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10 Valuable Tips for Successful Breast-Feeding

 

1. AN EARLY START IS THE BEST START

 

Breast-feed your baby as soon as possible after birth.  Babies are often more alert and interested in feeding in the first hour following birth than later that day; Use the help of experienced nursing staff.  Relax- you’re both learning! So feed often on request; perhaps every two to three hours during the day and when baby wakes at night.  Have your baby room in with you in the hospital.

 

·      As soon as you are able to, sit to feed your baby, support your back and put a pillow on your knees for everybody’s comfort.  Bring your baby to your breast rather than your breast to your baby. Hold the baby close to your body, skin to skin, tummy to tummy, face to breast and mouth to nipple. Support your breast by holding four fingers underneath, away from the areola (dark area), with your thumb on top. Stimulate baby’s lips gently with your nipple until her mouth opens as a big yawn. Arouse your baby’s senses of taste and smell by expressing a few drops of milk.

·       

       When her mouth is open wide, pull baby towards you quickly; when the baby feels your nipple with her tongue, her lips will close over the areola and seal it; both lips should be rolled outwards.  You should see the sucking motion along the jaw line.

·      To release the baby’s suction, gently place a finger in the corner of her mouth until you break the suction.

 

2.  GETTING STARTED

 

WHAT HAPPENS?

 

At the baby’s birth your first milk is colostrums, a yellowish fluid rich in vitamins, protein and immune factors.  Breast-feeding often on request will help the milk come in gradually and the quantity to increase. As the colostrums decreases, mother’s milk may look thinner and watery, but it is your baby’s perfect miracle fast food.

 

Usually, the milk will be “let–down” and fill your breasts when the baby starts to suck. You may feel the tingling sensation of your milk letting down.  But sometimes it happens earlier, spontaneously or in response to a baby’s cry, and the breasts fill up and leak.  If your breasts should leak, tuck breast pads in your bra to absorb the extra milk.

 

HOW TO HOLD YOUR BABY?

 

There are many breast-feeding positions; discover the one that is most comfortable for you and your baby.  Sit up as soon as possible.  If you have had a caesarean birth, you may need help to position yourself and your baby comfortably.  Get help from nurses, your doctor, midwife, or a breast-feeding counsellor.

 

HOW OFTEN?

 

Breast-fed babies prefer a span of two to three hours from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next.  Mother’s milk is digested more easily than formula.  You don’t need to give an kind of supplement- not even water.  With frequent nursing, your baby will get enough nourishment.  The usual pattern is this: nurse the baby on one side; then, after time out for a burp or diaper change, switch to the other side.  At the next feeding, reverse the order, offering her the last used side first.  Some babies prefer several “short courses”, others prefer one long feeding.  Don’t rush her –take your time.

 

HOW MUCH?

 

A breast-fed baby needs frequent feedings.  Allowing your infant to nurse at need (ranging from eight to 12 times in a 24 hour period), will help establish your milk supply.  Wake a sleepy baby during the daytime to feed her, especially if she sleeps for long stretches at night.

 

Your baby is likely getting enough when she has six or more wet diapers a day, has frequent bowel movements, and is gaining weight and growing longer.

 

3. REMEMBER, IT’S THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND!

   

The more your baby nurses, the more milk you produce.  As your baby gets older, she may nurse every three to four hours for a few days, will help increase your milk supply and satisfy her increased appetite.

 

Remember that your baby’s nutritional needs can be completely met by your milk supply without added supplementary feedings.

 

4. THE COMPLETE FOOD

 

Breast milk is the most balanced food you can offer your infant!  It has just the right level and quality of nutrients to suit your child’s first food needs.  It contains antibodies that reduce the likelihood of allergic reactions.  Breast-feeding aids the return of the uterus to normal size, allows mom and baby to begin a special relationship, and is convenient and economical.  With breast-feeding, there is no need to sterilize or warm bottles, nor are there any bottles to take when you leave home with your child.  The process is simple, natural free and safer for the environment.

 

5. LOOKING AFTER MOM, TOO

 

In the early days, your nipples may be tender.  Because this part of the body is not usually exposed, nipples need lots of air and light to toughen.  For the first few days, expose your nipples to air or light after each feeding.  Allow some breast milk to dry on your nipples; it has a lubricating and anti-infective properties.

