The ideal food for the newborn, fully meeting the needs of his body - mother's breast milk. After all, it contains carbohydrates and fats, amino acids and autoenzymes, thanks to which this product is digested quite quickly. There are antibodies in this natural milk for women. These are wonderful immune factors that strengthen the body of crumbs. And this is far from a complete overview of what the baby receives from the very first days of his birth. This is known to many young mothers. That is why women seek to establish the process of natural feeding their babies and continue it as long as possible.
Early start
What determines the success of natural feeding? From when will the first application of the baby to the breast. As a rule, this happens in the delivery room.
According to the instructions of the WHO (World Health Organization), the staff of a medical institution explains the rules for breastfeeding and helps a woman to overcome difficulties.
Immediately after the birth of the baby, the baby is placed on her belly. Nursing staff helps put a nipple into his mouth. But this is done only if everything is in order with the baby and the woman.
This moment is very important for the child. He calms down, having gone through a difficult process of childbirth, and for the first time gets acquainted with maternal microflora. This application of crumbs is important for the female body. He receives a powerful signal about the start of milk production in connection with the resolution of pregnancy.
The crumb is applied in the first half hour for only 2-3 minutes. From this moment it can be considered that the period of feeding has already begun.
The newborn receives the first nutrition in its life at the same time as skin contact. All this allows you to establish an emotional connection between the child and the mother. This moment, under certain circumstances, practically minimizes the likelihood of a woman making a decision to leave the baby in the orphanage.
A healthy child immediately looks for the nipple and tries to get food out of it. The touch of his lips increases the production of oxytocin in the mother, a substance that helps to reduce the uterus. All this allows her to recover faster after childbirth.
Of course, at this time there is still no milk in the woman’s chest. However, already during pregnancy, her body begins to produce colostrum. This substance is a thick nutrient fluid, which becomes the main food crumbs in the next 2-3 days.
Nipple grip formation
How to organize proper breastfeeding? To do this, it is important to help the baby grab the nipple well. It is necessary to ensure that the child takes almost the entire areola into his mouth. If this was not originally or the seizure became not so already in the process of eating, it is necessary to insert the little finger into the corner of the mouth of the newborn. Such actions will force the baby to release the mammary gland. After this, the newborn must be correctly applied to the chest.
Eating the baby needs to be given as much as he wants. He won’t take anything extra. At the same time, the feeding process will surely calm the little man. He will bring benefits to the mother. Stimulation of the nipples will accelerate the contraction of the uterus and will quickly restore the body after childbirth.
First feedings
From the very beginning, you will need to choose the most convenient position for the child and mother. How to keep the baby breastfeeding immediately after birth? A woman can sit or lie on her side. In order to provide yourself with additional comfort, it is recommended to back up with pillows.
How to keep breast while feeding? This is a very important issue. Proper breastfeeding is carried out when it is delicately held with one hand. In this case, the mother’s thumb should be on top of the mammary gland, and all the rest should be located below. The nipple should be squeezed a little. The child, being next to the bust, begins to open his mouth, thus searching for food. If he didn’t succeed in doing this, he will need to take a nipple and hold them on the lower lip of the crumbs. The other hand of the mother at this time holds the baby and does not allow its head to spin.
In the first month of breastfeeding, a woman establishes lactation. That is why it is so important to organize the right GW. Otherwise, if the baby does not grab the nipple successfully, serious complications can occur.
Difficulties of the first applications
Breastfeeding at the first stages sometimes becomes impossible due to the appearance of certain problems that mom should definitely overcome.
- At the first meeting with the mammary gland, the baby is active and begins to look for the nipple with his mouth. He captures him, but immediately lets go. Most likely, the newborn is too active. He loses the nipple due to the fact that he twists the head. In this situation, the mother should help the baby. She needs to hold him by the head at the neck, fixing the mouth opposite the chest.
- Due to the fullness of the mammary gland, the baby chokes while eating. Breastfeeding a newborn, if there is a lot of milk in it, becomes very difficult. Indeed, in this case, it is tight and hard. Of course, in this case, grabbing the baby by the chest is very difficult. It is difficult to cope with a baby and with a strong stream. In order to avoid such problems, mom will need to change the pose. She should lie on her back and put the baby on top. In this case, he will not choke. Full breasts are recommended to be slightly decanted before feeding. In this case, it will become slightly softer.
- Due to inverted or flat nipples, the baby cannot eat normally. How in this case to organize the correct breastfeeding of the newborn? The onset of hepatitis B in such a situation becomes very difficult. However, this does not last very long. A healthy baby can learn to receive food from an irregular shape from a nipple. After a while, it will certainly stretch, which will greatly facilitate the process. But sometimes it happens that the baby does not want to take flat nipples while breastfeeding. What to do in this case? Silicone breast pads for breastfeeding should come to the aid of a woman. Getting milk from them is harder, but still many mothers use this method.
