Also called: Also called: Lactation, Nursing
Breast feeding offers many benefits to your baby. Breast milk contains the right balance of nutrients to help your infant grow into a strong and healthy toddler. Some of the nutrients in breast milk also help protect your infant against some common childhood illnesses and infections. It may also help your health. Certain types of cancer may occur less often in mothers who have breastfed their babies.
Women who don't have health problems should try to give their babies breast milk for at least the first six months of life. There are some cases when it's better not to breast feed. If you have HIV or active tuberculosis, you should not breast feed because you could give the infection to your baby. Certain medicines, illegal drugs, and alcohol can also pass through the breast milk and cause harm to your baby.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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Breastfeeding
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/Breastfeeding.cfm
- Breast-Feeding: What Every Mom Needs to Know(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-feeding/PR00003/METHOD=print
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Breastfeed Your Baby
(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion) - http://healthfinder.gov/prevention/ViewTopic.aspx?topicID=50
- Breastfeeding(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/
- Breastfeeding -- Best for Baby. Best for Mom.(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/Breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=home
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Easy Guide to Breastfeeding(National Women's Health Information Center) - Large PDF file - http://womenshealth.gov/pub/BF.General.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/publicaciones/lactancia.pdf
- Breast-Feeding a Boon to Mom's Heart(04/21/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83182.html
- Hospital Practices Influence Which Moms Will Breast-Feed(03/20/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81962.html
- Early Pacifier Use Linked to Shorter Breastfeeding(03/16/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81779.html
- More News on Breast Feeding http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_b.html#breastfeeding
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Breastfeeding FAQs: Your Eating and Drinking Habits(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/infants/breastfeed_eating.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/nutricion/breastfeed_eating_esp.html
- MyPyramid for Pregnancy & Breastfeeding(Dept. of Agriculture) - http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramidmoms/
- Breast Pumps(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastpumps/index.html
- Breastfeeding and Travel: Health Information for International Travel(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh8-Breastfeeding.aspx
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Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/infants/breast_bottle_feeding.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/embarazo/breast_bottle_feeding_esp.html
- Breastfeeding with Confidence(American College of Nurse-Midwives) - http://www.gotmom.org/page2.cfm
- Contaminated Nipple Cream(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/mommysbliss053008.html
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Feeding Your Baby with Breast Milk or Formula(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/feedbby.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/sfeedbby.html
- Human Milk Banks(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=359
- Lactation Suppression: Can Medication Help?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/lactation-suppression/AN01456/METHOD=print
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Lactational Amenorrhea FAQ(Family Health International) - http://www.fhi.org/en/RH/FAQs/lam_faq.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.fhi.org/sp/rh/faqs/lam_faq.htm
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LactMed: Drugs and Lactation Database(National Library of Medicine) - http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT
- Mastitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mastitis/DS00678/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Nipple Dermatitis(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/nippleDermatitis.htm
- Over-the-Counter Medications and Breastfeeding(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/breastfeeding/hic_over-the-counter_medications_and_breastfeeding.aspx
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Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and Bone Health(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Pregnancy/default.asp
- Warning for Nursing Mothers Taking Codeine(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/codeine081707.html
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Weaning Your Child(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/weaning.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/crecimiento/weaning_esp.html
- Let's Eat!: A Picture Guide to Breastfeeding Your New Baby(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/28699_19954.asp
- Nursing Positions(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/feeding/nursing_positions.html
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Breast Feeding(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Breast+Feeding%22
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Health Care Strategies to Promote Breastfeeding: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations(American College of Physicians) - Links to PDF - http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/149/8/I-52.pdf
- More Moms Breastfeeding, But Not for Very Long(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/research/keep_breastfeeding.html
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Research on Breastfeeding(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/womenshealth/research/pregbirth/breastfeed.cfm
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Pacifiers and breastfeeding: a systematic review. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19349568&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: The relationship between infant-feeding outcomes and postpartum depression: a qualitative... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19336362&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Kangaroo mother care. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19323346&tool=MedlinePlus
- Breast Feeding -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=Breast+feeding[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt]+OR+letter[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American College of Nurse-Midwives - http://www.midwife.org/
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
- Breastfeeding in the United States: 1999-2006(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db05.htm
- Breastfeeding Report Card(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/report_card.htm
- Helpful Information for Fathers(American College of Nurse-Midwives) - http://www.mymidwife.org/information_for_fathers.cfm
- Female Reproductive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/femalereproductivesystem.html
- Food and Nutrition - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodandnutrition.html
- Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Breast Feeding is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
Breast Feeding - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/breastfeeding.html