Breast milk provides all the food and drink your baby will need during the first six months of his life. Here's what makes it so special.

Did you know?

1. Breast milk provides special factors to promote the growth of your baby’s brain, nerves, and eyesight. These cannot be found in any other type of milk.
2. Your breast milk is made specifically for your baby and it will change constantly to meet his needs as he grows.
3. Breast milk contains antibodies to protect your baby from infections.
4. Breast milk contains interferon, which helps your baby fight viruses. 
5. Your body can react to infections in your surroundings by making antibodies that will be passed on through your breast milk to give him the necessary protection. This is nature’s own way of providing a ‘tailor-made’ medicine. 
6. Breast milk regulates itself to suit the needs of your baby. If your baby needs extra milk, or more of something in the milk, your body will make more when needed. 
7. Breast milk primes the baby to produce antibodies so breastfed babies have a better response to immunisation. 
8. Breast milk (unlike formula milk) creates the correct conditions in the baby’s bowels to prevent the growth of harmful germs, which cause tummy upsets.
9. If your baby is born prematurely, breast milk has special properties, which prepare his bowels to tolerate milk. A mother who has a premature baby will produce different milk to a mother who has a baby at full-term: it’s higher in growth factors and antibodies to help fight infections.
10. Breastfeeding helps you lose the weight gained in pregnancy and may help to protect against developing ovarian and breast cancer and weak bones in later life.