There are many reasons for breastfeeding:

– You can only experience breastfeeding with your children in a very short phase of life. This can be a wonderful, bonding experience that can promote the bond between mother and child far beyond the breastfeeding period. But you don’t have to! It can even be detrimental to the relationship if you only breastfeed out of compulsion.

– It can fill a woman with pride to have breastfed her baby; it can positively influence her own female perception and possibly reconcile her with her own body. But of course this does not apply to all women. It is important to find the right individual solution.

– The composition of the milk adapts to the needs of the children. Colostrum from the first few days is perfect for the newborn. Mature breast milk varies the fat content during a meal: at the beginning the most important things, namely liquid and glucose, come first. After a few minutes the fat content increases.

– Breast milk contains antibodies against a variety of infectious diseases, such as intestinal and respiratory infections and middle ear infections, which is why breastfed children fall ill less frequently. This is actually economically feasible and this is one of the reasons why many health insurance companies provide a financial incentive for breastfeeding with the “breastfeeding allowance”.

– Breastfeeding statistically reduces the risk of children developing allergies and diabetes. Breastfed children are less likely to be overweight later in life. Interestingly, breastfed children often gain weight faster than bottle-fed children in the first few months.

– Breastfeeding promotes involution.

– Breastfeeding consumes approx. 500 calories/day, which means that many women lose weight more quickly. (However, a minority of women gain weight because breastfeeding gives them such an appetite. This should be mentioned for the sake of completeness).

– Breastfeeding is cheap, at least breast milk costs nothing.

– Breastfeeding is practical, you always have your milk with you, always at the right temperature and in the right quantity.

– You don’t have to buy the milk, prepare it or wash it.

– Women who have breastfed have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

– Reason enough if you women do not want to breastfeed. Without giving reasons.

– Breastfeeding is often difficult to learn at the beginning.

– There are a number of complications, such as sore and painful nipples, too much or too little milk, breast inflammation, etc. These complications can be very stressful and can negatively affect the relationship between mother and child.

– Women are bound by breastfeeding in terms of time and space.

– Food restrictions such as avoiding alcohol, lots of coffee and black tea remain in place.

– There is no division of labor between the parents. Breastfeeding at night can be exhausting for women.

– In the beginning, it is more difficult for the father to establish an equally close relationship with the baby while it is still being breastfed. Or to put it another way: it is a wonderful experience for the father when he is just as important as the mother as a caregiver. However, you can also introduce a “daddy bottle ” in breastfeeding families, so that the father feeds expressed breast milk once a day or every few days, for example. I even sometimes recommend this if you are dependent on bottle-feeding your baby in external care after 4 months.

– As a parent, you have less control over how much the child has drunk at the breast. The best measure, apart from adequate weight gain, is the number of “pee diapers”. What comes out must first go in….

– Breastfeeding in public can be uncomfortable for some women. Unfortunately, there are always mothers who receive irritated or disapproving looks or (hard to believe, but true) are expelled from restaurants.

– Giving birth and adjusting to everyday life with a newborn takes a lot of energy. When breastfeeding problems are added to this, many women reach the limits of their strength.

Regardless of how many good reasons there are for or against breastfeeding: it has to feel right for you what you are doing. Mother and child continue to be one unit after the birth. The well-being of the baby depends crucially on the well-being of the mother.