Actress Says Breastfeeding Helped Her Lose Weight After Baby
An average of 45-77% of women are breastfeeding, and with good reason. The jet set are even breastfeeding now, with the news that this timeless practice can not only cut child obesity rates in half, but also helps a woman get her figure back after giving birth.
Actress Scarlett Johansson recently told Barbara Walters in an interview:
“[Breastfeeding is] the best way to get back in shape.”
Breastfeeding can help boost your baby’s immune system while increasing their developmental progress, making them smarter, and more aware. But the benefits don’t end there. You can also count on breastfeeding to keep your baby safe in a world that tries to sell GMOs in baby formula. It just happens to help you lose weight, too.
One Danish study that looked at data for more than 25,000 women measured how long women breastfed and how much. Results showed that women with higher breastfeeding scores, based on these two components, were more likely to lose their pregnancy weight six months after giving birth. What’s even more interesting is that even women who gained a considerable amount of weight during pregnancy are likely to lose all of it, and their non-breastfeeding counterparts were not. Specifically, women who breastfed their babies retained an average of 4.4 pounds less than women who did not.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:
“Human milk is species-specific, and all substitute feeding preparations differ markedly from it, making human milk uniquely superior for infant feeding. In addition, human milk-fed premature infants receive significant benefits with respect to host protection and improved developmental outcomes compared with formula-fed premature infants. . .
Pediatricians and parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection.”
Americans lag behind other industrialized nations for breast feeding. Moms in Norway, Denmark, and Japan have the highest rates of exclusively breastfed babies –with some countries reporting 99%.
If you’ve tried breastfeeding but were unsuccessful, consider these numerous benefits. You can also try to utilize some natural herbs to get the process going if lactation is not successful on the first try.
