Share research center of the Douglas Hospital of Canada, which is linked to McGill University, conducted a study on the responses of 25 breastfeeding mothers and another 25 bottle-feeding mothers, who have one or more children. The mothers were exposed to different stressful situations either emotional, such as watching saddening scenes or others, such as attending seminars and lectures. The levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, were measured in saliva samples that were collected from them. It turned out that the breastfeeding mothers did not suffer the symptoms of stress like the other mothers did in all the situations to which they were exposed.
Researchers found that a breastfeeding mother has lower levels of cortisol in all the situations, which indicated that they were more able to distinguish between important and less important effects. This is a unique ability that is not possessed by bottle-feeding mothers. Breastfeeding mothers who had more than one child showed to be less responsive to stress, which means that breastfeeding has more benefits when it is done after multiple childbirths.
The results of the study showed that bottle-feeding mothers are more sensitive to and interactive with stress, which makes them easily distracted and deprives their children of receiving due care. Experts see that this study may lead to a better understanding of postnatal depression. As soon as doctors understand how breastfeeding enhances the mother’s ability to sort out straining daily events, they will be able to easily treat or prevent postnatal depression.
Breastfeeding Benefits for Mothers
Experts see that the positive results of breastfeeding are not limited to children; they also extend to mothers. Some of the benefits appear immediately and others in the long term.
An immediate benefit of breastfeeding is the increase of Oxytocin level that helps with the production of breast milk, simultaneously giving her a deep feeling of rest and calm. Also, breastfeeding helps the womb to contract to its original size. Modern studies refer to the importance of breastfeeding in decreasing the risk of postnatal depression and postpartum hemorrhage.
The crucial benefits, in the long term, include controlling blood sugar levels and raising the level of good cholesterol, consequently reducing the risk of heart disease. In addition, breastfeeding, even for a few months, reduces the risk of breast and womb cancer and protects the bones from thinning.
Breastfeeding Benefits Children
Breastfeeding benefits children in many ways, including the following:
High intelligence level: In a study published in 2002, American researchers, who kept abreast of the brain development of a group of children in the first stage of childhood through adolescence until their twenties, emphasize that children who were breastfed were more intelligent than children who were fed on baby formula.
Stronger bones and skeleton: According to a study published in a medical magazine in 2002 that was conducted on a group of children, the density of the neck bones and spines of children who were breastfed for at least three months surpassed the density of the same parts in children whose mothers never breastfed them or were breastfed for less than three months.
Obesity-proof: Specialists emphasize that breastfeeding helps children to control their weight and protect them from obesity at later stages of their lives. A recent study refers to the decrease of insulin levels in breastfed children, which helps control obesity.
Protection against asthma and other problems related to the respiratory system, as mentioned by a study that was published in 2002 by Australian researchers who stress that breastfeeding can protect children from asthma, even for babies whose mothers suffer from this respiratory problem.
Immunity against a large number of diseases, as always stressed by physicians
New Benefits of Breastfeeding
Researchers recently discovered that acquired immunity is not limited to the breastfeeding period; it extends throughout the stages of the child’s life. In addition, medical studies emphasize that breast milk helps children to recover quickly, protects them from all types of allergies, and reduces their worries and stress.
A new medical study, which was presented in the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association, emphasizes that breastfeeding quickens the recovery of postnatal wounds and the subsequent scars in mothers. In their studies of mice, researchers found that breastfeeding accelerated the healing of the mothers' wounds, lessened their tension and pain, and reconstructed the tissues that were destroyed during delivery. It turned out that the mice which breastfed their babies recovered faster than the mice whose babies were bottle-fed.
Such results are confirmed by studies that showed that breast milk is the best food for children, as it protects them from allergies, infestations, and stomach and intestine disorders, in addition to the benefits for mothers.
Ohio University researchers noticed, after making small wounds in a group of mice one day after they delivered their baby mice, that their wounds healed quickly and closed with at least 30% more strength five days after breastfeeding their babies, compared to animals that were prevented from feeding their babies.
According to Nature magazine, researchers explained that this is related to hormones. After giving birth to their babies, mothers have high rates of the prolactin hormone which is known as the milk hormone, which consequently increases the number of immune cells running in the blood, thus quickening reconstruction and healing. Also, mothers have high rates of Oxytocin that stimulates the secretion of milk, decreases the tension hormone levels, activates immunity, and helps to enhance the emotional link between
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