time savings from not needing to purchase and prepare formula (even after adjusting for added foods in the diet of a lactating mother)
Environmental savings to society from not needing to manufacture, package, and ship formula and dispose of the packaging
Convenience of not having to shop for and prepare formula