Refusal of the first feeding
The reasons why a newborn does not want to capture her mother’s breasts can be different. The most common ones are:
- Too early application. After the stress that brought the baby's body to the process of birth, he should rest a bit. To do this, you need a short pause, bringing rest. The baby will only suckle a breast in half an hour after birth.
- The baby cannot understand what to do with the breast. At the same time, young mothers often think that their baby is turning away from the nipple. In fact, he most likely turns his head, trying to find food. That is why it is so important to organize proper breastfeeding and teach the baby to capture it.
- Some newborns have a weak sucking reflex. They simply do not have enough energy to eat. This happens when the baby is born sick, underweight or premature. Sometimes an insufficient sucking reflex becomes the result of a prolonged birth. How to organize breastfeeding in this case? It is better if the weakened children are given a little time in order to get stronger. In the early days, they will need to be fed from a bottle, from which the milk itself will pour into the mouth. All this period, mom will need to express. But still periodically it is necessary to try to breastfeed. Maybe the hungry baby will still take her. However, with this situation, there is a high probability that the baby will get so used to the nipple that it will be impossible to wean it.
- Refusal to breast-feed is also possible after prolonged separation of the mother and child. If for some reason a woman and her baby are separated in the hospital, then the baby begins to learn the technique of sucking the nipples, which differs from the technique of breastfeeding. The process of accustoming to the mother's bust will require further application of considerable strength and patience.
Tips for inexperienced moms
How to organize proper breastfeeding the first time? For this:
- It is not recommended to give the newborn two mammary glands. For one feeding, the mother should offer him only one breast, which the baby needs to empty. The second mammary gland will be filled until the next feeding.
- You will need to ensure that the baby sucks correctly. If he smacks a little, then this is wrong. Most likely, the baby grabbed only the edge of the nipple with his mouth, and not the entire areola. Improper breastfeeding is dangerous for a woman. Almost immediately, small cracks appear on her nipples. After this, the breast begins to hurt when feeding.
- After the baby has eaten, it is necessary to give it a pose of a "column". This is necessary to release from the stomach the air that got there when sucking. It is possible to lay the crumb only after it burps. Otherwise, he will be tormented by pains in the tummy.
- Some babies suck milk for too long. Most likely, they use breasts as a dummy. Letting them do this is not worth it. After all, the excess milk that has got into the stomach will begin to burst its walls. At the same time, the child is capricious. That is why you should not delay the process of breastfeeding. How long should it last? This will be decided by the child himself, to whom 2-3 breaks should be organized. Soon, the baby himself will understand that he is already full, and will let go of his chest.
- The question of how to properly apply the baby for breastfeeding and organize the whole process is very worrying for women. And for young mothers, this is a very difficult science. For example, the main mistake of many of them is to tear the nipple out of the baby’s mouth immediately after feeding. Doing so is not worth it. It is necessary to wait until the baby does it himself, or put a clean finger in his mouth.
- Often, starting to breastfeed, young mothers think that they have very little milk. They believe that their baby is hungry, and begin to feed him a mixture. However, this process only exacerbates the lack of milk. In order for the breast to fill up as quickly as possible, the child must be applied to it as often as possible. If the baby begins to receive additional nutrition, then the need for mother’s milk gradually disappears.
Feeding schedule
How to organize mom's natural nutrition for the baby? Various breastfeeding regimens may be selected. What are they like? One of them involves applying to the chest on demand. The second involves feeding by the hour. Let's consider them a little more in detail.
Feeding by the clock involves attaching to the breast according to a schedule. His mother thinks for the child together with the pediatrician. When feeding on demand, crumbs are applied to the breast at such a time and as many times as he wants to do it himself, including at night. A similar regime provides for the duration of such nutrition according to the needs of the baby.
What is the key difference between the two ways? It is enclosed in the number of feedings. If the food is produced by the hour, then the baby is applied to the breast every 3 hours during the day and with a break of 6 hours at night. In this case, the total number of feedings in the first months of a baby's life reaches seven.
When on demand, there can be significantly more. From the already installed 7 to 24. The last figure indicates that the baby may ask to eat every hour.
The first weeks of life, the baby’s ventricle is still very small, and the muscles, including those involved in sucking, are very weak. That is why the baby eats often and little by little. But with his growing up everything changes. The stomach grows in volume, and the muscles become stronger. This is associated with an increase in the periods between feedings, and an increase in the amount of breast milk received.
