breast feeding

A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR BREASTFEEDING

Breastfeeding Benefits:

Automatic: Breastfeeding contracts your uterus, preventing post-partum bleeding. You should try to have your baby room-in with you as soon as possible after birth so that s/he can nurse frequently. It may take two to six days for breast milk to appear. The more often you nurse, the more milk you will produce. Feed your baby whenever s/he is hungry. Breast milk is digested within 90 minutes and feeding every two to three hours is normal. You may also nurse more frequently depending on your baby’s needs.

It is convenient and safe: Breast milk is always safe, fresh and exactly the right temperature. It is ready on a moment’s notice, and you don’t have to stop and boil water, sterilize bottles or heat formula. That makes night feedings especially easy! It also makes it easier to travel since breast milk is always with you.

It’s specific to your baby’s needs: Your body will make the nutrients in your milk change to suit your baby’s nutritional needs with just the right amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals throughout his/her growth. Also, antibodies are in the first milk produced, called colostrum, and provide immunity to your baby during a time when their immune system is still developing. This results in fewer allergies, colds, and ear infections.

Availability: Breast milk is available for months to years. Your baby may not need anything but your milk for 6 months. That means no water or other food or drink. If you nurse as often as your baby wants, s/he will get everything needed to grow. Frequent feedings are not a reflection of your milk supply but more a reflection of your baby’s feeding patterns. Have confidence in this process as nature intends it to be.

Health Benefits: Breastfeeding is especially protective against common childhood conditions including eczema, otitis media, and iron-deficiency anemia. Infants breast fed for 9 months or longer have a significantly reduced incidence of food allergies. Some of this protection, depends on the mothers diet during these months of lactation. For mothers, breastfeeding provides increased protection against breast cancer and osteoporosis.

Weight Reduction: Breast feeding helps you lose weight because it uses up the extra fat stored in your body during pregnancy. You should eat an extra 500 calories per day to produce the milk. The good news is that your body uses 940 calories to produce one litre of milk. This results in a slow and steady weight loss of one kilogram (2-3 lbs) per month, the maximum benefits are seen after nursing your baby for one year.

Easy on the budget: The average annual cost of formula feeding in the first year of life is between $1275 and $3055. When breastfeeding, there are no formula, bottles, artificial nipples, or extra expenses except for the extra calories that you may need to produce the milk. Even when you account for the extra food you are eating to give your body more nutrients, breastfeeding still costs far less than formula.

A great start: Breastfeeding creates a wonderful bond between mother and child. Learning to breast feed takes a little time and some patience. Many women have some difficulties, especially in the early weeks but this is perfectly normal. It takes about six weeks to establish a steady milk supply. If you are having difficulty, don’t hesitate to speak to a Lactation Consultant, a Registered Nurse, a Midwife, a Postpartum Doula, a Naturopathic Doctor, the La Leche League, or a friend who has breast fed, right away!

Instructions on Latching from Anne J Barnes www.BreastfeedingOnline.com

Have your nipple and the baby’s nose in line before latching.
Hold your baby’s body so that it is wrapped around and close to your body; it is best to have skin-to-skin and belly-to belly contact between you and your baby.
Hold your baby’s head around the base of the neck, supporting it but NOT pushing it against the breast. The baby’s head and shoulders are supported so the head extends slightly as the baby is moved onto the breast. The lower arm of the baby should be under your breast and his/her head.
Tilt the baby’s head back slightly and lightly rub the top lip against your nipple. Repeat this until the baby demonstrates the rooting reflex – his/her mouth opens widely and his/her tongue is down and forward. You may have to move the mouth away slightly and touch the top lip to the nipple, repeating this until the baby’s mouth opens wide with the tongue forward and down/uncurled. Try ractising this until you are comfortable with what a proper rooting reflex looks like.
When the baby’s mouth opens as WIDE as possible, move the baby quickly onto the breast at a diagonal angle such that the chin and lower jaw touch the breast first. It’s like a firm hug where you bring the baby’s shoulders in quickly so that the chin and lower jaw make the first contact.
Aim the nipple for the top of the baby’s mouth and watch the lower lip and aim it as far from the base of the nipple as possible so the baby’s uncurled tongue draws a lot of the breast areola and nipple tissue into his/her mouth.
When moving the baby onto the breast, move the body and head together.
Once latched, the top lip will be close to the nipple, and the areola shows above the lip. The bottom lip will be visible because the tongue is doing the majority of work in keeping the latch and nursing properly.
Keep the chin close against the breast and the baby’s body closely against your belly.
Proper nursing can be felt and seen – you can see the lower jaw moving and can feel him/her drinking via your hand on the base of his/her neck.
Improper nursing is demonstrated by noisy nursing, and painful nipples for mom.
Have someone hold a mirror for you so you can see your baby latching from a side view. It’s not always easy to see if the bottom lip is well under the nipple. Sucking sounds demonstrate a poor latch, not enough areola in the mouth, and nursing on the nipple alone all create noise and nipple pain for the mother. Breastfeeding Products Breastfeeding occurs best when it is kept simple and as natural as possible. Some circumstances, however, require an aid to help with breastfeeding.
Breast pumps are useful when a mother is saving her milk for a premature or sick baby, when a mother plans to return to work, or when a mother and her baby are separated over a feeding time. In the hospital you may be advised to use a breast pump to relieve engorgement. If used for this purpose, be sure to pump only enough to relieve areolar swelling to soften the breast for the baby to latch.
Breast shells or breast shields are hard plastic shells recommended for use during pregnancy and between feedings to correct flat or inverted nipples. They are also recommended when air is needed to treat sore nipples.
Oxytocin nasal spray was used to aid the release of milk during the first week of breastfeeding. Discuss the use of oxytocin with your primary health practitioner for further information.
Nipple shields look like a regular rubber nipple and is worn over a mother’s nipple during a feeding. Nipple shields are considered an unnecessary item and often cause trouble according to the La Leche League International. The League states that the use of a nipple shield is never justified. The impulses to the brain that normally come from a baby nursing directly on the nipple are fewer, as are the secretion and letdown of the breast milk. The baby can become accustomed to the nipple shield and is usually upset when it is not provided. The baby can be weaned from the shield with patience and discipline, but it is not an easy task. You may want to start the baby nursing on the shield until milk is flowing well and then quickly take it away and put the baby directly on the real nipple. Once your baby is accustomed to your breast, the nipple shield can be thrown away.

