Any pregnant mother can tell you that breastfeeding is universally established as the best gift a mother can give her child. What is breastfeeding? It is the act of feeding a baby with milk from the breast. The mother’s breast starts to produce breast milk soon after delivery so that food is available to the newborn baby at birth.
Breast milk offers the baby with benefits that cannot be found in any other forms of food.
Colostrum – With a deep yellow colour colostrum is also known as ‘liquid gold’ and is extremely rich in nutrients, including antibodies that protect the baby from diseases and build immunity. Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mother’s body after delivery and is tuned to help your newborn’s digestive system to grow and function effectively. By the third to fifth day after birth, colostrum changes into more mature milk.
Customized to Infant’s Needs – Breast milk changes as the baby grows and the digestive system develops. Breast milk contains fats, sugar, water, and proteins in the proportions that are appropriate for the baby’s growth and is packed with nutrients and antibodies to keep the baby protected.
Ability to Fight Illnesses – Breast milk provides the baby with protection against illnesses and is known to reduce the baby’s risk of asthma, ear infections, childhood leukaemia, childhood obesity, lower respiratory infections, SIDS and Type 2 diabetes. Breastfeeding is also known to lower the mother’s health risks of Type 2 Diabetes, and certain types of breast and ovarian cancers.
Strengthens Bond Between Mother and Baby – the intimate act of breastfeeding creates a special bond between the mother and the baby. This is one reason why many mothers like to continue breastfeeding even after the baby is more than one year old. The physical contact helps the baby to feel secure and comforted and helps the mother by boosting her oxytocin levels.
Makes Life Much Easier for the Mother – Breastfeeding is a zero hassle way of providing food to your baby. No bottles to clean and sterilize, no warming up milk in the middle of the night, no extra expenses. Baby food is made available on demand and there is no prep or post-feed work that needs to be done.
Breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks. All babies do not latch on immediately and accurately, and this can be frustrating for the mother. New mothers may also have a lot of questions in their mind about how to start breastfeeding the newborn, how to position the newborn for breastfeeding, how to increase milk supply for breastfeeding, how to latch newborn for breastfeeding, and till when the breastfeeding can be continued or when should breastfeeding stop. There are a few things that a new mother can do to prepare herself for breastfeeding, even before she delivers the child.
Discussing With Doctor – If planning to breastfeed the baby, it is important to discuss with the doctor about whether the place of delivery is a baby-friendly hospital / birth centre with the required staff and setup to support successful breastfeeding. Any surgeries, injuries or prevailing health conditions should also be discussed in advance, so that support can be provided in the form of treatment, medication or supplements.
Taking a Prenatal and Breastfeeding Class – Attending prenatal classes can help the mother to understand her pregnancy and aids her in taking adequate measures to enable full-term birth. Premature babies have been found to have more problems with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding classes allow the mother to be prepared for the baby’s arrival, offer parenting tips for new parents, and also teaches them about positioning for latching on, how to increase breast milk supply, flat / inverted nipples breastfeeding solutions, and any other questions related to breastfeeding.
Joining a Support Group – Talking to friends who have breastfed their babies or joining a breastfeeding support group can help the mother to get comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding and to get her doubts resolved.
Keeping Breastfeeding Accessories Ready – Breastfeeding mothers will need nursing bras, nursing pillows, feeding covers, and a breastfeeding pump to help stimulate the breasts to produce milk. A new mother would want to keep these accessories ready and packed in her hospital bag before the delivery.
No matter how much preparation goes into the breastfeeding process, there are bound to be a few hiccups when the actual breastfeeding begins. This is because each baby is unique and so is his / her breastfeeding journey. Some babies learn to latch on early, while some babies struggle with latching on properly, which can be frustrating both for the mother and the baby.
Keeping The Baby Close – Skin-to-skin contact with the mother gives the newborn baby a lot of warmth and comfort and keeps the baby’s heart and breathing rates stable. A calmer baby is more likely to latch on correctly and breastfeed properly.
Learning Hunger Cues – Hungry babies are generally more alert and active, and tend to put their fists into their mouths, make sucking motions or turn their head rooting or searching for the breast. By observing and learning to identify these cues given by the baby, it is possible to feed the baby without it getting frustrated. Crying is also a hunger cue, but by then the baby is probably very hungry and likely to be cranky or refuse to feed.
Avoiding Nipple Confusion – Unless recommended by the doctor for a medical reason, avoid using pacifiers or feeding bottles for the first few weeks after birth in order to avoid nipple confusion. Since milk flows more easily through the feeding bottle nipple, the baby may not want to work its jaw to feed directly from the breast once it gets familiar with the bottle nipple.
