
06/17/2025
Do you know the #1 benefit to breastfeeding? The absolute one??? It’s not the incredible colostrum that helps babies immune system, prevent allergies, and establish their microbiome, or the hundreds of other reasons the health industry are all taking colostrum. It’s not the countless benefits to Mom including reducing her risk for the big C. It’s not the perfectly tailored nutrition for each and every stage of babies life, or the weight loss for mom and lower risk of PMADS. It’s not even the fun little quirky benefits people don’t know as much about like the increased REM sleep nursing mothers get allowing them to function better as they wake up so often for a small baby. It’s certainly isn’t how the breastmilk even becomes the antibodies that baby needs when mom is exposed to sickness, creating it perfectly little healing concoction for a sick baby. The list goes on of all the selfish reasons to breastfeed and I promise there are just as many for mom they we can get into, as there are for baby.
Coming in at NUMBER ONE … it’s how mom has to slow down, tune in, pick up her baby, breathe and relax, then latch her baby for 20-40 mins. Just her and baby… bonding, breathing, learning each other. This is not to say that bottle moms and babies can’t have a similar experience. They can. Though the tendency of our busy lives is to prop up a bottle or pass baby to another caregiver so we can just “get a few things done”. We all have so much on our plates as mothers… that is to be expected.
There is no greater benefit to mom or baby, than the process of mom holding, loving on, and connecting to her sweet babe. Which is a requirement of nursing. It’s such a special thing for babies to experience and so important for their health. This is also why women shouldn’t be shamed into nursing, if it isn’t for them. So here’s my advice…
Mamas who don’t want to nurse but gave it the good old college try… don’t resent nursing.. STOP.. find an amazing and high quality formula and use bottle feeding as a way to slow down, and connect with baby. Hold that baby, and let them feel all your love. And for nursing Mamas…. Use that time to do exactly the same. 💗