Little-Known Breastfeeding Benefits: The Real Reasons Women Breastfeed

If you're contemplating the best way to feed and nurture your child, you've probably read many breastfeeding books and websites. You've heard that breastfeeding is good for both your baby and you. But there are breastfeeding benefits you may not have heard about. Here are breastfeeding benefits that only breastfeeding mothers know about. These are the real reasons they even continue breastfeeding beyond one year:

1. More pleasant diaper changes

Simply put, the poop of an exclusively breastfed baby smells much more pleasant that that of a formula-fed baby. Same goes for the breastfed baby's spit up, which washes much more easily as well.

2. Easy traveling

A formula-feeding mother has to make sure she has enough formula. Then she needs to pack all those bottles and artificial nipples. And then she has to worry about where to get clean water. And then, she needs to figure out how she will sterilize everything! I've even heard of formula-feeding Moms having to buy and lug around a small sterilizer. On the other hand, all breastfeeding Moms have to worry about is matching our breastfeeding clothes with our baby slings. Oh, and the diapers, too, of course!

3. Better sleep

What you've probably heard is that breastfed babies wake up more often leading to less sleep for Mom. Well, formula is harder to digest and so the formula-fed baby will stay satiated longer than the breastfed baby. But imagine this. A breastfed baby and his Mommy sleep beside or near each other. As baby wakes up, Mommy wakes up, latches baby on and both fall back asleep. It doesn't matter how many times this happens throughout the night. Compare this to the formula-feeding Mom who has to get up, mix the formula, and warm up the bottle. She'll be fully awake before her baby goes back to sleep!

4. Mother and baby togetherness