Tips for Succeeding at Breastfeeding

I commend you for wanting to breastfeed your baby! You have probably heard that breastfeeding is healthier for your baby and even you! This is true, in so many ways you can't even imagine, and with some effort (more or less) you can succeed! But it can be challenging at times, and this is where it helps to have support (yes, this is from my own experience - having suffered from mastitis and thrush among other things). But I was able to work through my problems and continue to breastfeed which I am exxtremely thankful for now.

Breastfeeding is a learned art. It used to be that mothers passed advise along to their daughters, but nowadays many of our mothers did not breastfeed, and in worst case they are negative about breastfeeding. There are lactation consultants, but many new mothers do not have the means to hire one. Some hospitals have started to offer breastfeeding how to and advise. Lactation consultants visit new mothers and help them get off to the right start. On the contrary, some of these hospitals insist on feeding the infants sugar water and pacifiers, and keep them in the nursery which certainly does not help the new mother get off to the right start! So what do you do?

To start, begin surrounding yourself with other moms who breastfeed. If you don't have friends who do (although breastfeeding s becoming increasingly more common), join a La Leche League group. They have classes which offer support and information for breastfeeding moms. I would also recommend considering a birthcenter- or homebirth. If you have a midwife, she would be knowledgeable in breastfeeding and able to give advise. A gentle and positive birth sets the primer for a good start in breastfeeding. Babies who are born naturally are more alert and ready to breastfeed. Moms who have had medications often report that their babies are tired and are not as interested in breastfeeding. Their sucking ability is reduced.

Nurse your baby soon after the birth. Babies are more responsive the first hour, so take advantage of that. If you give birth in a hospital, have your baby with you at all times. There is no reason for a healthy baby to be in the hospital nursery. Do not supplement with sugar water or pacifiers. Your baby needs colostrum those first few days of life to build up healthy bacteria in the intestines. Colostrum is also rich with antibodies, vitamin K, B-vitamins, and has a slight laxative effect which helps get rid of the meconium in the babies bowels. If your baby is taking sugar water, he or she will be satisfied and not as interested in eating more. Water should not be given to breastfeeding infants as it will cause an electrolyte imbalance.

If an infant is supplemented with bottles regularly, he/she will likely develop nipple confusion. Sucking from a bottle is much different than sucking from the breast. If given a bottle, the baby will eventually forget how to suckle the breast, and get frustrated because it takes longer for the milk to start flowing. Contrary to what many believe, nipple confusion can also happen to older babies probably up to about 8 months or so.

Nurse every time the baby is hungry. Studies have shown that feeding on a schedule decreases breastfeeding success rates. It is my belief that babies need the extra suckling for comfort, and mothers need it also to keep an ample milk supply. Don't overuse pacifiers. Put the baby to the breast instead. This extra suckling is what builds the milk supply. When babies go through growth spurts they need to be at the breast more often to increase the supply of milk. Mothers often complain about not having enough milk, and I think this could be solved by having the baby at breast more often, and of course making sure the mother has enough to drink and nutritious food. (Although mothers who have less than perfect nutrition have good milk also)

At night it is a good idea to have your baby next to you. Mothers who nurse often wake up a few minutes before baby begins to whimper. It's like a 6th sense. Mothers and babies are very much connected. However, this sense seems to vanish after a couple of weeks when a mother is bottlefeeding. Mothers who have their babies in bed with them get more sleep as they can doze while nursing, and the hormones created by breastfeeding help mom and baby sleep.

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