Breastfeeding

Many women choose to breastfeed their babies due to the significant health benefits provided over infant formula for both baby and mother. Any amount of breastfeeding has positive effects and the longer a child is breastfed for, the longer the health benefits will last for both baby and mother.

What is Breastfeeding?

Breast milk contains a wide range of nutrients that enable it to be the ideal dietary source for all infants.

Breastfeeding Questions

When Should I Not Breastfeed My Baby?

Breastfeeding and Diet

Breastfeeding and Allergies

Breastfeeding: Smoking, Drugs and Alcohol

Breastfeeding and Medications

What are the Health Benefits of Breastfeeding?

Sleeping Close to Baby

Breastfeeding, Preparing for Arrival

How do I Manage Breastfeeding and Work?

Breastfeeding Pumps

See more featured articles »

Breast Anatomy

Breastfeeding and Hormones

Breastfeeding Tips

What is Breast Compression?

Correct Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding and Vitamin D

Breastfeeding Around Family

Breastfeeding and Jaundice

Breastfeeding and Reflux

Breastfeeding and Cleft Palate, Cleft Lip

Breastfeeding Twins or Multiples

Breastfeeding During Pregnancy

Breastfeeding after Breast Surgery

Breastfeeding Inducing Lactation

Storing Breast Milk

What is a Galactocele?

Overactive Let-Down (OALD) Reflex

Smoking and Breastfeeding

Latest Breastfeeding News and Research

Early feeding practices key to shaping lifelong oral microbiome

Research delves into the little-explored world of the infant oral microbiome, examining how early nutrition and environmental factors shape it. With implications for lifelong health, the research aims to guide future health recommendations, emphasizing the need for more longitudinal studies and advanced sequencing techniques.

26 Sep 2023

A decades-long drop in teen births is slowing, and advocates worry a reversal is coming

Cicely Wilson's work doesn't end when she leaves her day job as a lactation consultant, doula, and child care expert.

26 Sep 2023

Social adversity and stress leave distinct signatures on mom and baby gut health

Researchers evaluate the effect of social disadvantages and psychological stressors on the gut microbiome of mothers and their infants.

24 Sep 2023

Can your baby's gut bacteria predict food allergies?

Researchers in Italy delve into how changes in gut microbiota during the first 1000 days of life can influence the onset of food allergies in children. The study sheds light on various factors such as birth methods, breastfeeding, and antibiotic use that impact gut health, highlighting the need for more research on effective interventions for allergy prevention.

18 Sep 2023

Researchers show how malnutrition affects growth in the first two years of life

In a trio of papers appearing in Nature on Sept. 13, 2023, the researchers offer the most comprehensive look yet at how malnutrition affects growth in the first two years of life, underscoring a devastating reality for millions of children in the Global South, particularly Asia.

13 Sep 2023

Are energy drinks putting your heart and mind at risk?

Comprehensive review finds energy drinks linked to range of health risks, from cardiac arrhythmias to mental health issues. Researchers call for strict regulations on their consumption, especially among minors and pregnant women.

12 Sep 2023

Urban living linked to increased risk of respiratory infections in young children

Young children growing up in towns and cities suffer from more respiratory infections than those who grow up in the countryside, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy.

11 Sep 2023

Are reproductive factors and endometrial cancer risk associated?

The association between specific reproductive factors and the risk of endometrial cancer among women.

8 Sep 2023

Is a very low-calorie diet the answer to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)?

The effects of a very low-calorie diet to a moderate energy deficit diet in obese women with PCOS.

8 Sep 2023

Broad-spectrum antibiotics linked to higher sepsis risk in neonates

A preprint presents evidence for the hypothesis that neonatal sepsis is linked to prenatal antibiotics.

7 Sep 2023

Cozy images of plush toys and blankets counter messaging on safe infant sleep

Samuel Hanke is a pediatric cardiologist in Cincinnati, but when you ask him for his title, he follows it by saying: "Most importantly, I'm Charlie's dad."

6 Sep 2023

Using ChatGPT to address vaccine hesitancy: a promising tool for guiding users to scientific information?

Researchers assessed ChatGPT's ability to address the 50 most common misconceptions about vaccine safety.

6 Sep 2023

ChatGPT can debunk vaccine myths and increase vaccine uptake, study finds

ChatGPT could help to increase vaccine uptake by debunking myths around jab safety, say the authors of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics.

4 Sep 2023

CHEER receives $6M CDC grant to improve breastfeeding rates in Boston

The Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) at Boston Medical Center has received a $6,000,000 cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

1 Sep 2023

Link between daily diet soda and aspartame intake in early life with autism in males

The association between maternal daily consumption of diet sodas or aspartame during pregnancy and the risk of autism in offspring.