For the mother:

- Protects against post-partum uteritis.

- Helps stop bleeding resulting from delivery, thus preventing loss of extra blood..

- Helps uterine restore normal size and place quickly after delivery.

- Prevents the recurrence of pregnancy with a rate of more than 98%, without contraceptives.

- Protects the lactating mother against breast and uterine cancer.




For the baby:

* Breast feeding protects the baby from viral infections, as it contains immunity agents.

· It protects against food allergy, as it is free of protein that causes such kind of allergy, and which is usually found in extracted and manufactured cows milk.

* It prevents shortage of calcium in the baby’s blood, thus helping to construct strong bones.
* It returns with spiritual and psychological benefits to the baby, as it helps build a well composed, righteous and straight personality, and strengthens the spiritual and passionate links between the baby and the mother.
* As revealed in a research published in Pediatric Clinics of North America in February 2001, the mental abilities of babies who receive breast feeding from their mothers are stronger and higher than otherwise, and the longer the period of breast feeding, the higher the mental abilities are.
* It was shown that mother's milk also provides protection against cancer. After showing that the incidence of the lymph cancer observed in childhood was nine times greater in formula-fed children, they realised that the same results applied to other forms of cancer. According to the results, mother's milk accurately locates the cancer cells and later destroys them. It is a substance called alpha-lac (alphalactalbumin), present in large quantities in mother's milk, that locates and kills the cancer cells. Alpha-lac is produced by a protein that assists in the manufacture of the sugar lactose in the milk.
* In addition to some practical benefits of breast feeding. The milk is always ready with steady and appropriate heat, fresh, sterilized, digestible and saves money and time !
* Researchers indicated that breast feeding alleviates the baby’s fear of needle pricks and helps as analgesic during painful operations such as circumcision.
* A new theory emerged in the recent years indicating that the protein in cows milk can cause a biological reaction that destroys the pancreatic beta cells excreting insulin. This theory is supported with the high rate of the presence of cow milk proteins in the serum of children with diabetes in comparison with study group of non-diabetic children.
But why is it that cows milk causes this harm before the second year, and then disappears after this period?

In a study conducted in Finland in 1994 and published in Auto-immunity Journal, the authors state that the protein of cow milk passes in natural form through the lining membrane of digestive system which is not yet fully grown. As the enzymes of the digestive system cannot break the protein into amino acids, the protein of cow milk enters as a complex protein and works as a catalyst to produce immunity agents in the body of the child.

New references reveal that enzymes and the lining membrane of the digestive system and kinetics of digestion and absorption do not attain complete function except in the second year after delivery.

• In a very accurate scientific reference, the Quran determines the period of lactation with almost two years.  In verse 14 of Surat Luqman: “And We enjoined on man concerning his parents- his mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning was in two years.” (31:14)