Breast-fed babies have fewer colds, ear infections, and episodes of diarrhea than formula fed babies. Babies can digest the protein in breast milk, much better and more completely than the protein in cows' milk. Breast-feeding has advantages for you, too. Women who breast-feed are better able to control their weight, because their bodies are burning calories to make milk. It's less expensive to breast feed, since there is no need to buy formula.
Convenience is another breast feeding advantage.
You'll find it much easier to curl up with your baby to breast-feed than to worry about mixing formula. The best time to start breast-feeding is right after the baby is born. Babies are born with a sucking reflex, which is most powerful about thirty minutes after birth. Putting the baby to the breast soon after birth also helps the baby learn about one feeding system - yours. Many mothers express their milk using breast pumps.