More than two decades of research have shown that breast milk is perfectly suited to nourish infants and protect them from disease. Infants have lower rates of hospital admissions, ear infections, diarrhea, skin rashes, allergies and other medical problems that bottle-fed babies.

“There are 4,000 species of mammals, and they all make a different milk. Human milk is for human babies and that meets all their needs for specific nutrients,” says Ruth Lawrence, MD, professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, NY, and the spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The academy recommends that babies be breastfed for six to 12 months. The only acceptable alternative to breast milk is infant formula. Solid foods can be introduced when the baby is 4 to 6 months of age, but a baby to take breast milk or formula, not cow’s milk, for a full year.

“There are no rules about when to stop breast-feeding,” says Lawrence. “While the baby is eating age-appropriate solid foods, a mother can nurse a couple of years if he so wishes. A baby needs breast milk for the first year of life, and as long as you want after that “.

In 1993, 55.9 percent of American mothers breastfed their babies at the hospital. Only 19 percent still breast-feeding when their children were 6 months old. Government and private health experts are working to increase those numbers.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting a study on infant feeding practices as part of its ongoing objective to improve nutrition in the United States. The study is looking at how long mothers breast-feed their children and how to enter the formula or other foods.

Health experts say the increase in breastfeeding rates consumers save money, spent both on infant formula and in health care dollars. It could also save lives.

“We’ve known for years that death rates in Third World countries are lower among breast-fed babies,” says Lawrence. “Breastfed babies are healthier and have fewer infections than formula-fed babies.”

Breast milk for infants

The main benefit of breast milk is nutrition. Human milk contains just the right amount of fatty acids, lactose, water and amino acids for human digestion, brain development and growth.

Cow’s milk contains a different type of protein from milk. This is good for calves, but human babies may have trouble digesting it. Bottle-fed children tend to be fatter babies, but not necessarily healthier.

Breast-fed babies have fewer illnesses because human milk to the transfer of a baby from the mother antibodies to the disease. About 80 percent of the cells in breast milk are macrophages, cells that kill bacteria, fungi and viruses. Breast-fed babies are protected, to varying degrees, from a number of diseases, including pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, toxin infections, influenza, ear infections, measles and German. Furthermore, mothers produce antibodies against any disease is present in their environment, so their milk designed to fight diseases that their children are exposed to as well.

A breastfeeding the baby’s digestive tract contains large amounts of Lactobacillus bifidus, beneficial bacteria that prevent the growth of harmful organisms. Human milk directly from the breast is always sterile, not contaminated by polluted water or dirty bottles, which can also lead to diarrhea in infants.

Human milk contains at least 100 ingredients not found in the formula. No babies are allergic to milk his mother, even though they may have a reaction to something the mother eats. If you delete your diet, the problem resolves itself.

Suction in the heart and promotes good jaw development. It’s harder work to get milk from a breast of a bottle, and the exercise strengthens the jaws and encourages the growth of the straight, healthy teeth. The baby at the breast can also control the flow of milk by sucking and stopping. With a bottle, the baby must constantly suck or react to the pressure of the nipple in the mouth.

Nursing may have psychological benefits for the child as well as the creation of an early accession between mother and child. At birth, infants see only 12 to 15 inches, the distance between a nursing baby and her mother’s face. Studies have found that children as young as 1 week prefer the smell of her own mother’s milk. When the nursing pads soaked with breast milk are in their cradles, which in turn their faces toward the smells that a family member.

Many psychologists believe that baby nursing benefits from a sense of security from the warmth and presence of the mother, especially when there is skin-to-skin contact during feeding. The parents of bottle-fed babies may be tempted to prop bottles on the baby’s mouth, with no human contact during lactation. However, a nursing mother to hug her son close many times during the day. Nursing becomes more than just a way to feed a baby, is a source of warmth and comfort.

Benefits for mothers

Breastfeeding is good for new mothers and their babies. There are no bottles to sterilize and no formula to buy, measure and mix. It may be easier for a mother to lose the pounds of pregnancy, as it uses up extra calories nursing. Breastfeeding also stimulates the uterus to contract back to its original size.

A nursing mother is forced to obtain necessary rest. Must sit down, put your feet and resting every few hours to nurse. Nursing at night is also very easy. Nobody has to stumble to the refrigerator for a bottle and warm while the baby cries. If it lying down, a mother can doze while the nurses.

