Why choose breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding protects your baby's health...

At birth, a baby's immune system is still immature: it is through exposure to different bacteria that it learns how to defend itself and becomes stronger.
During the first few months of life, babies are therefore particularly vulnerable to infections and may develop severe forms that, in extreme cases, can be life-threatening.

Studies show that breastfeeding promotes the transfer of antibodies that protect babies against gastrointestinal and respiratory infections. Breastfed babies are therefore less often ill, and when they do get an infection, it tends to be shorter and less severe.

You may be thinking that this advantage is only relative, since most children, whether breastfed or not, eventually develop good immunity as they grow. That's undeniable!
Nevertheless, in the meantime, the difference can be significant: just imagine dealing with a baby experiencing the joys of a particularly nasty bout of gastroenteritis, and the benefits of breastfeeding may suddenly seem much more obvious!

...and protects the mother's health too

While the health benefits of breastfeeding for babies are often highlighted, its benefits for mothers are less well known. Breastfeeding is also associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women.
A British study conducted by the Cancer Research Centre in Oxford, based on data from 47 studies in 30 different countries (involving nearly 150,000 women), found that each year of breastfeeding reduced the risk of developing breast cancer by more than 4%.

When you consider that this type of cancer affects one woman in eight, the potential benefit for mothers is obvious.
Scientists also estimate that if all Western women extended the duration of breastfeeding by six months, more than 25,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented each year!

The most economical option...

If you don't choose breastfeeding, you'll be choosing infant formula instead.
During the first few weeks of life, your baby will have 6 to 7 bottles a day, not counting the ones you may prepare unnecessarily because you mistake crying for hunger when something else is actually bothering them.
Given that a tin of infant formula costs an average of €15 to €20, and that you'll use one to one and a half tins per week... feeding your child with formula during the first two years of life represents a cost ranging from €1,800 to €2,700.
And of course, that doesn't include the cost of bottles or the countless litres of bottled water you'll need to buy to satisfy your baby's appetite!

If you choose breastfeeding... all you'll need to do is make sure Mum gets enough food and water, and nature will take care of the rest!
The only question left is what you'll do with all the money you've saved!

...and the most practical

With a young child, going out often feels like setting off on holiday: nappies, comforters, spare clothes, pacifiers, bouncer... The list of things you absolutely have to take with you is long.
And it gets even longer when you have to add bottles, bottled water and formula powder.

What's more, bottle-feeding leaves little room for the unexpected: even if you always pack an extra bottle "just in case", watch out for endless traffic jams, an evening at friends' house that runs late, or simply a tin of formula that wasn't properly closed!

With breastfeeding, as long as Mum is around, you're all set: your baby won't go without and you can enjoy family time or time with friends without worrying.
And you'll avoid the chore of washing bottles when you get home!

One final argument in favour of breastfeeding: it's better for the environment.
If you're concerned about reducing your environmental impact, check out our zero-waste baby strategies.