This week (August 1 - August 7) is World Breastfeeding Week. 

Breast milk is the first and best investment a mother can ever do to her baby. Breastfed kids are best fed. Six months of exclusive breast feeding is essential for a healthy baby and healthy mother. 

 Benefits of breastfeeding and simple tips for increasing breast milk secretion for feeding mothers are as follows:-

Ways to Improve Lactation

  • Ayurveda says stress, anger, anxiety will reduces the secretion of breast milk, while happiness improves it. So care and love from family is very essential 
  • Frequent feeding itself will stimulate the secretion of breast milk 
  • Feeding mothers can include milk, garlic, cumin seeds, fenugreek, dried solanum torvum (dried turkey berry or “sundai vatral” in Tamil, ), sago (sabudhana) and cotton seed milk in their diet to increase lactation
  • Non-vegetarians can include country chicken and baby shark in their diet 
  • Ayurvedic medicines like "Sowbagya Sunti", "Vidaryadi Grtham", "Satavari Legyam" are good galactogogues and can be taken under doctor’s advise

Benefits for Baby

  • First secretion of breast milk called “Colostrum” is packed with anti-bodies and immunoglobulins, hence it is essential for protection of babies
  • Breast milk has DHA, epidermal growth factors, tawrine, cystine, etc,  which are essential for the mental development of the babies

Benefits for Mother

  • Occurrence of breast cancer is largely reduced with breastfeeding 
  • During lactation period glucose level in a diabetic mother is well-controlled 
  • Breast milk can be expressed through breast pump and can be stored in a sterile container at room temperature for 3-4 hours or refrigerated for 24 hours, this is a boon for working women
  • Breast feeding helps to shed those extra kilos gained by the mother during pregnancy

"Breastfeeding is not only the cornerstone of a child’s healthy development; it is also the foundation of a country’s development." - UNICEF & WHO

Happy Breast Feeding!!