It is best to breastfeed your baby for as long as possible

Everyone knows that it is best to drink breast milk when the baby is born, because breast milk is the safest, healthiest and most nutritious gift for the baby. Therefore, in many people's concepts, the longer the baby drinks breast milk, the better for the baby. In fact, this is a misconception that it is good for babies to drink breast milk, but it is not that the longer you drink, the better.

So, at what age is the best way to breastfeed? Today, Mi Xiaobao Maternal and Child Life Museum will share it with you.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other health agencies recommend that your baby be fully breastfed for the first six months and continue to breastfeed with other foods (often called complementary foods) until he or she is at least two years old.

This is because breast milk is more than just food. If your baby is uncomfortable or tired, breast milk is a natural soothing thing, and it also contains immune-boosting ingredients that increase greatly whenever your baby is sick.

Anthropologists estimate that the natural age at which humans stop breastfeeding can even be after the age of two. By studying factors such as tooth development, weight, and comparisons with other primates, as well as historical evidence, some anthropologists believe that breastfeeding may have stopped between the ages of two and four, while others believe that our ancestors may have breastfed until the age of six or seven.

Breastfeed your child up to 2 years of age. This is indeed the most perfect time node from theory to practice.

Why? This 2-year-old is very well documented by science. The most important of these is that breast milk protects the baby's immune system and brain development. During the first 2 years of life, the baby's own immune system does not produce enough antibodies to provide protection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age, with the addition of complementary foods and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and beyond.

Breast milk has its own antibodies.

Since the half-life of antibodies is about 30 days, this means that every 30 days or so, the number of antibodies in your baby's blood will be halved unless new antibodies are obtained. This is one of the reasons why we need to get vaccinated according to the schedule.

If there is no constant supply of new antibodies from breast milk, the antibody levels will drop to dangerous levels at 3-6 months, and it will not be until about 24 months of age that the baby's immune cells are mature enough to produce enough antibodies to meet most of the baby's needs.

In other words, before the age of 2 years, babies need to rely almost exclusively on breast milk for immune protection.

On the other hand, the fastest stages of human brain development are the last 3 months of the fetal period and the first 2 years postpartum.

By the time a baby is 2 years old, the brain has reached 80% of the weight of an adult brain. In contrast, babies do not need to gain too much weight in the first 2 years after giving birth. Therefore, breast milk not only provides suitable nutrients and energy for the brain, but also promotes and protects brain development, while ensuring that the baby does not gain weight too quickly.

After the baby is born, it is generally breastfed, and the mother's milk contains all the nutrients that the baby needs to grow and develop. However, the premise is that the baby's birth time is less than six months, and the baby at this stage is most suitable for breastfeeding. Then the choice of children's weaning time is a very prudent issue, we need to choose according to the baby's nutrient absorption needs, take into account the baby's complementary food intake, and then make a decision in combination with these circumstances.

In general, mothers will choose to accompany the baby to wean at the age of one or eight months, before the baby is weaned, we have to prepare complementary food for the baby, the children's complementary food preparation needs mothers to think well, under normal circumstances, we can choose formula milk powder and some vegetable puree or fruit puree, etc., these foods can be used as baby food. Once babies are interested in complementary foods and are able to gradually turn them into staple foods, mothers can begin to prepare for the end of breastfeeding.

If mothers want to end breastfeeding when their babies are one year old, they need to prepare their babies for weaning two months in advance. Don't wait until the time of weaning, mandatory weaning for the baby, in this case, the baby will not be able to accept the situation of no breast milk, the baby will have a certain amount of mood swings, the mother will be more unbearable, this time will affect the smooth progress of weaning. Therefore, if we want to wean more smoothly, we need to prepare for weaning in advance, such as gradually reducing the number of feedings for babies two months in advance.

Read more: The four stages of mother's milk

The composition of the milk produced by the mother is constantly changing throughout the lactation period. According to the characteristics of milk composition, it can be divided into four stages: colostrum, transitional milk, mature milk and late milk. Let's take a look at the characteristics of the 4 stages!

1) Colostrum

Colostrum is the milk produced within 7 days after birth, which is important for the growth and development of the baby. Colostrum is rich in protein and a large number of nutrients such as enzymes and carbohydrates needed by babies, while lactose, fat, and water-soluble vitamins are relatively few.

In addition, colostrum also provides the best immune substances for the baby, which can cover the surface of the immature intestine of the newborn and prevent the adhesion of bacteria and viruses.

2) Transitional milk

The milk produced between 7 and 14 days after giving birth is called transitional milk. The amount of protein contained in it gradually decreases, while the fat and lactose content gradually increases.

3) Mature milk and late milk

The milk produced after 14 days after giving birth is called mature milk, and it actually does not stabilize until about 30 days; Milk after October is called evening milk. At this time, the amount of breast milk and the various nutrients of the milk are reduced. For example, the protein content of late milk is only about 1 10 of colostrum.

But it's still rich in nutrients.

How long does your baby breastfeed? Best. It is best to breastfeed your baby until after 12 months.

It is generally recommended to breastfeed until about one year of age. Breast milk over one year old can no longer meet the needs of the baby's growth and development.

Experts recommend that it is best to eat breast milk for the baby until the baby is two years old, and then wean, which is the best for the baby, because the nutritional value of breast milk is the highest.