8 Reasons Why Breast (or Breast and Bottle) Is Still Best

By Jacqueline Burt WangYou probably know that breastfeeding is best for the first six months of your baby’s life: Studies show that babies who are nursed exclusively are less likely to suffer from respiratory disease, ear infections, and pneumonia. The benefits continue after 6 months - and after you start your little one on solid food - even if you supplement breast milk with formula.

Here are 8 reasons not to rush the transition to solids - and to limit the amount of solids your baby eats after she has transitioned so that her primary food source continues to be milk until age 1.
Nutritional value Nutritionally, your infant needs nothing more than breast milk or formula - they're still the most balanced foods you can give him, so don't be in a hurry to fill him up with solids. Fact: The longer you nurse, the higher the concentration of fat and nutrients in your breast milk.

Infection Protection Now that your baby is learning to crawl, reach, grab and put everything in his mouth, he can use the germ-fighting properties of mommy’s milk more than ever. This is particularly true if he’s started attending daycare full or part-time.

Long-Term Defense You’re likely to have spared your baby some early infancy colds by nursing this long. Keep going and you’ll lessen his chances of developing ulcerative colitis, diabetes, asthma, Crohn’s Disease, obesity and high cholesterol in adulthood.

Reliable Food Delivery System Babies aren’t the most predictable diners at the dinner table. Some days they’ll slurp down a jarful of sweet potatoes, others they’ll clamp their mouths shut after one bite of banana. Breast milk and formula fill in nutritional gaps like nothing else.

Smarter Start Research shows that breastfed babies score an average of eight points higher on IQ tests, but there's plenty of debate on whether this means that breast milk actually promotes brain development (the most important factor is how you interact with your baby). Still breast milk does contain some nutrients that may play a part in brain growth.

Better Babbling Nursing promotes oral development, which in turn enhances language skills.

Bonding Bonus Whether you're breast- or bottle feeding, you're bonding with your baby while she eats (as long as you don't just give her the bottle to hold, that is). And moms report that nursing beyond infancy soothes toddler anxieties. Though there hasn’t been much research done on the psychological aspects of breastfeeding, some studies point to lower rates of behavior problems in school-age children who were breastfed past one year.

Better for Baby, Better for You Nursing for extended periods of time buffers you against a multitude of evils, too: Breast, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers, osteoporosis and even rheumatoid arthritis. It promotes mental well-being, too, thanks to the continued release of the milk-producing, stress-relieving hormones prolactin and oxytocin.