Is Your Baby Getting Enough Milk?

You can be sure that your baby is getting enough milk if:

There are six to eight really wet diapers and two to five bowel movements per day and your baby is receiving only breast milk – no water or formula.
Weight is gained at an average of four to seven ounces a week, or about one pound per month.
Most babies lose weight after their birth and can take two to three weeks to regain their birth weight. When weighing your baby, weight gain should be determined from the lowest weight the baby reached rather than the birth weight.
Frequent nursing occurs on both breasts at each feeding. Feedings are two to three hours apart, or eight to twelve times in a 24-hour period.
Your baby appears healthy – good skin color and resilience, is ‘filling out’ and growing in length, has good muscle tone, and is alert and active.

How to Increase Your Milk Supply:

Nurse frequently
Nurse from each breast at each feeding
Avoid bottles and pacifiers as they create nipple confusion. All your baby’s feeding should be at the breast.
Give your baby only breast milk
Drink plenty of fluids and eat a well balanced diet.
Get plenty of rest and relaxation.

If Your Milk Supply is Low:
It is important to determine what is interfering with your production of milk if you notice that your supply is not meeting your baby’s needs. The following factors can cause or contribute to a decreased milk supply:

Supplementing with formula, juice or water can interfere. They will fill up the baby and force him to wait longer for the next feeding. This decreases the nursing time at the breast and causes a negative feedback to the production of milk. Supplementing with the above causes a mother to reduce breast milk production.
Nipple confusion occurs when a baby is given more than one type of nipple. For example, a bottle nipple requires different mouth coordination than that of a real nipple. The end result is that the baby is not latching effectively at the breast to stimulate your breasts to produce enough milk.
Pacifiers are used to aid babies to meet their sucking needs, which may also reduce the time nursing at the breast.
Further, a pacifier provides no nutritional value.
Scheduled feedings can interfere with the supply and demand system of milk production. Simply feed your baby on demand to ensure an adequate supply.
Sleepy babies nurse infrequently and for short periods, often falling asleep at the breast just as they latch on. If this describes your baby, it is important for you to wake your baby regularly. Stimulate him/her with gentle handling, and encourage him to nurse at least every two hours for weight gain. You will need to decide how often to nurse until s/he learns how to get enough to eat.
Long feedings assure an adequate milk supply. Conversely, if you cut your feeding short this can prevent your supply from increasing as your baby’s needs increase. On the other hand, a continually nursing baby who never seems satisfied may not be nursing correctly.

Saving Your Milk for Your Baby
New research has shown that human milk can safely be kept at room temperature for six to ten hours because of its remarkable ability to prevent bacterial growth. Milk can be kept refrigerated for three to five days. For longer storage it can be frozen for up to two weeks in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator, or up to four months in a separate door freezer that is opened infrequently and stays at a constant temperature. Once the milk is thawed it should not be refrozen. Freeze milk in small amounts varying from 2 to 4 ounces. Always label each container with the month, date and year and the baby’s name if more than one baby is being fed. After pumping into a clean container, transfer it to a storage container. Use a separate container to refrigerate the milk each time you pump or express. These cooled batches can later be combined for a feeding or for freezing. When collecting your milk, it is often easiest to handexpress rather than pump. Don’t be discouraged if the amount of milk obtained at first is a small volume. With practice several ounces can be expressed in 15-20 minutes.

Written by: Heidi Kussmann B.Sc., N.D. Keystone Naturopathic Medicine