Palmetto Health recognizes August as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. At Palmetto Health, it is our goal to make breastfeeding a positive experience for our new moms. A Skilled Lactation Services team offers support and guidance for new mothers in deciding if breastfeeding is best for them and their new baby.

Breast milk is best for your baby, and the benefits of breastfeeding extend well beyond basic nutrition. Here are some tips to remember about breast milk:

• It’s easier for your baby to digest.

• It doesn't need to be prepared.

• It's always available.

• It has all the nutrients, calories and fluids your baby needs to be healthy.

• It has many substances that formulas don't have that protect your baby from many diseases and infections. In fact, breastfed babies are less likely to have:

  • Ear infections

  • Diarrhea

  • Pneumonia, wheezing, and bronchiolitis

  • Other bacterial and viral infections, such as meningitis

• Research also suggests that breastfeeding may help to protect against obesity, diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, eczema, colitis and some cancers.

What’s good for baby also is good for mother. When mothers follow nature’s lead and breastfeed their babies, their own bodies benefit–and so do their budgets! Here are some of the benefits for mothers who breastfeed:

• Release hormones in your body that promote mothering behavior.

• Burn more calories, which may help you lose the weight you gained during pregnancy.

• Provide contraception, but only if these three conditions are met:Reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

  • You are exclusively breastfeeding and not giving your baby any other supplements

  • It is within the first six months after birth

  • Your menstrual cycle has not returned

• Keep bones strong, which helps protect against bone fractures in older age.