(StatePoint) New moms want to give their babies everything they need to grow up healthy and strong — and the first six months are some of the most important, helping determine the course of their health trajectories.
During this crucial time, there are many different ways that parents can help create a foundation for life-long health.
• Breastfeed. Breastfeeding is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, as it’s the best source of nutrition for your baby and is beneficial to both mothers and children. The benefits are far-reaching and include protection against diseases and conditions such as respiratory tract infections, type 1 and type 2 diabetes and certain cancers in babies, and can reduce a mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
• Get more out of breastmilk. For all of breastmilk’s benefits, its third most abundant nutrient is indigestible by babies’ bodies. But recent research from Evivo, a maker of baby probiotics, has solved the paradox: this component of breastmilk is actually the perfect nourishment for a key type of beneficial gut bacteria critical to the development of a baby’s metabolism and immune system during the first six months of life.
It’s this initial setup of good gut bacteria that helps fight off potentially bad bacteria linked to colic, eczema, allergies, asthma, diabetes and obesity.
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