Breast milk changes throughout a feeding. The first milk baby receives, called foremilk, is thin and watery, and satisfies thirst. This hindmilk satisfies hunger, and the more of this baby receives, the longer baby will be content. Protection from infection continues with breast milk, although not at such a concentrated level as is found in colostrum. An added bonus is that when baby does become ill, the infecting organism passes into mother through the breast, allowing her to produce antibodies and pass them back to baby in her milk.
Baby thus has twice the army of antibodies available to help clear the infection more quickly.
The result of this is that breastfed babies are healthier, with fewer colds, coughs, stomach upsets, and ear infections. When they do become sick, their illness tends to be less severe and quickly clears up. Breastfed babies are less likely to develop colic. If there is a history of allergies in your family, breastfeeding can help delay them or even prevent them completely in your baby. If baby does show an allergic reaction, it is likely to be better controlled with breastfeeding.