 

Change nursing pads when they are wet. Sometimes breasts get swollen and hurt because of increased blood supply and the accumulation of milk.  This condition is called “engorged breasts.”  Wearing a well-fitting bra, applying warmth (warm towels or shower) to ease the milk flow, expressing some milk before feeding to relieve fullness, and nursing frequently to allow your breasts to empty will help.

            

When your milk supply is established, you may learn to express or pump milk so that it can be left with a care-giver to give to the baby, and then you can get out occasionally or just have a well-deserved break.

 

 

6. WORKING AND BREAST-FEEDING

 

It is important to understand that the first weeks are the learning period for both of you, and that time, patience, and humour will solve many problems. 

 

During this time, your milk supply is becoming established, so it’s difficult to have anyone but you feed the baby.  After that, you can express milk manually or mechanically, by using a breast pump before you go to work, or at work, for feedings throughout the day.  Your own breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator (for up to 48 hours) frozen.  Refrigerate or freeze breast milk in plastic bottles or bags and date them.  Then warm it up in hot tap water before it is used.  (Using a microwave oven is not recommended.) 

 

7. BREAST-FEEDING AND PREGNANCY

 

Don’t rely on the old myth that you won’t get pregnant because you are nursing!  It’s not always true.  It may postpone the return of ovulation and menstruation, but ovulation can occur, so you and your partner should use precautions!  Discuss birth control alternatives with your doctor.

 

8. THOUGHTFUL REMINDERS

 

GET LOTS OF REST

 

Be as good to yourself as you can.  Try to nap when baby naps. Accept help with housework and meals from your partner, family and friends.  Do only what housekeeping must be done.  Limit your visitors.  Go to bed early.

 

EAT WELL

 

The foods you choose are important when you are breast-feeding, to ensure good health for you and your baby.  Follow Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating for basic nutrition and drink extra fluids to keep your milk supply adequate.  The only foods you must avoid are those to which you might be allergic.

 

Nursing mothers are discouraged from going on weight loss diets as they may cause the milk supply to decrease.  While nursing, you may gradually lose weight, and the extra weight gained during pregnancy is used to provide part of the energy needed to make breast milk.

 

HAVE PLENTY TO DRINK

 

You’ll find you are extra thirsty, so have a glass of juice, milk or water every time the baby nurses.  Remember if you smoke or drink alcohol: tobacco, alcohol and other drugs can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby.

 

BE COMFORTABLE

 

Relax in the bathtub.  It’s good therapy.  Walk. Gradually resume some exercise.  Plan an evening out regularly.  Motherhood and fatherhood are new roles that need to be talked over and learned together.  Keep the lines of communication open.

 

9.    TALK TO OTHERS

 

Personal contact with other nursing others is important for confident breast-feeding. Don’t keep concerns to yourself.  Call a friend, La Leche League, the public health nurse, a lactation consultant, or your doctor or midwife.  It helps to talk to someone.

 

10.   ENJOY YOUR BABY!

 

Holding your baby close stimulates her sense of touch, smell and taste.  A baby who is smiled at, talked to and cuddled develops a sense of security. 

 

Breast feeding is more than simply providing nutrients and calories for physical growth – it contributes to a special closeness. So have confidence in nature and in yourself and give your little one the very best start in life!

 

Courtesy of Health Canada

 

Click the link below to print a copy of the above

10 Valuable Tips for Successful Breast-Feeding

Back toTop ↑

 

10 Great Reasons to Breast-Feed

 

Twenty years ago, only one woman in four made the choice to breast-feed her baby. Approximately four out of five new mothers make that choice now.

Today most parents know that mother’s milk is not only the best food for their new baby-it can be the only food for the first four to six months of the baby’s life.

Parents can be confused by conflicting advice about breast-feeding from well-meaning friends and feel unprepared for what lies ahead. They become concerned about “not doing right”. These concerns may rob them of the satisfaction of doing what is best for them and for their baby.

But what do women who breast-feed say? Some say that after nurturing the baby in their own bodies for nine months, they found breast-feeding satisfying for them as well as for baby.

Breast-feeding is one of the best starts a mother can giver her baby.

