by Bethany Clayton

Created on: November 18, 2008   Last Updated: January 11, 2009

Babies can live - and thrive - on breastmilk alone! Breastmilk is nature's panacea for anything that ails babies and mothers.

As a mother who successfully breastfed twin girls without formula supplement until they self-weaned at 16 months, I can attest that like so many other monumental tasks of parenting, this too can be done - and exclusive breastfeeding is exponentially more rewarding than mandatory sleep loss and diaper duty.

Breastmilk transfers a mother's antibodies to her child, and promotes resistance to common illnesses such as ear infections. In addition to providing all the nutrients a growing baby needs, breastfeeding fosters an affection and trust between mother and child that is unparalleled. A baby's suck stimulates the release of the good-feeling hormone oxytocin in her mother while the closeness of skin-to-skin touch and mommy's scent comfort the baby.

Starting with protein-rich colustrum that a mother produces in the first few days for her infant, breastmilk continually adapts to a baby's developmental stage, with a high cholesterol fat content that promotes healthy neural growth. This natural adaptation is exactly what makes breastmilk the only nourishment a baby needs until she transitions to solid foods. Human milk is made for human babies. Cows' milk is made for cows. Formula is made for, well, for the college funds of the babies of formula executives. In fact, the best argument formula companies can come up with for touting their product is that it is like breastmilk. Nevertheless, only human milk has the right types and quantities of vitamins and nutrients that human babies can digest and put to use, including roughly 400 nutrients that the best formulas still do not provide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fewer than 1 percent of all mothers are physically unable to breastfeed their children. If you can get the original for free, why buy a shoddy knock-off?

Additionally, breastmilk does not spoil when dispensed at the source. For time-management alone, nurturing without formula supplement means no boiling bottles, no turning around for home or stopping at a store for forgotten supplies, and no listening to an inconsolable baby who must wait for her food to be measured, shaken and warmed.

The high water content of breastmilk makes supplemental water or juice unnecessary. As long as a mother nurses her baby -or babies! - on demand, she will produce everything that her child needs to grow and flourish. In fact, supplementing with formula can be counterproductive to breastmilk supply because the suck mechanism stimulates milk making. Alternatively, pumping breastmilk for bottle delivery lets a mom to give her baby the healthiest start and keep a degree of flexibility if she needs to return to work. If modesty is a concern, nursing covers make it easier for moms to nurse wherever they happen to be with a hungry baby.

And about that mandatory diaper duty: granted, poo is poo, but breastmilk stools will not cower the olfactory senses of everyone in a 5-mile radius the way formula stools will.

Exclusive breastfeeding simply can't be matched for nutrition, bonding or convenience, and, besides, it's free!

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