Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to nurture and protect your newborn. Your body does an amazing job of basically creating the ‘perfect food’ for your infant in many ways.
While not every mother is able to, or interested in, breastfeeding their baby, for those that do there are some important steps you can take to ensure that the breastmilk your baby receives at all stages is as optimized for their health as possible.
One of the factors that you can easily control is learning about the best probiotic to take while breastfeeding.
Understanding Breast Milk
From early in your pregnancy, your breasts start preparing to feed your baby. It’s funny to think that this process starts so early, since the breast milk will not be needed until your pregnancy is over - but pregnant women find that as early as the first trimester, their bodies start preparing to be able to provide this sustenance to their babies.
One of the great benefits of breastmilk is that it was specially designed by your body to provide everything your baby needs. However, it’s important to keep in mind that breastmilk can only provide nutrients as strong as the health of your own body. That’s why finding the best probiotic to take while breastfeeding can give you the support of healthy bacteria for your gut - and your baby’s.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Even though we probably do not know all the benefits of breastfeeding, researchers have identified some incredible reasons that breastfeeding is beneficial to your baby. A few of the benefits of breastfeeding include:
- Babies who are breastfed tend to get sick less often
- Less obesity is seen in children who were breastfed
- Breastfeeding allows your baby to be exposed to a wide range of tastes, which may promote a willingness to try and appreciate a diverse range of foods as a child
- Breastmilk changes with your baby’s needs including as they grow, and in response to them needing certain immunity boosts from you
Not only does breastfeeding benefit your baby, but it benefits you as well. Research shows that moms who breastfeed have a quicker recovery from childbirth in certain aspects, and tend to lose weight faster than those who do not breastfeed.
Probiotics and Breastfeeding
Since we often hear that breast milk has ‘everything’ a baby needs in terms of nutrition, is there any reason to still take probiotics while breastfeeding?
Absolutely.
The reality is that even for adults who eat incredibly healthy, diverse diets are not generally able to consume enough of the good bacteria strains that they would want for optimal health. Babies who are formula fed are more likely to be lacking in the good bacteria that they could have gotten from breast milk, but all babies - and all moms - may appreciate the support they get from a probiotic supplement.
Healthy Bacteria and Baby’s Immunity
Remember that even though people often think of probiotics as being important for digestion, their role in supporting immunity can be very important.
Newborns have some level of immunity from their moms, but as you likely know, their low immune systems put them at risk of anything from a cold to potentially fatal diseases. The way healthy bacteria plays a role in boosting immunity is through the baby’s gut. The gut is actually where most of our immune system lives.
It’s through healthy bacteria that we have a better chance of fighting off invaders and staying healthy. Your baby relies on you to start them off with a population of good bacteria for their gut. This not only gives them the health benefits that come from those bacteria, but also means there is less real estate for ‘bad’ bacteria to live. While a gut full of unhealthy bacteria can be improved over time, why not start your baby off with the best possible foundation? That’s where a probiotic while breastfeeding comes in.
Best Probiotic for Breastfeeding: Life Start
The answer to ‘what is the best probiotic to take while breastfeeding?’ is Natren’s Life Start. This proprietary supplement was designed for breastfeeding moms, infants, and young children. It contains Bifidobacterium infantis which is the most beneficial bacteria that’s predominant in healthy babies. Life Start can support your gastrointestinal system and a healthy digestive environment.
New moms often have many questions and concerns about their baby’s nutrition and digestion. It’s normal to wonder: is my baby digesting breast milk properly? Is he/she getting enough to eat? Does my breast milk contain all the nutrients to optimize my baby’s health? While we know we can never take away all your concerns or questions, with Life Start, you know you are taking an extra step towards creating a community of healthy bacteria for your baby.
In addition to our standard form of Life Start, we also offer Life Start 2 which is a goat’s milk version of the same healthy supplement. Life Start comes in powder form, which means that in addition to it being easy for breastfeeding moms to take, it is easy to give to bottle fed babies also. You can simply mix a small amount of powder with water, breastmilk or formula and give it to your baby.
Why Natren Probiotics are Best
Of course, when you’re choosing the best probiotic to take while breastfeeding, the actual healthy bacteria the product offers is a major consideration. But have you also thought of the quality of the product, shipping, storage, and company’s overall commitment to excellence?
These factors - along with our superior products - are what make Natren such a strong choice for mothers and their families. We guarantee the potency of every strain of healthy bacteria in Natren supplements, through the expiration date on the bottle. We can make this promise because of our significant commitment to quality at every step of our process.
To learn more about Natren, our probiotics, and our company’s values, visit us at natren.com.
