Going nature’s way is best when it comes to providing nourishment for the apple of your eye – your baby. Breast milk is best for your baby as it provides optimal nutrition for the child and it’s easier to digest. Babies fed on breast milk utilize this form of conserved energy for undergoing rapid growth and many other biological processes. Aside from being a powerhouse of the perfect mix of vitamins, proteins, fats and other essential nutrients that your baby needs for growth for the first six months of life, breast milk is also packed with powerful disease-fighting factors that protect your baby from common illnesses.
Breast milk contains naturally occurring antibodies from the mother which are very effective in fighting off common bacterial and viral infections of childhood; it also lowers your baby’s chances of developing autoimmune diseases and allergic conditions like asthma. Aside from this, breast milk-fed babies aren’t likely to become obese in later years and don’t become overweight even as babies. And the best feature is that babies who are totally breastfed for the first six months have fewer incidences of ear infections, respiratory infections or diarrhoea. This early influence of breast milk may even offer essential protection against chronic conditions in the later stages of life. Interestingly, it’s also been noted that breastfed babies have higher IQs in later stages of childhood.
However, just because your baby is going to be getting natural immune factors passed down from breast milk doesn’t mean that its sufficient protection against the numerous virulent infections out there in the world and you can forego giving them the mandatory vaccinations. Rather, research has shown that breastfed babies tend to develop higher levels of antibodies in response to vaccinations than formula-fed babies. This also corroborates the importance of breastfeeding for babies as it enhances the immune response to most vaccinations.
The best way of securing your child’s future is by giving him/her the benefits of all the recommended vaccinations; contrary to some school of thoughts, vaccinations aren’t dangerous for the baby and are recommended age-appropriately after extensive research. Immunization helps protect not only your child but other children too who he/she comes in contact with as he/she won’t have lethal diseases to spread around. More schools and nurseries are also now insisting on vaccination certificates before providing admission, hence making vaccinations more vital.
But most important is the fact that you are providing your child with the gift of a healthy life devoid of frequent (and expensive) hospital visits and unnecessary suffering.
