After Delivery - Postnatal - The Puerpirium

Breast-feeding (cont.)
However in the developed world the differences between bottle-fed and breast fed babies is small, so mums who cannot breast-feed for whatever reason should be reassured that they are not endangering their baby in any way.

For the mother, breast-feeding helps with bonding to the baby, weight loss and in the long term they have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer. There is also the practical advantage of not having to sterilize bottles etc.

For the newborn baby, breast is best, containing the added value of mother's antibodies, which help protect the baby from infection. Breast fed babies are less likely to be seen in hospital with infection.

In the long term it would appear that there is no difference between breast-fed and bottle-fed babies.

Leg clots-Deep Vein thrombosis
When we cut our skin, the blood clotting products are activated so that a clot forms and we stop bleeding. Sometimes the clotting system malfunctions and produces a blood clot (thrombosis) in the veins in the body, typically in the deep veins in the leg, a deep vein thrombosis or DVT. (continued next page)