Library / English Dictionary

BREASTFEED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give suck to

Example:

You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places

Synonyms:

breastfeed; give suck; lactate; nurse; suck; suckle; wet-nurse

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "breastfeed" is one way to...):

feed; give (give food to)

Verb group:

suck (draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

bottlefeed (feed (infants) with a bottle)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Certain types of cancer may occur less often in mothers who have breastfed their babies.

(Breastfeeding, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Breastfeeding for longer than 2 months lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by almost one half.

(Breastfeeding may help prevent type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes, NIH)

Breastfeeding, long known to benefit infant health, partially acts by encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium in the baby's gut.

(Gut Bacteria from Breastfeeding Linked to Improved Infant Response to Vaccines, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

In the current analysis, an important and reassuring finding was that peanut consumption did not affect the duration of breastfeeding, thus countering concerns that introduction of solid foods before six months of age could reduce breastfeeding duration.

(Peanut allergy prevention strategy is nutritionally safe, NIH)

However, due to limitations in these studies – including not taking into account breastfeeding history and grouping together women who had never been pregnant with those who had been pregnant but experienced pregnancy loss – their results have been inconclusive and sometimes contradictory.

(Pregnancy losses and large numbers of children linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, University of Cambridge)

There are some cases when it's better not to breastfeed.

(Breastfeeding, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Both the level and duration of breastfeeding may offer unique benefits to women during the post-delivery period for protection against development of type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes.

(Breastfeeding may help prevent type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes, NIH)

Infants in the study, who were all breastfed from birth to at least 15 weeks, developed a healthy abundance of bacteria from the genus Bifidobacterium in their gut microbiome—the complete community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit the intestinal tract.

(Gut Bacteria from Breastfeeding Linked to Improved Infant Response to Vaccines, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

If you are having problems with breastfeeding, contact a lactation consultant.

(Breastfeeding, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

However, studies have been inconclusive as to whether breastfeeding lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly among women with a history of gestational diabetes.

(Breastfeeding may help prevent type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes, NIH)