Breastfeeding – The Key to More Olympic Medals

Background. Breast milk is a complete food, a result of millions of years of evolution that provides essential nutrients for the first 6 months of a baby’s life. In addition to its nutritional functions, it plays an important role in the proper development of the infant’s immune, digestive and nervous systems. Human milk protects the baby very effectively against respiratory and urinary tract infections, diarrhea, middle ear infection, neonatal sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. Furthermore, breastfed infants have a higher IQ in adulthood. An undoubted advantage for the mother may be easier weight loss after pregnancy and financial savings compared to baby milk. A relationship between maternal physical activity during pregnancy and breastfeeding has been shown to improve breastfeeding outcomes. The aim of the study is to assess the current state of knowledge on the impact of breastfeeding on the proper development of the child and the prevention of diseases in the child and mother.Material and methods. A systemic, comprehensive analysis of the studies available on open access sources at PubMed, Google Scholar, National Library of Medicine and Coachrane was conducted from. Conclusions. Both mother and baby benefit from breastfeeding. The public awareness on this issue may influence current or future mothers to consider and choose this feeding method. It is important that doctors caring for these patients have knowledge of the rich composition of breast milk and its many beneficial properties.