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[FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Breastfeeding isnt only about providing motherҒs milk. While seldom recognized in literature, doctors advice or common conversation, thereҒs a whole lot more to breastfeeding than nutrition and immunity, and some of this can be achieved during bottlefeeding as well. [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Breastfeeding has taken quite a bashing over the last century. In order to rebuild acceptance of breastfeeding, breastfeeding advocates have focused on the importance its nutritive and immune support roles. But breastfeeding is designed to be much more than just providing food it is a time for nursing, a time for comfort and nurturing. This is a time for studying and memorizing each otherגs faces, for speaking or singing to your baby and developing her trust and nonverbal communication.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Babies clearly seek nursing in order to ease the pain of a bump or illness, to relieve stress or to regain security after being frightened. Its obviously effective. And whenever allowed, babies usually engage in comfort nursing long after nutrition needs have been satiated, deepening the soothing, bonding and educational relationship between mother and child.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Not all of these benefits are exclusive to breastfeeding mothers and babies. Bottlefeeding mothers can achieve many of these benefits, as well. ItҒs possible to nurseӔ your baby, whether at bottle or at breast.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]NursingӔ is more than breastfeeding[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]In your arms or snuggled alongside you, your baby is nurtured by the snuggly warmth of your body and comforted by your familiar scent (pheromones). He hears the beat of your heart and the sound of your voice. His neurons and hormones program him to desire and flourish in this environment a means [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]of ensuring his protection, survival and optimal development. And when allowed, your babyגs powerful imprint on your pheromonal messages is second only to his programmed need and yearning for sucking.[/FONT][FONT='Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'][/font][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Science has demonstrated how a babys optimal development occurs through his neurological and hormonal responses to these planned inputs. Providing these stimuli for your baby means providing the advantages, as well.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Comfort nursing[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Babies often engage in comfort nursing (also known as non-nutritive sucking) well beyond their need for taking in milk for nourishment. Given the opportunity, most babies will comfort nurse Җ and for babys benefit, itҒs a good thing. Comfort nursing satiates your babys needs for soothing, familiarity and educational parent-child exchanges. Your baby needs to nurse for security, positive hormonal releases, bonding and company. [/FONT][FONT='Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'][/font][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]The importance of sucking to a babyҒs comfort and well being is well demonstrated. In a Chicago sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) study, bottle-fed infants who enjoyed the added use of a pacifier (which makes up for comfort nursing time) had only one-third the rate of SIDS as those who did not use pacifiers, and those who breastfed had only one-fifth the rate of SIDS. [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]EEG studies of babies brains while sucking at the breast demonstrate increased activity in areas of the brain that govern alertness and attention as well as in areas that control the cycle of sleeping and waking. Bottle-feeding produces similar but smaller changes in brain patterns. [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Many babies who are fed on strict schedules or quickly removed from the breast or bottle as soon as active feeding is done will seek a thumb or finger to suck on or take to a pacifier. This demonstrates their strong inborn requirement for more comfort sucking. Allow your baby to continue to breastfeed as long as she wishes for comfort. Bottlefeeding parents can offer comfort nursing by holding their babies and allowing them to continue sucking on a bottle or pacifier[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Sucking relieves pain and soothes babies[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Researchers have shown that breastfeeding reduces pain for babies. A recent assessment measured a great reduction in babiesҒ pain during medical procedures if they breastfed during the procedure. Some reduction in pain was demonstrated with pacifier sucking, but simply holding a baby in his mothers arms did not provide measurable relief.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Clearly, babies are meant to return to their mothers after a bump or to demand frequent nursing when ill. When your baby is sick, the soothing qualities of being held and sucking is both healing and helps relieve symptoms for your infant. Nursing keeps baby close to you so you can best monitor your babyҒs status. Quick, safe, and easy, nursing your baby (holding her and allowing her to suck) is meant to soothe the physical pains of babyhood.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Sucking promotes sleep[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Another powerful benefit of breastfeeding (and sucking) is its promotion of sleep in baby and in a sleepy mommy. The peace and quiet allow dad to sleep, too.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Some parenting expertsӔ recommend withholding from your baby all the comforts that would normally induce sleep, including pacifiers, rocking and allowing him to fall asleep at the breast or bottle. These same expertsӔ then have the opportunity to teach tough-love tactics, which attempt to coerce your perplexed, forsaken baby to sleep without any of his natural tools.