Breastfeeding is the most natural way of nutrition, and breast milk certainly has the most favorable composition of nutrients necessary for the growth, development and protection of the child. In addition to the nutritional importance, breastfeeding also significantly affects the future development of speech.
Successful oral feeding requires mature and functional oral sensorimotor and swallowing skills, optimal lung and digestive system function, an integrated central nervous system, and good muscle tone.
Breastfeeding enables the sucking reflex, which requires coordination of breathing, sucking and swallowing. The sucking mechanism determines the child's feeding rhythm, which, in addition to the child's age and hunger level, also depends on external factors such as the child's position, feeding method and milk flow. Bottle-fed infants have a different feeding pattern than exclusively breastfed infants. When breastfed, babies have been shown to suckle more often with shorter pauses, which favors the development of oral musculature.