How much protein is in human breast milk?
Breast milk
Breastfeeding also provides health benefits for the mother. It assists the uterus in returning to its pre-pregnancy size and reduces post-partum bleeding, as well as assisting the mother in returning to her pre-pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of breast cancer later in life.[15][16] Lactation protects both mother and infant from both types of diabetes.[17] Lactation may protect the infant from specifically developing Type 2 diabetes because studies have shown that bioactive ingredients in human breast milk could prevent excess weight gain during childhood via contributing to a feeling of energy and satiety. A lower risk of child-onset diabetes may more applicable to infants who were born from diabetic mothers.[14] The reason is because while breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months of life minimizes the risk of Type 1 diabetes from occurring in the infant, inadequate breastfeeding in an infant prenatally exposed to diabetes was associated with a higher risk of the child developing diabetes later on.[14] However, it can be argued that human breastfeeding may contribute to protective effects against the development of Type 1 diabetes due to the fact that the alternative of bottle-feeding may expose infants to unhygienic feeding conditions.[18]