Nursing your baby and breast milk, often referred to as liquid gold, are valuable gifts for both you and your baby. Here’s why:
- Colostrum provides instant immunity to a wide range of diseases
- Breast milk decreases the likelihood of digestive problems
- Continued breastfeeding reduces risk of infection and illnesses
- Long-term, breastfed babies have better jaw development, are less likely to develop eating disorders, and overall, experience better health
- Breastfeeding helps your uterus to contract after birth
- Breastfeeding reduces your risk of breast and ovarian cancer
Mother’s milk as medicine
Did you know that breast milk also has medicinal properties? You can help:
- Heal the umbilical cord quicker by drizzling a few drops onto the stump and into the navel at each nappy change
- Alleviate conjunctivitis (‘pink eye’) by expressing a few drops and dripping into the eye with an eye dropper, or moistening a cotton wool ball with breast milk and then gently wiping Baby’s eye
- Disinfect a cut with a few drops of breast milk – the antibodies in the milk will help to heal the wound and prevent infection
- Relieve itchy mosquito bites by dabbing with cotton wool soaked with breast milk
- Ease an ear infection naturally with three to four drops of breast milk at the entrance of the ear
- Treat a stuffy nose by squirting a few drops of breast milk up the nose with a syringe