Nursing is also the nature of contraceptives – though not very reliable. Frequent nursing suppresses ovulation, making it less likely for a nursing mother to menstruate, ovulate, or get pregnant. There are no guarantees, however. Mothers who do not want more children right away should use contraception, even when nursing. Hormone injections and implants are safe during lactation, as are all barrier methods of birth control. The labeling on birth control pills says if possible another form of contraception must be used until the baby is weaned.

Breastfeeding is also economic. Despite a nursing mother works for a big appetite and consumes extra calories, the extra food for her is less expensive than buying formula for the baby. Nursing saves money while providing the best nutrition possible.

When the formula

There are very few medical reasons why a mother should not breastfeed, according to Lawrence.

Most common illnesses such as colds, flu, skin infections, or diarrhea, can not be passed through breast milk. In fact, if a mother has an illness, her breast milk contains antibodies that help you protect your baby from those same diseases.

Some viruses can pass through breast milk, however. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of them. Women who are HIV positive should not breastfeed.

A few other diseases – such as herpes, hepatitis and infections of beta – can also be transmitted through breast milk. But that does not always mean a mother with those diseases should not breast-feed, says Lawrence.

“Each case must be evaluated on an individual basis with the woman’s doctor,” he says.

Breast cancer is not transmitted through breast milk. Women who have had breast cancer can usually breast-feed from the unaffected breast. There is some concern that the hormones produced during pregnancy and lactation can trigger a recurrence of cancer, but until now this has not been proven. Studies have shown, however, that breastfeeding reduces a child to a woman of the possibility of developing breast cancer later.

Silicone breast implants usually do not interfere with a woman’s ability to nurse, but if the implants leak, there is some concern that the silicone can harm the baby. Some small studies have suggested a link between breastfeeding with implants and the subsequent development of the problems with the child’s esophagus. Further studies are needed in this area. But if a woman with implants wants to breast-feed, you must first analyze the potential benefits and risks with your child’s doctor.

Possible problems:

For all its health benefits, breast-feeding has some disadvantages. In the first few weeks, can be painful. A woman can become nipple pain or cracked. She may experience congestion over a bottle mammary mother, where the aim of becoming the breasts full of milk that is hard and painful. Some nursing women also clogged milk ducts, which can lead to mastitis, a painful infection of the breast. While most nursing problems can be solved with home remedies, mastitis requires prompt medical care (see accompanying article).

Another possible disadvantage of nursing is that it affects a woman all my life. A nursing mother with baby in tow should wear clothes that allow her to nurse anywhere, or she will have to find a private place to undress. She should eat a balanced diet and could avoid the need for foods that irritate the baby. It also should not smoke, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea and restlessness in the baby, as well as decrease in milk production.

Women who plan to return to work soon after birth will have to plan carefully if they want to breast-feed. If your job allows, a new mother can pump her breast milk several times during the day and refrigerate or freeze for the baby to take a bottle later. Or, some women alternate nursing at night and on weekends during the day with bottles of formula.

In any case, a nursing mother is physically connected to your baby over a bottle mother. The baby needs for food, and she needs to nurse regularly to avoid uncomfortably full breasts. But instead of feeling that is a task, nursing mothers often cite this close relationship as one of the greatest joys of nursing. In addition, nursing mothers can go far if the food they need a rest.

Finally, some women simply are not comfortable with the idea of nursing. They do not want to deal with their breasts, or want to think of them as sexual, not functional. You can be concerned about modesty and the possibility of having a nurse in public. You can want a break from child care to let someone else feed the baby, especially in the early hours of the morning.

If a woman is unsure if it wants to nurse, you can try it for a few weeks and change if she does not like. It is very difficult to change to breastfeeding after bottle-feeding is begun.

If the plans for breastfeeding, a new mother should learn as much as possible about it before the baby is born. Obstetricians, pediatricians, childbirth instructors, nurses and midwives can provide information about nursing. But perhaps the best support for a nursing mother is someone who has dealt successfully with a baby.

La Leche League, a national organization of support for nursing mothers, has chapters in many cities that meet regularly to discuss breastfeeding problems and offer support.

“We encourage mothers to come to La Leche League before their babies are born,” says Mary Lofton, a spokesman for the league. “The job is hard to do. It’s so important to learn to breastfeed their children in advance to avoid problems.”

Interested women or couples are welcome to attend La Leche League meetings without charge. League leaders offer advice by phone, too. To find a convenient La Leche League chapter, call (1-800) LA-LECHE.