Today’s moms have thousands of choices when it comes to their pregnancies and babies.  Everything from the location of the birth to the brand of diapers they will use.  But one of the most crucial choices each mother makes is how and what to feed her baby.

While there are excellent baby formulas on the market, a record number of moms are choosing to breast feed their babies after doing research and reading about the benefits.  What’s that?  You haven’t heard what makes breast feeding so great?  Let us share with you our Ten Reasons to Choose Breast Feeding before you make up your mind:

1.  Naturally Perfect Nutrition

For millions of years, human breast milk has been used to nourish the next generation of people.  It is 100% natural, organic, and fresh with everything a baby needs to grow and thrive during their first years of life.  Formula is made from the milk of another species and cannot meet a baby’s exact nutritional needs in the same way as human breast milk.

2.  A Foundation For Good Health

Breast fed babies have repeatedly been shown to have overall better health in their infancy and throughout their lifetimes.  Scientific studies have shown that babies fed with human breast milk have lower instances and risks for Chrone’s Disease, Type II diabetes, allergies, asthma, respiratory infections, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Hodgkins disease and a host of other health problems.  This also means that breast feeding helps reduce health care costs for both your family and for your community.

3.  Bonding

Breastfeeding offers you an unparalleled opportunity to bond with your baby in a most intimate and primal way.  These are moments that you will cherish as you watch your baby grow, knowing that you had a very unique hand (and breast) in helping her thrive.  You can also meet your baby’s needs immediately, without trying to locate a place to mix and warm formula and clean a bottle; giving her a sense of comfort and security that will impact her emotional development.

4.  Decreased Risk of Breast Cancer

Women who breast feed have been proven in clinical studies to be at a lower risk for developing breast cancer during their lifetimes.

5.  Convenience

Your baby eats several times a day. Breast feeding allows you to feed her any time, any place with no mess, no fuss.  Your breast milk is sanitary, the perfect temperature, and you don’t have to carry a bunch of gear around with you to make and clean a bottle each time she feeds.  It is the ideal solution for a mom on the go.

6.  Weight Loss

Breast feeding your baby after giving birth helps you lose your postpartum weight because of the 600+ additional calories your body uses to feed her.  Lactation also triggers your body to shrink your uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size.

7.  Affordability

Having babies is expensive.  You’ve got hospital bills, diapers, clothes and gear.  But breast milk is 100% free.  It can literally save you thousands of dollars each year to breast feed your baby rather than to use formula.

8.  Natural Contraceptive

Enjoy intimacy knowing that your breast feeding is a natural contraceptive and can help delay your body’s return ovulation after having a baby.

9.  Better for the Planet

If you’re the type of person who is concerned about good planetary stewardship, you may want to consider how much waste is produced in making, marketing, shipping and packaging formula.  Breast milk, however, comes in the ultimate recyclable packaging!

10. Breast Feeding is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Surgeon General, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

These organizations are committed to public health and wellness and have all stood behind breast feeding as the single best way to nourish an infant and ensure that she grows and thrives during her lifetime.

Can you think of any more good reasons why breast feeding is best?  Leave us a comment!