To mark National Breastfeeding Week from October 1–7, AboutKidsHealth is sharing new and updated resources on breastfeeding/chestfeeding.
The Canadian Pediatric Society and the World Health Organization strongly support breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life. It can then be continued until two years of age or older and supplemented with solid foods starting at six months.
What are the benefits of breastfeeding?
Breastfeeding has many benefits for both the breastfeeding parent and their baby.
Benefits for the parent include:
- producing hormones while breastfeeding that help to reduce stress
- building confidence in caring for your baby
- reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancers
- feeding your baby in a way that is free, convenient and environmentally friendly
Benefits for the baby include:
- providing antibodies to protect against infection
- providing growth factors for brain, eye and gut development
- reducing the number of illnesses, such as ear, chest and gastric infections
- reducing allergies
- reducing the risk of obesity and becoming overweight
- reducing the risk of certain childhood cancers
- reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
When should breastfeeding start?
Breastfeeding should begin in the first hour after birth, if possible. The newborn baby will then feed an average of 8 to 12 times in the first 24 hours.
For more information on breastfeeding positions and correct latching, including medical illustrations showing the various positions, please see the article Breastfeeding.
Can hospitalized babies be breastfed?
The health benefits of breastfeeding are especially important while a baby is hospitalized. When a baby is hospitalized, the breastfeeding parent should still try to breastfeed their baby, if possible. To prepare a baby for breastfeeding before they are ready, parents can try the following:
- Provide mouth care with colostrum/breast milk.
- Establish and maintain a good milk supply by pumping.
- Provide skin-to-skin care, also called kangaroo care.
- Provide opportunities for the baby to latch onto a pumped breast.
- Work on breastfeeding as much as possible throughout the hospital stay.
For more information, please see the articles on breastfeeding your hospitalized baby and expressing breastmilk for hospitalized babies.
Can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding?
When a breastfeeding parent drinks alcohol, it passes into their breast milk at similar concentrations to that in their own bloodstream. It takes at least 2 to 3 hours for an alcoholic drink to clear from the breastmilk, so it is important to wait at least 3 hours to pump or breastfeed.
To learn more about alcohol and breastfeeding as well as medications and cannabis and breastfeeding, please see the article Medications, alcohol and cannabis in breastfeeding.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of health topics. For more information on breastfeeding and other health topics, visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca.