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]All the crying that ensues produces stress hormone releases in your baby, discouraging sleep until sheer exhaustion takes over. And after all is said and done, you are left to try to get to sleep with your own stress hormones surging through your bloodstream, as well. [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]The reality is that babies come with a simple and wonderful program in place for falling asleep: breastfeeding. A mothers body passes comforting hormones into her own body and into her babyҒs milk in response to the suckling. Babies release their own comforting hormones, as well, during parental contact and especially when sucking. Together, the warmth, security, full tummy, tiredness from sucking effort and comforting hormones induce sleep naturally.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Nursing your baby to sleep, whether at the breast or the bottle, is a great way to achieve these effects.[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][/FONT] [FONT=Arial]The benefits of skin-to-skin contact[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Many studies demonstrate the benefits of skin-to-skin contact in babies. One measurable benefit of such contact is increased oxytocin releases in both you and your infant. Regular, high oxytocin levels not only comfort you and your baby but they serve to increase your sense of satisfaction with motherhood.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Higher levels of oxytocin, especially when created through frequent or prolonged body contact, encourage other kinds of positive hormonal interactions to occur as well. These provide physical rewards to protect the desires for maintaining close family relationships.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Long-term benefits of regularly high oxytocin levels include a reduction in heart disease risk factors for you and your baby. Your child may enjoy lower blood pressure and healthier arteries throughout his life as a result. Furthermore, regular high oxytocin actually reduces the severity of your childs lifelong reactions to stress. [/FONT][FONT='Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'][/font][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Preemies are the most often studied in terms of skin-to-skin contact, since they are the most accessible to observe during their stays in neonatal intensive care units, and measurable results are often quite pronounced in this most vulnerable age group. However, this certainly doesnҒt mean that preemies are the only babies who benefit from skin-to-skin contact![/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]In premature newborns, skin-to-skin contact leads to superior temperature control, lower heart rates and life-saving oxygen regulation. The hospital stays of preemies who receive skin-to-skin contact are much shorter. Milk production in mothers is greatly improved when they share this contact with their preemies, and their attachment and maternal behaviors are enhanced. Kangaroo care preemiesӔ (those kept close to mothers skin and breastfed when possible) are found to gain twice as much weight per day as incubator babies.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]The benefits are clear: snuggle your baby. Breastfeed frequently; if you bottle feed, donҒt prop your babys bottle and walk away. Your babyҒs health will benefit[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Seeing eye to eye[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Feeding time is also designed to encourage your babys reception of positive activities such as studying your face, exchanging expressions with you and sharing verbal cues. Not only does this deepen the attachment between the two of you, but much of your babyҒs early verbal, emotional and social learning is meant to occur during this focused time.[/FONT] [FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Cute little ornaments hanging over cribs are meant to provide entertainment as well as practice in focusing on and reaching for objects. Your face peering down at your baby during a feeding offers a much superior form of these same rewards.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Holding, rocking and cuddling[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]The need for frequent breastfeeding throughout the day and night ensures that babies gets their fill of holding, rocking and cuddling. Natural, on-cue breastfeeding ensures that mothers will take the time with sufficient frequency to provide ample nurturing attention. Bottlefeeding parents can do this, too, by making feeding times cherishable times and remembering to hold their babies frequently throughout the day[/FONT] While the analysis didnt measure breastfeeding, one hospital study compared the responses of newborns to standard and what they call ғenhanced care. Newborns were rocked, cuddled, offered verbal and visual stimulation and allowed to suck on a pacifier as much as they desired. In comparison with infants who received standard hospital care, these babies demonstrated superior temperature regulation and respiratory rates; far fewer heart murmurs were detected, fewer sucking and swallowing difficulties were seen and almost no crying was found [FONT=Arial]ԓNursing matters[/FONT][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Lest you think this ԓnursing your baby sounds sweet but offers intangible rewards, look again at all the benefits of holding your baby and allowing her to suck at will.[/FONT][FONT=Arial]ԕ nourishment

comfort

Օ easing of pain and discomfort

protection during illness

Օ building of bonding and attachment with parents

social development

Օ inducing sleep

building of trust in parents

Օ visual development

development of communication skills

Օ building brain organization toward positive stress handling throughout life

reduced heart disease risk factors

Օ lowered risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Breastfeeding provides full nutrition and amazing immune protection for baby, but thats only the beginning. Nursing your baby Җ holding her close, letting her suck at will, and offering skin-to-skin contact frequently throughout the day provides benefits for both breastfed and bottlefed babies. And what a wonderful beginning it can be![/FONT]