Breastfeeding Support

Ideal for Infants

As a mother, one of the best things that only you can do for your baby is to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is more than a lifestyle choice - it is an important health choice. Any amount of time that you can do it will help both you and your baby. While breastfeeding isn't the only option for feeding your baby, every mother has the potential to succeed and make it a wonderful experience.

Breastfeeding Guidelines

All of our staff are certified breastfeeding counselors who can answer your questions about breastfeeding. We also offer Breastfeeding Peer Counselor services to help you meet your breastfeeding goals. Our 24-hour Breastfeeding Hotline phone is 800-833-4642.

• Cochise County Breastfeeding Resource Guide (PDF)

Benefits

• Both babies and mothers gain many benefits from breastfeeding. Breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. Research indicates that women who breastfeed may have lower rates of certain breast and ovarian cancers.
• Breast milk has disease-fighting cells called antibodies that help protect infants from germs, illness, and even SIDS. Infant formula cannot match the exact chemical makeup of human milk, especially the cells, hormones, and antibodies that fight disease
• Breastfeeding is normal and healthy for infants and moms
• Breast milk is different from infant formula. Colostrum, the thick yellow first breast milk that you make during pregnancy and just after birth, will give your baby the best start in life. It is known as "liquid gold." It is very rich in nutrients and antibodies to protect your baby as he or she first enters the world. Although your baby only gets a small amount of colostrum at each feeding, it matches the amount his or her tiny stomach can hold. A newborn stomach is only the size of a large marble at first!
• For most babies, breast milk is easier to digest than formula. It takes time for their stomachs to adjust to digesting the proteins in formula because they are made from cow's milk.
• Premature babies do better when breastfed compared to premature babies who are fed formula.
• When you breastfeed, there are no bottles and nipples to sterilize. Unlike human milk straight from the breast, infant formula has a chance of being contaminated.
• Breastfeeding makes your life easier. You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formulas. There are no bottles to warm in the middle of the night!
• Breastfeeding can save you between $1,160 and $3,915 per year, depending on the brand of formula.
• A mother can satisfy her baby's hunger right away with breastfeeding.
• Breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time for herself and her baby, helping them bond. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm, and comforted. Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness and bonding with their infants.

Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these health problems in infants such as:

• Ear infections
• Stomach viruses
• Diarrhea
• Respiratory infections
• Atopic dermatitis
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
• Childhood leukemia
• Sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS
• Necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in pre-term infants

Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these health problems in moms like:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Postpartum depression (PPD)