How to breastfeed a child and advantages of breastfeeding your baby

When you hold your baby for the first time in the delivery room, you should put his lips to your breast. Although your mature milk hasn't developed yet, your breasts are still producing a substance known as colostrum that helps to protect your baby from infections.

If your baby has trouble finding or staying on your nipple, you shouldn't panic. Breast feeding is an art that will require a lot of patience and a lot of practice. No one expects you to be an
expert when you first start, so you shouldn't hesitate to ask for advice or have a nurse show you what you need to do.

Once you start, keep in mind that nursing shouldn't be painful. When your baby latches on, pay attention to how your breasts feel. If the latching on hurts, break the suction then try again.

You should nurse quite frequently, as the more you nurse the more quickly your mature milk will come in and the more milk you'll produce. Breastfeeding for 10 - 15 minutes per breast 8 - 10 times every 24 hours is an ideal target. Crying is a sign of hunger, which means you should actually feed your baby before he starts crying.

During the first few days, you may have to wake your baby to begin breast feeding, and he may end up falling asleep during feeding.
To ensure that your baby is eating often enough, you should wake him up if it has been four hours since the last time he has been fed.

Getting comfortable
Feedings can take 40 minutes or longer, therefore you'll want a cosy spot. You don't want to be sitting somewhere where you will be bothered, as it can make the process very hard.

For some people, the process of breast feeding seems to come natural, although there's a level of skill required for successful feeding and a correct technique to use. Incorrect positioning is one of the biggest reasons for unsuccessful feeding and it can even injure the nipple or breast quite easily.

By stroking the baby's cheek with the nipple, the baby will open its mouth towards the nipple, which should then be pushed in so that the baby will get a mouthful of nipple and areola. This position is known as latching on. A lot of women prefer to wear a nursing bra to allow easier access to the breast than other normal bras.

The length of feeding time will vary. Regardless of the duration of feeding time, it's important for mothers to be comfortable.

The following are positions you can use:

1. Upright - The sitting position where the back is straight.

2. Mobile - Mobile is where the mother carries her baby in a sling or carrier while breast feeding. Doing this allows the mother to breast feed in the work of everyday life.

3. Lying down - This is good for night feeds or for those who have had a caesarean section.

4. On her back - The mother is sitting slightly upright, also a useful position for tandem breast feeding.

5. On her side - The mother and baby both lie on their sides.

6. Hands and knees - In this feeding position the mother is on all fours with the baby underneath her. Keep in mind, this position isn't normally recommended.

Anytime you don't feel comfortable with a feeding position, always stop and switch to a different position. Each position is different, while some mothers prefer one position, other's may like a totally different position. All you need to do is
experiment and see which position is best for you.

The nutritional requirements for the baby will rely soley on the breast milk, and therefore the mother will need to maintain a healthy diet. If the baby is large and grows fast, the fat stores gained by the mother during pregnancy can be depleted quickly, meaning that she may have trouble eating good enough to maintain and develop sufficient amounts of milk.

This type of diet normally involves a high calorie, high nutrition diet which follows on from that in pregnancy. Even though mothers in famine conditions can produce milk with nutritional content, a mother that is malnourished may produce milk with lacking levels of vitamins A, D, B6, and B12.

If they smoke, breast feeding mothers must use extreme caution. More than 20 cigarettes a day has been shown to reduce the milk supply and cause vomiting,
diarrhoea, rapid heart rate, and restlessness in the infants. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is more common in babies that are exposed to smoke.

Heavy drinking is also known to harm the infant, as well as yourself. If you are breast feeding, you should avoid alcohol or consume very small amounts at
a time.

The excessive consumption of alcohol by the mother can result in irritability, sleeplessness, and increased feeding in the infant. Moderate use, normally 1 - 2
cups a day normally produces no effect. Therefore, mothers that are breast feeding are advised to avoid caffeine or restrict intake of it.

By following a healthy diet and limiting your intake of the above, you'll ensure that your baby gets the right nutrients during your time of breast feeding. This stage of life is very important - as you don't want anything to happen to your baby.

Breast milk is actually the only food your baby will need until 4 months of age, although most babies do well on breast milk alone for 6 months or better. There is really no advantage to adding other foods or milks before 4 - 6 months, except under unusual circumstances.

Water
Breast milk is over 90% water. Even in the hottest days of summer, a baby won't require any extra water. If a baby isn't feeding well, they still don't require any extra water - although they will need the breast feeding problems to be fixed.

Vitamin D
Although breast milk doesn't contain much vitamin D, it does have a little. The baby will store up vitamin D during pregnancy, and remain healthy without any vitamin D supplementation, unless you yourself had a problem with vitamin D deficiency when pregnant.

Exposure to the outside will give your baby vitamin D, even in winter and when the sky is covered. An hour or more exposure during the week will give your baby more than enough vitamin D.

Iron
Breast milk contains less iron than formulas do, especially those that are iron enriched. Iron will give the baby added protection against infections, as many bacteria need iron in order to multiply.

The iron found in breast milk is utilized well by the baby, while not being available to bacteria. The introduction of iron should never be delayed beyond the age of 6 months.

Breast milk is the best that your can feed your baby, as it provides everything he will need for probably the first 6 months. After the first 6 months, you can introduce solid foods to your baby if he is taking an interest to them.

The milk production in the breasts, much like so many other things, work on the shear principal of supply and demand. The more breast milk your baby consumes,
the more your body will need to make.

Breast pumps are generally used to insure continued production of breast milk when you cannot feed your baby - whether you are back to work, traveling, taking
medication, or just out of town.

Basic types of pumps
Breast pumps can either be battery operated, hand operated, semi automatic electric, or even self cycling electric.

Hand pumps
Manual hand pumps are designed to use the strength of your hand or arm muscles for pumping one breast at a time. You can also get pumps that will use the leg and foot muscles for pumping both breasts at one time. Mothers that with carpal tunnel syndrome may want to consider using a pump designed for the arm or leg muscles or even an automatic model.

Battery operated pumps
Pumps with battery operation are the best for women who have an established supply of milk and want to pump once or even twice a day. These pumps use
batteries to create suction, minimizing any type of muscle fatigue. Most battery type pumps are designed for pumping one breast at a time and are recommended
for occasional usage.

Electric pumps
Even though electric pumps are more efficient than hand or even battery operated pumps, they also tend to be more expensive. You can however, rent them if you need to. Electric pumps can normally plug directly into an outlet and are designed for pumping both breasts at a time and even frequent use. Hospital grade pumps are the most efficient for initiating and maintaining milk supply, and are available for rent or purchase.

'Breastfeeding Simply'
How to make breastfeeding easy, enjoyable and successful

A book by Pinky McKay who is an Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and who runs her own private practice in Melbourne, Australia, is a breast feeding specialist consultant for the best selling baby magazines in Australia (Practical Parenting) and New Zealand (Littlies).

She has helped thousands of women just like you, enjoy breastfeeding with confidence.

To know more Click Here!