Does the baby manage to digest food if he eats very often? Yes. Breast milk is perfectly digested and stays in the stomach for a short while, after which it enters the intestines. At the same time, the baby can eat more or less in one feeding. This fact will greatly affect when he asks for the next time.
With the on-demand regimen, the baby eats more often at night than during scheduled feeding. At the same time, it was proved that it is nighttime applications that best support sufficient lactation. This is explained by the greater production of prolactin during this period. This is a hormone on which the formation of milk depends.
When breastfeeding by the hour, the breast is offered to the baby according to a certain schedule. On the first day after the birth of the baby, 1-3 minutes are applied to two mammary glands. Already within 1-2 days there is an increase in feeding time. It is gradually brought to 20 minutes.
Which of these two modes can be selected? In order to finally decide on this, it is necessary to consider some psychological aspects. So, feeding her baby on demand, the mother is simply forced to find a common language with him. She quickly learns to understand the child and what he wants in a particular case. It gives mom more confidence.
Feeding by the clock forces the woman to wait for the end of the prescribed 3 hours. Sometimes she has to reassure the baby, who, as her mother thinks, already wants to eat. For this, a variety of measures are being taken - from swinging to nipples. However, the cause of this concern may not be hunger at all. Determining what’s the matter is sometimes quite difficult, which leads many mothers to choose breastfeeding on demand.
Breast rotation
The newborn during natural feeding is applied to the full mammary gland. After that, he begins to suck her. First, the front, the most liquid milk, enters his stomach. Drinking it is easy, and therefore the baby swallows soundly and quickly. Behind the "front" milk is the "back". It is more fat, and drinking it becomes difficult. At this point, active sucking stops, and some inexperienced mothers shift their offspring to another mammary gland. However, this should not be done. After all, the child will again receive low-calorie liquid milk and remain hungry.
How to alternate breasts during feeding? Everything is pretty simple. At each feeding, the baby should be applied to only one breast. The only exceptions are lactocrisis periods, which are characterized by less milk production. But in this case, the second breast can be given to the child only after he has sucked all the milk from the first.
Feeding poses
The proper organization of breastfeeding allows you to make the baby's nutrition process as enjoyable and hassle-free as possible. And one of the most important points that a woman should pay special attention to when setting up GV is her mastering a variety of feeding poses.
The ability to feed the baby in various positions helps the mother not to get tired with prolonged attachments of the baby, as well as to prevent the milk caps that may form in the breast.
- "In the cradle." This pose is the most versatile and most famous. It is perfect for feeding both a newborn baby and a baby who is already a year old. The baby must be placed in Mom’s arms, as if in a cradle. His head is placed on the elbow of one hand, and the second mother holds the back. The baby at the same time deployed to his mother’s tummy. His mouth is located opposite the nipple. Mom, depending on desire, can sit or stand.
- "Cross lullaby." This pose is a variation of the previous one. Its main difference is the additional support of the baby’s head with two palms. This pose is used when a woman needs to establish the necessary grip of the breast.
- "Out of hand." Such a posture is suitable for those women who after a cesarean section or natural birth can not sit. This method of feeding involves the mother in a reclining position. A woman, feeding a baby, rests on her forearm and thigh. At the same time, the baby lies on the pillow so that its body is perpendicular to the mother's. The chest from the baby is on top. Feeding when taking this pose is an excellent prevention of stagnation in the lateral and lower segments of the mammary glands.
- "Lying on the arm." This pose allows mom to relax her back and relax. A woman and a baby lie on their sides in such a way as to face each other. The baby’s head is on the mother’s hand.
- "Lying on the upper chest." This position is recommended to be taken if necessary, changing the mammary gland, without touching the child. In this case, the baby will need to be put on its side facing the mother. To change the breast, a woman can slightly raise the baby’s body with her hand and give him the upper chest.
- "On mom." A similar pose is often used in the first months of life crumbs. He is placed on his mother, and the head is slightly turned sideways. Such an arrangement will allow the baby not to be choked with trickles of milk and to stimulate his tummy to eliminate colic and gas.
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The breast during feeding can suddenly become ill already at the first feeding of the baby. Such unpleasant sensations arise due to the movements of small gums that affect the delicate and thin skin around the nipple. It is worth noting that such pains do not last long. Just a few days. However, they do not mean that mom has any health problems.
However, if time passes, and the breast during feeding still continues to hurt, and at the same time the skin of the nipple and around it has slightly changed color and is slightly swollen, then you need to see a doctor to find out the causes of such a pathology. And problems could appear due to:
- Incorrect attachment. Sometimes inexperienced mothers do not put a baby to their breasts in the wrong way. As a result of the capture of the nipple, called the "scissors", the mammary gland is pinched and hurts. A stream from it flows with great difficulty. As a result, the milk stagnates. Often this becomes the cause of lactostasis.
