1.0 Why Breastfeeding is Important
Breastmilk and breastfeeding are not "special" - breastfeeding is just normal.
While breastfeeding is only normal, it is incredibly important for all humans.
Breastmilk is the natural first food for babies, with breastfeeding being the natural means of delivery of this food source. Breastmilk is the only single food that can meet ALL of the nutritional needs of a human for at least 6 months, and this is at a time when that human is growing at the fastest rate he will ever grow after birth.
When another source of milk or method of feeding is considered, the growth, health, development, and all other short- and long-term outcomes of the infant should be compared to 'the norm'. In this topic you will learn about the differences in outcomes according to feeding decision.
Breastmilk ensures normal growth and health by:
- the completeness of its composition and the superiority of each of those components for growth and development (biochemistry); and
- the ability of breastmilk to kill or inactivate pathogens, cause the infant to resist disease and allergies, and stimulate the infant's own immune defences (immunology)
How an infant is fed will have a life-long impact
Given the documented short- and long-term medical and neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding, infant nutrition should be considered a public health issue and not only a lifestyle choice.1
AAP Breastfeeding Task Force

A kangaroo and her joey - There is no mammal species on earth, other than humans, that would trust the growth, development and health of their young to the milk of another species. .
Image © D.Fisher, IBCLC

What would you say?
A mother, pregnant with her second baby, says to you “I breastfed my first baby for 6 weeks then gave him infant formula. He's a beautiful, healthy little boy today. Is breastfeeding really worth all the effort it takes?
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Notes
- # Section on Breastfeeding (2012) Breastfeeding and the use of human milk.