The general benefits of breast milk

Breast milk is rich in the specific macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fat) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) required for your baby’s healthy growth. The composition of breast milk evolves, even during the same feed, to make sure it remains perfectly tailored to your baby’s nutritional requirements.
First of all, breast milk is easy for baby to digest and also provides protection against germs thanks to antibodies from the mother. So breastfeeding helps stimulate the baby’s immune defences, potentially reducing the risk of allergies from a very young age.

Breast milk: the first and best food for baby

Studies have shown that in every species, mother’s milk corresponds to an optimal adaptation encouraging the survival and growth of the young in the species concerned. Hence breast milk is considered to be the best asset for the good development of infants. It covers all your baby’s requirements, except vitamin D and K.

The advantages of breastfeeding

Breastfeeding also offers advantages for young mothers. It can help them lose weight more quickly after their pregnancy. It even reduces the risks of developing osteoporosis or breast, ovarian or womb cancer later on. Breastfeeding also has hormonal effects, channelling and reducing stress in the mother.
Above all, breastfeeding is good for baby and, in addition, aids mother/child bonding and promotes a return to pre-pregnancy weight in the mother. There is no need to follow a particular diet while breastfeeding: it is not necessary to eat or drink more, but the quality of the diet is important. To know whether baby likes the taste of the breast milk (and therefore what mum has eaten), watching her expressions as she suckles can provide some clues to help best adapt the diet.