- Hot flashes of milk. A similar phenomenon is often accompanied by increasing chest pain. Such sensations are natural and do not indicate a worsening condition of a woman.
- Cracks and injuries on the nipples. With advanced inflammation, cracks often occur in this area. It is they that cause sharp pain while feeding the baby. In this case, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment of wounds on the nipples, which, in addition to pain, are dangerous because they are conductors of various infections.
- Vasospasm. Sometimes, after breastfeeding, there is a sharp, throbbing and burning pain, which is accompanied by blanching of the tissues. The nipple is hard. He reacts painfully to the slightest touch. All of these symptoms indicate breast vasospasm, manifested at the beginning of the hepatitis B period, as well as in the first weeks after the start of lactation. This problem can be eliminated by correcting the application of crumbs during feeding. In addition, nursing mothers should not be supercooling and hardening.
- Thrush. The reason breast pain occurs when feeding can occur due to the presence of Candida fungi. A similar pathology is recognized by light plaque that appeared in the nipple and in the crumbs mouth. In addition, while feeding and decanting, mom experiences pain, and the baby cries, is naughty and refuses to eat. To eliminate this phenomenon, you should consult a doctor.
- Lactostasis. Sometimes feeding a child turns into real flour. And the reason for this is lactostasis. This is a disease in which there is a blockage of the milk ducts. The mammary gland becomes dense, hard and hot, despite normal body temperature. How to overcome this ailment? The baby will help in this mom. It should be applied as often as possible to the breast, so that the crumb with its sucking helps to eliminate milk stagnation. To relieve pain, applying warm compresses to the chest is recommended.
Personal hygiene
The proper organization of breastfeeding will require its constant cleanliness and dryness. More recently, the medical staff of maternity hospitals recommended that every woman wash her mammary glands before applying her baby. Today, this rule is considered obsolete. Doctors specializing in breastfeeding claim that it is enough for mom to take a shower 1 or 2 times a day. After all, if the breast is washed frequently, and even with the use of soap, then the protective layer of fat containing special substances protecting the skin from microbes will be removed from the nipple and areola. In addition, a similar procedure can cause cracks in this area.
After taking a shower, the breasts need to be wet with a soft cloth. You can not rub the mammary glands with a towel in any case, since such actions will cause irritation of the nipples when feeding.
After the baby has eaten, it is advisable to lubricate the areola with droplets of “back” milk. The fact is that they have healing and protective properties, while protecting the skin from dryness. If necessary, mom can apply a special cream for cracks. It is applied in a thin layer immediately after feeding.
Mother's nutrition
In order for the baby to have enough milk, a woman should review her daily diet. Proper nutrition during breastfeeding includes products with proteins and fats, carbohydrates and vitamins that are so important to the body.
The quality of mother's milk is also the basis for the good health of the baby. Remember this is especially important in the first time after childbirth. After all, this is the period when it becomes difficult for a woman to organize proper nutrition for herself because of the amount of work that she has to perform and to which she has yet to adapt. The physiological state after childbirth makes itself felt during this period. But, despite all these factors, mom needs to establish a balanced diet for herself. After all, this will help her baby avoid such troubles as diarrhea and constipation, food allergies and intestinal colic, enriching the baby's nutrition with useful substances necessary for the development of his body.
In the first time after childbirth, in the menu of a nursing mother in large quantities should be baked or boiled vegetables and fruits. In cases where the child has constipation, you will need to avoid eating bakery products, especially fresh bread. In the diet of a nursing mother, there must be present first courses in the form of vegetable soups, as well as soups cooked on the second broth. It is extremely important for a woman during this period and a drinking regimen. In addition to combating constipation, fluid affects the amount of breast milk.
In order to recover faster after childbirth and raise the tone of the body, a young mother should eat foods that contain a large amount of B vitamins, as well as animal proteins.
Paying attention to nutrition is especially important in the first three to four months of a baby's life. During this period, a woman is not allowed to consume “food waste” filled with preservatives. This is a sausage made from meat of unknown origin, and mayonnaise, and purchased ketchup, and many other products. You can’t eat mommy, breastfeeding, cabbage, legumes and all that contains a lot of fiber. This contributes to the occurrence of fermentation processes in the intestines and causes colic in the baby.
All food that a nursing mother consumes must be pre-cooked. This will avoid the development of intestinal infections. Products located on her desk must be checked, and not bought from unknown grandmothers in the transition. You should also pay attention to the expiration dates of products, especially dairy.