Babies in the Workplace

   Nursing is really a key to taking a baby to
   work. It's an instant baby soother for most
   babies. It also meant I didn't have to take
   extra time to make a bottle and didn't have
   to tote a lot of extra things with me like
   formula.

   Babies don't just breastfeed for nutrition; breastfeeding is a natural method of comforting a baby and it also has many other benefits. Since babies are "born too soon," breastfeeding is designed to further a baby's normal development. The composition of human milk actually changes from day to day to accommodate the specific needs of the baby's system, so breastfeeding means fewer digestive problems for a baby.

   In addition, when a baby breastfeeds, germs that are in the baby's system are passed to the mother, whose body makes antibodies for those germs and then passes the antibodies back to the baby

while the baby nurses. As a result, breastfeeding is a powerful way to help protect children from illness and infection and to build a child's immune system--for as long as the mother nurses--so that breastfed babies tend to get sick far less often and less severely than babies who are primarily given formula.

Babies that are breastfed have 50 to 95 percent fewer infections--such as meningitis, pneumonia, respiratory infections, and ear infections--than non-breastfed babies, and are also at lower risk for leukemia and other forms of cancer as well as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breastfeeding also promotes normal jaw development and increases IQ (because it enhances brain development). In addition, frequent breastfeeding helps to maintain the proper fat content in human milk to keep a baby satiated, as well as helping to maintain a mother's milk supply.