reasons breastfeeding rocks #4.

Reasons breastfeeding rocks #4: It reduces the risk of SIDS.

SIDS is scary and not entirely understood. For some reason, some babies in the first year go to sleep and just don't wake up. Horrific. Luckily there are a few things you can do to significantly reduce the risk or that happening:

• put your baby to sleep on their back; 
• don't smoke during pregnancy or around baby - or come on now, ever; 
• have baby sleep with their face uncovered, in a safe environment, in the same room or bed as the caregiver for the first six to twelve months; 
• and breastfeed baby if you can.)

Dr. Fern Hauck, MD, of the department of family medicine at the University of Virginia, examined 288 studies on SIDS and breastfeeding from 1966 to 2009. The research showed that for babies who received any amount of breastmilk for any amount of time the risk of SIDS was 60% lower. 60 freaking percent!!! For babies who were breastfed for at least two months, the likelihood of SIDS was 62% lower. For babies who were exclusively breastfed at two months, the incidence of SIDS was 73% lower.

Talk about an easy way to protect your baby!

The relationship between breastfeeding and reducing the risk of SIDS is also not entirely understood, but probably involves the decreased risk of infection in breastfed babies, the fact that breastfed babies and breastfeeding mamas are both more easily roused from sleep, and breastfeeding improving breathing and swallowing coordination, among other things.

So sit back and know your sweet babe is safe while you nourish them with those luscious boobs of yours!