4 Breastfeeding Facts You Wish You Knew Beforehand
Breastfeeding is one of the most natural things in the world. Mothers from all walks of life share a common bond with their child through breastfeeding. It nourishes and nurtures your child at the same time and doesn’t cost you a cent. If you are a first-time mother you may be looking for information about breastfeeding and breast pumps.
Of course, you can choose the Ameda breast pump if you lack the time or the energy to sit and breastfeed your child. There are so many interesting breastfeeding facts it is hard to narrow it down to just a handful. Whether it be the extra benefits of breastfeeding, the bond it creates between mother and child, or that it is technically a form of exercise, there is lots of information available to mothers nowadays.
Let’s take a look at four interesting breastfeeding facts so that you are well-informed about what lies ahead.
Get Your Blood Pumping
The last thing you are going to be thinking about while breastfeeding is exercise. A lot of you probably didn’t know that breastfeeding actually does burn calories. We obviously can’t compare this to a full-blown workout at the gym, but there are some real physical benefits to breastfeeding. You are using your muscles when holding your baby, picking them up, walking with them and so on. When you use your muscles, your heart pumps faster to give them more blood and oxygen, in turn, you burn more calories. Some experts concluded that women can burn up to 500 calories daily while they breastfeed.
Mother Knows Best
Not every child is going to be born in the same timeframe. There have always been premature babies and others that take their sweet old time to come out. Depending on how far along the pregnancy is the nutritional content of a mother’s breast milk will change. It is fascinating that the human body can produce milk with exactly the right amount of fats, proteins, and sugars for a particular stage of the growth cycle. Mother really does know best!
What Mother Eats Matters
Everyone knows that there are certain things you shouldn’t eat or consume while you’re pregnant, but did you know that this is also true when it comes to breastfeeding? Every single thing that a woman puts in her body can affect how her breast milk tastes and feels for her baby. If the mother is a picky eater and eats the same thing every day when she breastfeeding, that child will only get a taste for that one thing his/her mother eats. This is going to cause problems with developing picky eating habits. Switch it up a bit for the sake of your child and keep your diet interesting.
It’s Alive!
This last one may cause some of you a bit of queasiness, so be forewarned. A mother’s breast milk contains a lot of different things including live antibodies and stem cells. Yes, when you are feeding your child they are ingesting some living organisms. This is, however, a very good thing. Your baby is getting stem cells and antibodies that you have produced to help them develop better and become more protected from disease and viruses. So, put your weak stomach aside because your toddler is going to benefit greatly.
Factually Delicious And Nutritious
There were so many interesting things to learn about breastfeeding that it was hard narrowing it down to these four gems. Who knew that you could get in shape and feed your baby at the same time?! Regardless of your stance on breast milk versus formula, there are some very interesting facts about breastfeeding that will make your mind wander.
