Category: Advice for mothers

When it comes to feeding and nurturing your baby, experts agree that “feeding” is best. Your baby is getting fed nutritionally and that’s all that matters. Regardless of which vessel the milk is coming from, the thing that matters the most is that your baby is growing, gaining weight, and hitting the milestones.

However, experts also agree that there are numerous benefits to the act of breastfeeding. Both for the mother and the baby. But right now, in this article, we’re going to focus mainly on the benefits for your baby.

What Is in Breast Milk Anyway?

Since most pediatricians and health care experts recommend exclusively breastfeeding up to 6 months… It’s best to ask. What is in breast milk? There are two types of proteins that are found in breast milk. Whey and casein protein. About 60% to 80% of your breast milk protein is whey and up to 40% casein. In the rest, there are fats, carbs, vitamins, and white blood cells that help fight off infections.

With that in mind… What are the top 3 breastfeeding benefits for your baby?

Breast milk contains important antibodies that fight off bacteria and viruses. Breastfeeding may protect your baby from some short-term and some long-term illnesses. Research also indicates that babies who are breastfed, have a lower risk of developing diarrhea, respiratory and ear infections, asthma, and other conditions. This especially applies to the Colostrum or the so-called “first milk” that a mother lactates during the first days after birth. The Colostrum contains high doses of immunoglobulin A (IgA), which protects the mucosal tissues from infections.

Breastfeeding promotes a healthy weight for your baby.

Several studies have shown that breastfeeding may help your baby maintain a healthy weight, and could prevent becoming obese later in life. That’s because breastfed babies tend to better regulate their milk intake. They are better at nursing until they’re satiated, which can help them learn positive and healthy eating patterns down the line.

Breastfeeding may also benefit your baby’s sleeping patterns.

It’s a debunked myth that formula-fed babies sleep longer. Yes, research has shown that both breastfed and formula-fed babies are just as likely to wake up at night. As babies usually do. However, breastfed babies go back to sleep faster than formula-fed babies. Why is that you might ask? Well, it’s because of oxytocin that the mother’s body produces and then passes on through the breast milk. When you see your baby dozing off, that’s because of the oxytocin that you gave to your baby.

But that’s not all. Let’s briefly remind that breastfeeding is beneficial for you as well.

In the months after delivery, breastfeeding might lower your risk for postpartum depression if breastfeeding is going well and you feel well-supported. As the hormone oxytocin is produced, it helps your uterus contract faster to its normal size, and reduces the amount of vaginal bleeding after delivery. Breastfeeding may also help mothers lose the weight gained during pregnancy as it burns more calories.

Last but not least, breastfeeding is this special opportunity to build connection with your baby, feel each other, learn from each other and establish trust.

Finally, whatever you decide is the best option for you and your baby, the most important thing is they are fed nutritionally and happy.

At a conference held by the US National Institute of Health on the subject: “Dietary Supplement Use in Women: Current Status and Future Directions”, conclusions have been drawn on nutritional needs of pregnant women, as well as lactating mothers.

As generally accepted, the recommendations are of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of baby’s life, providing that the maternal diet and reserves are adequate and sufficient quantity is transferred to the baby. The composition of the milk is variable and depending on mother’s nutrition, which is most notably evident in the vitamin constituents.

Nutritional needs during lactation are stated to be considerably greater that those of pregnancy.

The reason behind this is that in the first 4 to 6 months of their life the infants double their birth weight, gained during the 9 months of pregnancy. The milk secreted in these 4 months represents an amount of energy roughly equivalent to the total energy cost of pregnancy. Also nutrient density of the maternal diet assumes great importance during lactation because the estimated increase in energy needs is less than estimated increases in needs for other nutrients. Additionally, it has been concluded that for certain micronutrients there is greater need during breastfeeding compared to the pregnancy period, like vitamin C, vitamins B₁, B₆, B₁₂, pantothenic acid, biotin, choline, vitamin E, zinc, iodine, selenium, etc.

We can conclude that healthy nutrition providing high nutrient density is very important during breastfeeding, both for the mother to prevent depletion, and for the baby to provide proper growth and development.

Including a daily food supplement aimed for lactating mothers is not a substituent to a healthy diet, but it is a reliable source of support during this important period of yours and your baby’s life.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega 3 fatty acid essentially important for the health of our body. It is a main constituent of cell membranes and has various roles in the proper function of the human organism.

It is well known today that DHA contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function and the maintenance of normal vision.

Scientific evidence show that there is intensive accumulation of DHA in the brain and eyes of the baby, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy and the first 6 months of their life, when being exclusively on breastfeeding. This is a period when the baby is entirely dependent on their mother’s micronutrient intake for a proper nutrition.

Therefore it is now recommended that pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers should have an intake of not less than 200 mg of DHA every day, to contribute to the normal brain and eye development of their babies.

As an omega 3 fatty acid, DHA can be found mostly in oily fish like salmon, trout, sardines or mackerel. Nevertheless, there has been a strong debate lately about the safety of fish we are consuming today, in terms of its origin and possible pollutants.

Having all of this this in mind, Premama Duo’s formulation includes DHA in the dose of 200 mg per capsule, to provide everyday recommended necessary nutrition for the mother and the baby.

Premama Duo is a food supplement aimed for all of you who are planning pregnancy, who are already pregnant, and for you who have finished your pregnancy journey and are now enjoying the new journey of beautiful, precious moments with your new family member.

Premama Duo is a multicomponent product, consisted of vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acids. Its composition is carefully formulated following latest EU guidelines for antenatal care and nutrition recommendations for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Each package of Premama Duo contains 30 tables and 30 capsules. The tablets are consisted of 11 vitamins and 10 minerals essential for you, and the capsules contain omega 3 fatty acids – docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) being especially important during your pregnancy and breastfeeding period.

Premama Duo contains 100% Quatrefolic ®, active folic acid – 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) – with a dose of 400 mcg in one tablet!

We recommend 1 tablet and 1 capsule of Premama Duo to be taken every day after a meal, together or separately, according to your preferences.

Find out more about Premama Duo in our Product Information section.