Breastfeeding - Fosters Optimal Parenting

Breastfeeding is the ideal way to begin, establish and nurture a close bond between mother and infant. The infant learns trust in early human closeness as well as cooperation with another human being. Mothers who breastfeed successfully often have an increased sense of self worth and empowerment. Mothers with less children, spaced further apart, can devote the appropriate amount of time to nurturing and responsible parenting. Breastfed infants are rarely, if ever, victims of child abuse and neglect.

Oxytocin released during breastfeeding may provide a biological basis for human attachment and bonding. Studies shows that mothers who breastfeed in the first hours of life, choose to keep their infants longer in their hospital rooms than mothers who have later contact. In addition, mothers who breastfeed have less anxiety, more mother-infant harmony, and are more engrossed in the feeding interaction than mothers who bottle feed. In several countries throughout the world, the rate of abandonment was reduced significantly after hospitals implemented "the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative," which increased the use of rooming in and early breastfeeding.