HERE ARE 10 GREAT REASONS TO BREAST-FEED:

1. TAILOR MADE

Only your milk is specifically made for your baby. Your body will automatically monitor it so that it is not too rich or too watery. It will have just the right protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, and as your baby grows, it will change to meet her changing needs. It is the easiest milk of all for your baby to digest.

And look at the results you can expect. Your breast-fed baby may tend to burp less, will not get constipated and will have very soft, small, frequent stools that are non-odorous.

2. NUTRIENTS PLUS

The first milk your breast will produce is colostrums. It is a rich yellowish fluid which contains water, sugar, protein and vitamins that your baby needs. It also provides your child
with some protection against infection and allergies. Babies can still develop allergies, but their chances are greatly reduced and an allergy may be less severe.

3. CONVENIENT AND SAFE

Breast milk is always safe, fresh and exactly the right temperature. It’s ready for a baby at the moment’s notice and you don’t have to stop and boil water, sterilize bottles or heat
formula. That makes night feedings a lot easier to handle! It also makes it easier to take baby visiting. Breast milk is always with you, so traveling with your baby is simpler.

4. AUTOMATIC

Your baby should start to nurse as soon as possible after birth. If you can have your baby room-in with you so she can nurse frequently it may take two to six days for the breast
milk to appear. The sucking signals your body produce milk, and the more often you nurse your baby, the more milk you can produce.

Feed your new baby whenever she is hungry. Breast milk is digested in about 1 ½ hours, so baby will probably want to feed every two to three hours. The size of your breasts doesn’t matter. Big or small, they will produce all the milk your baby needs.

5. CONTINUES THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

You can begin to nurse as soon as your baby is born. You will be establishing a close physical contact with your baby that will help build a secure, loving relationship. You can’t spoil a new baby, so give her all the cuddling she wants. Don’t leave other family members out. Babies need hours of attention other than feeding and everybody can share in the many
aspects of caring for a baby.

6. AVAILABLE FOR MONTHS

Your baby may not need anything but your milk for four to six months. That means no water or other food or drink. If you nurse her as often as she wants, your baby will get everything she needs to grow. If baby wants very frequent feedings, it’s generally no reflection on your milk supply. It’s just baby setting her own pattern. So have confidence in yourself an in nature. Your body will produce all the nutrients your baby needs. At some point your baby may begin to wean herself when she starts eating other foods.

7. EASY ON THE BUDGET

No formula or bottles. No artificial nipples. And breast milk costs a lot less.

It is made from what you eat, so your only extra expense will be the extra calories you must consume to produce the milk. However, even when you take into account the extra food
You are eating to give your body more nutrients, breast-feeding still costs far less than formula.

8. HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Breast-feeding can help you lose weight because it uses up the extra fat stored in your body during pregnancy. You should eat an extra 500 calories a day to produce milk. But the good news is that your body uses 940 calories to produce one litre of ilk. So breast-feeding will usually produce slow, steady weight loss of one kilogram (two to three pounds) a month.

9. AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE

Learning to breast-feed takes a little time and some patience but it’s worth it. Many women have some difficulties, especially in the early weeks, but this is perfectly normal. Don’t
hesitate to talk about it to a public health nurse, your doctor or midwife, a friend who has breast-fed , or the La Leche League. Don’t let a small concern become a big one.

10. WORKS FOR WORKING MOTHERS

Don’t feel that you have to lose this unique experience as soon as you return to work. Your baby can have all the benefits of your milk even after you’ve gone back to work. It’s best
if you can be home for at least six weeks. It takes about that long for your milk supply to become well established, so during that period avoid bottles and formula.
But when your milk is fully established, you have many more options.

As your baby gets older, you can express the milk by hand or with a breast pump and leave it with your care-giver to feed the baby later on. It can be frozen for future use.
Some working mothers have day care facilities at their place of work or nearby, so they can breast-feed during their breaks.

Don’t miss out just because you’re a working mom.

A SPECIAL TIME FOR YOU AND YOUR BABY

Nature has given every woman a wonderful way to care for her new baby.
You can give your baby something that no one else can: a continuing connection with your body and the nurturing that goes along with giving your baby the only perfect food.
 

Courtesy of Health Canada

 

Click the link below to print a copy of the above

10 Great Reasons to Breast-Feed

 

Back toTop ↑

 

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