Rewards and virtues of breastfeeding

Hadith

Tabarani relates in his Mu'jam al-Awsat:

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: Salamah, the wetnurse of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet, peace of and blessings of Allah upon him, said, "O Messenger of Alah. You give tidings of all the good to the men and you don't give tidings to the women." He said, "Did your female companions induce you to [ask] this?" She said, "Yes." He said, "Will one of you not be pleased that when she is pregnant from her husband and he is pleased with her that she has a reward like the reward of the one who fasts and prays in the way of Allah? Then when she is in labor, none of the people of the heavens or the earth know what is hidden for her of [pleasures,] soothing to her eyes. And when she delivers, no mouthful of milk flows from her nor a [child's] suck except that she has a reward with every mouthful and with every suck.
And if [her child] keeps her awake during the night, she has a reward similar to the reward of freeing seventy slaves for the sake of Allah."

Hadith
A woman from the time of pregnancy until childbirth and weaning the baby, is like the Mujahid (someone fighting in the path of Allah, swa) who is stationed on the frontiers of the Islamic land. If she dies during this period, she dies the death of a shahid (martyr).