Breastfeeding Should Be Done At Least 12 Months For Better Results, Experts Says

Mothers need help and support from their families, friends, communities, health care leaders and employers for them to achieve better breastfeeding goals. About 80 percent of US mothers breastfeed their infants, but only 30 percent of which breastfeed their babies up to 12 months. Experts advice mothers to breastfeed their babies up to a year for more significant results.

To further educate and support breastfeeding moms, Center for Disease and Control (CDC) would like to come up with breastfeeding education programs. They also want to improve maternity care practices in hospitals and give professional support for new mothers.

CDC did a survey and found that 81% of US babies were breastfed from birth. "This high percentage of babies who start out breastfeeding shows that most mothers want to breastfeed and are trying to do so. More than half (51.8 percent) of infants were breastfeeding at six months. That's up significantly from just 35 percent of women in 2000. But then it drops off, less than a third (30.7 percent) of infants was breastfeeding at 12 months." CDC said in a statement according to NBC News.

Breastfeeding lowers your baby's risk of having allergies or asthma. Babies who breastfeed exclusively for six months, without any formula, have a fewer risk in respiratory illness, ear infections, and diarrhea. Antibodies found in breast milk helps your baby fight off bacteria and viruses. Not only that, breast milk is packed with all the vitamins and nutrients that your babies need for the first six months of their life.

American Academy of Pediatrics, as reported by Womensobgynmed, advises mothers to give nothing but breast milk to their babies, not just for six months but at least twelve months. Not only it is good and beneficiary for the babies, it can also help moms reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. Another benefit they could get from breastfeeding is to be able to return to their pre-pregnancy weight.

Breastfeeding is highly significant for a child's rearing and holistic development, which starts directly upon birth. However, there are some cases that mothers become too ill or unable to breastfeed their child, this should not also be a reason for shaming them about their motherhood. Women get to be the best mothers they can be, whether their babies be breastfed or not. The facts shared above only shows one great way to nourish your babies, but still the mothers get to decide what they think are best for their child.