Seven Early breastfeeding Tips for a New Mom
Saturday, 6. March 2010
Is it your first time to be a mother? May be you find it difficult to breastfeed your baby. You may not know exactly what to do or how to do it correctly. Breastfeeding is neither too easy nor too hard. It is an integral part of a new mother’s life. Not only is mother’s milk almost indispensable for a baby’s development of every organ, but breastfeeding also calms and gets the baby to settle down. Well, nursing your baby will gives you more advantage as I mention in my web page, and here are some tips to help you start to nurse your baby.
* Start Early – Nowadays the WHO has recommended doing the Early Initiation of Breastfeeding. Early initiation seems to improve the success and minimize the difficulties in breastfeeding. It is good to begin breastfeeding within an hour after birth if possible, when the baby is alert and the instinct to suck is strong. Although you will not yet be producing milk, your breasts contain colostrum, a thin milky fluid that contains important
antibodies to disease.
* Feed Frequently – Your baby may give you signs to tell you that he/she is hungry. Your baby may be cry, or may express differently in the face. You may hear sucking sounds or lip movements. You may see rapid eye movement or restlessness during light naps. Keep an eye of these signs. You should try breastfeeding your baby at least every two to three hours. This will help to keep your breasts soft and lessen or even prevent engorgement.
* Good Positioning – Having the right positioning for breastfeeding will give you more advantages. It will help reducing your nipple soreness. It also help your to shorten the duration of nursing because your baby feels full/satisfied. Use you hand to support the baby’s neck. The baby’s mouth should be open wide with the lips puckered out like “fish lips”, not folded in. The nipple should go back as far into his or her mouth as possible. Your baby should suck your areola, not just the nipple. You probably need to ask to health professions or experienced women to get this good positioning.
* Nipple Care – When you first begin breastfeeding your nipples may become very sore. After each breastfeeding session rub a small amount of breast milk on and around each nipple and allow it to air dry. This will help to prevent cracking which can lead to infection. In cases where your nipples do crack, coat them with breast milk, vitamin E oil, or lanolin to help them heal. Be aware that some babies may have an allergic reaction to certain moisturizing agents. Proper positioning while breastfeeding is very important to avoid sore nipples.
* Look Out for Breast Infection – If you experience a fever or painful lumps and redness in your breasts,you should seek medical attention immediately.
* Postpone Using Artificial Nipples – If you want to succeed in breastfeeding your baby, avoid introducing pacifiers or other artificial nipples too early. An artificial nipple requires a different sucking action than the real one and it can make the baby confused.
*No Other Food – don’t give you baby sugar water or formula milk. Neither of these comes close to comparing with the nutritional complexity of your breast milk, and they may interfere with the baby’s appetite for breast milk and lead to a diminished milk supply. Breastfeeding your baby more often will in turn cause you to produce more milk.
* Engorgement – When you first begin breastfeeding, you will be producing a lot of milk, which can make you breasts big, hard, and painful. You can help to ease this engorgement by breastfeeding frequently until your body adjusts to produce only as
much as the baby needs. While your body adjusts, you can help to relieve the pain by applying warm, wet compresses or taking warm baths. Some over-the-counter pain relievers will help, but consult your doctor before taking any sort of drug, since it may be
passed through your milk to the baby.
* Stay Healthy – A mother who is breastfeeding needs to eat a healthy diet in order to produce enough good milk. You should try and get an extra 500 calories a day, drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluids, and avoid drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and smoke. You should also rest as much as possible while breastfeeding, since breast infections are aggravated by fatigue.