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What every nursing mother needs to know about breastfeeding

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Breastfeeding may be one of the most natural things in the world, it’s not easy for women, particularly in the early days. If you are planning to breastfeed or even if you have already embarked upon your breastfeeding journey, here are some things you need to know about feeding your baby with breast milk.

It can be a full-time job

A baby typically feeds on breast milk eight to 12 times during a 24-hour period. And each session can take a while. A feeding isn’t complete until the baby has totally drained at least one breast, which ensures they get the fatty hind milk. It’s important for nursing mothers to establish breastfeeding routines with few interruptions and stresses.

Breast milk is not always best

The World Health Organization calls colostrum the perfect food for the newborn and recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to six months. Your baby’s nutritional needs are the most important thing. So if a breastfed baby isn’t gaining enough weight from feeding on breast milk alone due to milk-supply, the solution is supplementation with formula.

It shouldn’t hurt

One of the myths about breastfeeding is that it’s normal for it to hurt. A newborn suckling on a nipple for any extended period of time can create discomfort and some amount of soreness but pain normally means the latch is incorrect and the baby needs to be taken off the breast. Other causes of pain during that period are thrush, a fungal infection caused by an overgrowth of yeast like organisms called Candida albicans, and mastitis, a breast infection resulting from clogged milk ducts.

Mother breastfeeding her baby

Your baby will guide you

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Many moms who breast feed their babies worry that their baby isn’t getting enough milk. While it’s easy to measure and monitor formula or breast milk given in a bottle, there’s not the same reassurance when you are nursing. Take  cues from your baby-they know when they are hungry and when they are full. Normal breastfeeding cues such as rooting, licking, sucking and moving their head tells you your baby is hungry. But if they fall asleep or pull themselves off the breast, they are probably full.

Breast milk is clever stuff

In the beginning, your breast milk changes week by week depending on the particular needs of your newborn. The very first milk you produce is called colostrum, a thick, sticky, yellowish substance that’s packed with antibodies and nutrients. You might only produce a few teaspoons at a time, but that’s all your baby needs.

Around three to five days postpartum, transitional milk arrives. This looks like a cross between orange juice and milk — appetizing, right? Finally, around 10 to 14 days postpartum, your mature milk comes in. It looks like watery skim milk, and this is what your baby will feed on for the rest of your breastfeeding days and nights.

It can affect your mental health

Many mothers experience post-partum depression which is characterized by long periods of anxiety, irritability and sadness. And although there’s no causal link between breastfeeding and depression, some moms who struggle while breastfeeding their babies or those who don’t have people around them who support them may suffer mental health issues.

So it’s crucial that mothers who are feeding their babies on breast milk look after themselves, physically and emotionally. They have to eat healthy foods; drink plenty fluids and rest as much as they can. Motherhood has a way of making women feel overwhelmed as well as constant breastfeeding.

 

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