The (Real) Benefits of Breastfeeding
- Jan 17, 2024
- 3 min read
If you’re a first-time mother, chances are you’ve already heard twenty-seven opinions about breastfeeding - some helpful, some… delivered like a sermon while you’re holding a baby and trying not to cry into your toast.
So let me offer something simpler: breastfeeding can be wonderfully beneficial and it can also be wonderfully hard. Both things can be true in the same week. Sometimes in the same afternoon.
I’m writing this as a grandmother now, and as a mother who raised three sons into adulthood, and also as someone who knows what it is to lose a child. Which means I have absolutely no interest in piling pressure onto new mothers. My only aim here is clarity, comfort, and a bit of warmth.
1) Breastmilk supports your baby’s immune system
Breastmilk isn’t just food; it carries immune factors that help protect babies while their own immune system is still learning the ropes. That includes things like antibodies and other protective components that support baby’s developing defences.
One of the practical outcomes: breastfed babies tend to have a lower risk of certain infections, including respiratory and ear infections (among others).
And if your family has a history of allergies or sensitivities, it can be reassuring to know breastfeeding is often discussed as one protective factor among many not a guarantee, but part of the overall picture.
2) Your milk is “ready-to-serve” (and remarkably well designed)
Breastmilk is famously convenient: no mixing, no bottles at 2am, no guessing the temperature. It’s fresh, responsive, and designed for your baby’s needs. (
Also: it’s free. Which matters, because babies are adorable… and also have a talent for being expensive.
3) Breastfeeding can support oral and facial development
The mechanics of breastfeeding — the sucking and swallowing motions — may support aspects of craniofacial development, and some research links breastfeeding with a reduced risk of certain dental malocclusions later on. (Not a promise of “no braces ever,” but it’s an interesting benefit.)
4) There are benefits for mums, too
Breastfeeding can help your body in the early postpartum period — the sucking at the breast triggers hormones that help the uterus contract after birth, which can reduce bleeding and support recovery.
Some women also find breastfeeding helps with weight regulation over time (not as a “bounce back” project, please no, but simply because it uses energy). And there’s growing discussion about links with maternal wellbeing as part of the bigger postpartum picture.
5) The bond is real — but it’s not exclusive to breastfeeding
Yes, breastfeeding can be an intensely bonding experience: the closeness, the skin-to-skin, the quiet “it’s just us” feeling.
But I also want to say this plainly, especially to a first-time mum: bonding isn’t owned by breasts. Babies bond through warmth, responsiveness, eye contact, safety, and being held like they belong here. Feeding, however it happens, can be full of love.
And if breastfeeding doesn’t work for you (or doesn’t work right now), it doesn’t make you less of a mother. It makes you a mother doing what mothers do: adapting.
Australian guidelines are clear that when breastfeeding isn’t possible, infant formula is the safest alternative for babies under 12 months.
A gentle final note
If breastfeeding is going well, wonderful. If it’s complicated, you’re not broken. If it’s not happening, you’re still a good mother.
If you’re worried about supply, baby’s weight gain, persistent pain, or feeding feels consistently distressing, reach out early to your GP, child health nurse, or a lactation consultant. You deserve support, not stoic suffering.
With love, from a grandmother… and always, from one mother to another.
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