Why Is a Mother's Milk Better Than Formula Milk?

You know that colostrum, that yellowish milk secreted after birth, boosts life in you, as it is a package of immune factors.

And there's nothing better than maternal milk for the newborn.

But now, in many western countries, less than 1% of women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months.

The Infant Feeding Survey reveals that in 2005, 76% of UK mothers started out breastfeeding.

But most women resort to formula milk within the first weeks, and less than 35 % still breastfeed after six weeks.

Well educated, professional women, older than 30 being mothers for the first time were the most likely to breastfeed.

Studies have found that breastfed babies are five times less likely to get gastroenteritis compared to formula-fed babies, two times less likely to catch respiratory disease in their first seven years of life and are much less vulnerable to diabetes and obesity. "Overall, it is encouraging to see that more mothers than ever before are starting out breastfeeding their babies and, while there is a sharp drop-off, more are continuing to breastfeed for longer." said Professor Denise Lievesley, of the Information Center, which made a survey on Britain.

During the National Breastfeeding Week in Westminster on Wednesday, a breastfeeding manifesto will be launched, aiming to promote breastfeeding and make a more comfortable environment for women to convince them to do so. "Women need to be able to feel confident and comfortable to breastfeed wherever they need to. Babies need to feed at all sorts of times, and you can never know when a baby is going to need to feed. It's the most natural thing in the world, and the evidence for the health benefits are huge, so we should be doing all we can to support women", said Alison Baum, from the Breastfeeding Manifesto Coalition. "Most women who breastfed in public did so discreetly, with people not realizing. But there are the odd cases where women are thrown out of restaurants and cafes", she added.

In Scotland, it is illegal to impede breastfeeding in food serving establishments.