2. Breastfeeding promotes bonding between mother and baby.
Breastfeeding stimulates the release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother's body. "It is now well established that oxytocin, as well as stimulating uterine contractions and milk ejection, promotes the development of maternal behavior and also bonding between mother and offspring."

Uvnas-Moberg, Eriksson: Breastfeeding: physiological, endocrine and behavioral adaptations caused by oxytocin and local neurogenic activity in the nipple and mammary gland. Acta Paediatrica,1996 May, 85(5):525-30

3. Breastfeeding satisfies baby's emotional needs.
All babies need to be held. Studies have shown that premature babies are more likely to die if they are not held or stroked. There is no more comforting feeling for an infant of any age than being held close and cuddled with while breastfeeding. While many bottle-feeding parents are aware of the importance of cradling their babies while offering the bottle, some are not. Even for parents with good intentions, there is always the temptation to prop up a bottle next to the child, or, when the baby is a little older, to let the child hold his/her own bottle and sit alone. This is emotionally unsatisfying to baby, and can be dangerous physically (because a child can choke and it can also lead to tooth decay if prolonged).

4. Breast milk provides perfect infant nutrition.
"Human milk is uniquely superior for infant feeding and is species-specific; all substitute feeding options differ markedly from it. The breastfed infant is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development, and all other short and long-term benefits."

5. Not breastfeeding increases a mother's risk of breast cancer.
"If all women who do not breastfeed or who breastfeed for less than 3 months were to do so for 4 to 12 months, breast cancer among parous premenopausal women could be reduced by 11 percent, judging from current rates. If all women with children lactated for 24 months or longer, however, then the incidence might be reduced by nearly 25 percent. This reduction would be even greater among women who first lactate at an early age."

Newcomb PA, Storer BE, Longnecker MP, et al. Lactation and a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 1994;330:81-87

6. Formula feeding increases baby girls' risk of developing breast cancer in later life.
Women who were formula-fed as infants have higher rates of breast cancer as adults. For both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer, women who were breastfed as children, even if only for a short time, had a 25 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who were bottle-fed as infants.

Freudenheim, J. et al. 1994 "Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer." Epidemiology 5:324-331

7. Formula Feeding is associated with lower I.Q.
The latest study to support this statement was done in New Zealand. Here, an 18 year longitudinal study of over 1,000 children found that those who were breastfed as infants had both better intelligence and greater academic achievement than children who were infant-formula fed.

Horwood and Fergusson, "Breastfeeding and Later Cognitive and Academic Outcomes", Jan 1998 Pediatrics Vol. 101, No. 1
Morrow-Tlucak M, Haude RH, Ernhart CB. Breastfeeding and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life. Soc Sci Med. 1988:26;635-639
Lucas A., "Breast Milk and Subsequent Intelligence Quotient in Children Born Preterm". Lancet 1992;339:261-62
Wang YS, Wu SY. The effect of exclusive breastfeeding on development and incidence of infection in infants. J Hum Lactation. 1996; 12:27-30

8. Breast milk is always ready and comes in a nicer package than formula does.
Need we say more?

10. Breast milk contains immunities to diseases and illnesses and aids in the development of baby's immune system.
Formula provides neither of these benefits.

Koutras, A.K., "Fecal Secretory Immunoglobulin A in Breast Milk vs. Formula Feeding in Early Infancy". J. Ped Gastro Nutr 1989.

11. Breast milk is more digestible than formula.
"Babies can digest human milk more easily than the milk of other animals, probably because human milk contains an enzyme that aids in this process. Breast milk forms softer curds in the infant's stomach than cow's milk (the basis for most formulas) and is more quickly assimilated into the body system. While it contains less protein than does cow's milk, virtually all the protein in breast milk is available to the baby. By contrast, about half the protein in cow's milk passes through the baby's body as a waste product. Similarly, iron and zinc are absorbed better by breastfed babies."

The Complete Book Of Breastfeeding M.S. Eiger. MD, S. Wendkos Olds. Copyright 1972, 1987 Comstock, Inc., Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

12. Suckling helps shrink a mother's uterus after childbirth.
"Nursing will help you to regain your figure more quickly, since the process of lactation causes the uterus (which has increased during pregnancy to about 20 times its normal size) to shrink more quickly to its prepregnancy size."

The Complete Book Of Breastfeeding M.S. Eiger. MD, S. Wendkos Olds. Copyright 1972, 1987 Comstock, Inc., Workman Publishing Co., Inc.

The uterus of the non-breastfeeding mother will never shrink back to its pre-pregnant size. It will always remain slightly enlarged.

Chua S, Arulkumaran S, Lim I et al. "Influence of breastfeeding and nipple stimulation on postpartum uterine activity." Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1994; 101:804-805

13. Suckling helps prevent post-partum hemorrhage.
Nursing her baby causes the mother's body to release oxytocin, which stimulates contractions which help shrink the uterus back to prepregnancy size while expelling the placenta. These contractions also shut off the maternal blood vessels that formerly fed the baby and discourage excessive bleeding. Women who choose not to breastfeed must be given synthetic oxytocin to insure against hemorrhaging.

Chua S, Arulkumaran S, Lim I et al. "Influence of breastfeeding and nipple stimulation on postpartum uterine activity." Br J Ovstet Gynaecol 1994; 101:804-805

14. Nursing helps mom lose weight after baby is born.
Breastfeeding requires an average of 500 extra calories per day.

Dewey KG, Heinig MJ, Nommwen LA. Maternal weight-loss patterns during prolonged lactation. Am J Clin Nutr 1993;58:162-166

"Mothers who breastfed exclusively or partially had significantly larger reductions in hip circumference and were less above their prepregnancy weights at 1 month postpartum than mothers who fed formula exclusively."

Kramer, F., "Breastfeeding reduces maternal lower body fat." J. Am Diet Assoc 1993; 93(4):429-33