Breastfeeding. Overview.

After childbirth, everything may seem to faze you.

While you are healing from the pains of delivery, you are getting to know your baby. Life becomes bewildering as you experience repeated baby blues with increased discharge of milk from your mammary glands – especially in the first two to five days of delivery.

More so, there is a general consensus that you have to be a ‘supermom’, regardless of the pressure. Nevertheless, one of the things that qualify you as a supermom is to spend time with your baby during breastfeeding.

The Right Times To Breastfeed Your Baby

The first hour after birth is the best time to breastfeed your baby.

The initial step of breastfeeding is latching-on. It is the stage when your baby starts to suck on your breasts in a rhythmical fashion.

As soon as your newborn switches on the breast cells, milk moves through the mammary gland. It is called the ‘magic hour’ for a reason.

The ideal position for your baby is broadening your chest to ease her access to your mammary gland.

Whether she wants to feed or not, allow her some time to decide. According to accredited lactation consultants, this is the best method. (1)

Following the ‘breast crawl’ mechanism, you have to support her body and help her make her way to the organ and latch on it. In a case where your baby fails to attach, beckon on the healthcare consultants within your environment to assist with positioning her.

A good way to start such baby-led attachment is by partially reclining your body in a breastfeeding position.

For this reason, do not perform both dressing and weighing within the first hour of delivery until your baby is breastfed. Spend quality time cuddling with your naked baby, enjoying the skin-to-skin contact with her until the ‘love hormone’ – oxytocin – begins to flow in mother and child enough to facilitate the release of colostrums – the first milk. (2)

The usual practice of midwives is to allow the family, comprising the father, mother, and newborn, to bond passionately.

Even though it may be messy, you will enjoy the rush of emotions and bliss that come with it. On average, your baby may end up feeding twice within the hour.

Interestingly, breastfeeding time is so sacrosanct that it helps you recover from childbirth as she breastfeeds.

The reason? Your uterus contracts as oxytocin are distributed in your system. In the first few hours of feeding, the blood flow reduces and the placenta is naturally expelled.

Other Cases Different From Natural Birth That You Must Know

If you had complications during childbirth such as a Caesarian section, you may yet have ample skin-to-skin time to breastfeed your baby. In extreme cases where you cannot manage to hold your baby, your partner may come to the rescue.

Until you are ready to provide warmth and comfort for her, your partner should suffice.

Sometimes, babies find it difficult to breastfeed. In that case, make sure you start the expression of milk at an early stage.

Even though breastfeeding gives both mom and child a great start, it may be necessary but inessential.

Your focus should be on the initiation of the supply of milk so that the process of breastfeeding becomes easier with time.

To initiate a milk supply, you can use the breast pump in the hospital or use your hand to express the milk.

After collecting a good amount of colostrum, you may feed your baby. Colostrum is very important for preterm or premature babies as the breast milk comprises immense health benefits.(3)

Hence, do not feel uneasy when you have complications during your delivery. Medical complications are barely sufficient to eliminate feeding.

In a matter of time, such newborns manage the milk supply until they can adjust to the normal feeding mechanism (from the breast).

Knowing Whether Your Baby is Latching on in The Appropriate Manner

A crucial factor in breastfeeding is a good attachment as her latch affects the rate at which she sucks the breast – which later affects her growth and development.

Do your nipples feel sore and painful at intervals? If so, it is due to the poor latch of your newborn. (4)

However, never hesitate to inform the healthcare professional to confirm your baby’s attachment.

No matter how insignificant it seems, always call their attention to the latch until are told that it is fine.

I recall the case of a particular mother of two, Ariella. After childbirth, she experienced a number of complications.

The nurses feared she would be unable to feed her baby. Lo and behold, she managed the situation.

Surprisingly, she enjoyed ample skin-to-skin contact with her newborn as she fed. But then, she noticed a little ache whenever the baby latched on her breast. She always beckoned to the health practitioners to fix her baby before ‘breast time’.

As the baby latches on, lower the nipple towards her mouth (focusing on the roof). This action helps the baby latch on to some parts of the areola and the nipple itself.

Simply put, she draws in some breast tissue as well as milk as she feeds, facilitating growth and development.

If you feel a peculiar pain when you breastfeed your baby, something is wrong. The right feeling is a tugging sensation as she sucks.

Once your baby is ready to suckle, she will open her mouth. To confirm this, check out if her bottom lip flangs outwards.

Then, the top lip brushes softly against your breast.(5)From her body language, you will know whether she is comfortable or not.

At this early stage, the volume of milk will be in small amounts. Therefore, you won’t notice adequate swallowing even when she feeds and sucks severally.

Feeding Intervals For Newborns

Now, you are curious about the frequency of feeding probably because you seem to have a hard time adjusting to her dynamic routines.

You must know that the duration and frequency vary. Feeding intervals vary from child to child within the first few hours. But you should hope that your baby is the type who breastfeeds optimally.

Without a doubt, birth is absolutely tiring – while some babies feed at frequent intervals, others go into long hours of sleep. Do not be surprised if you find it difficult to adjust to the intensity of variation; this is very normal as you aren’t a robot.

Also, you will get various advice from different people but you must know that each baby and mother is separate entities and individuals.

Colostrum is discharged in small amounts and is enriched with goodness. The only difference between colostrum and breast milk is thickness and maturity. (6)

The more your baby drinks your colostrum, the better she gets at breathing, swallowing, and sucking before the arrival of breast milk itself.

On the arrival of breast milk (about two to four days), you may have to nurse her for about 12 times in days and nights.

Early feeds require an average of 45 minutes to 60 minutes – the length of time is because your baby’s coordination and muscles are getting ready for efficient sucking.

In the beginning, most moms are shocked at the intensity of sucking. Sometimes, it may be hard to go to the restroom, have a quick bath, or feed.

Shocking as it may sound, this is often the reality. For instance, a certain baby may suck for every 120 minutes – both day and night – and each feeding may last about 30 minutes to an hour. Exhaustion is easy, be warned.

Is There a Need For a Feeding Schedule?

Fortunately, feeding your infant initiates the supply of milk as it builds the vessels. This means that you will make more milk as your newborn sucks.

Hence, there is little need to plan a feeding schedule so that you are not at risk of reducing feeding opportunities.

Some hunger cues you will notice in your newborn should prompt you to concentrate on the feeding process. A few examples are:

Crying	Stirring with intent
Becoming grizzly	Sucking the lips
Forming cooing noises	Continuous attempt to eat her hands
Opening her eyes consistently	Turning her head continuously
Poking out her tongue	Whining

A late sign of hunger in your newborn is crying. This classic example is a subtle reminder that you should offer her breasts.

The moment your baby begins to cry, it may be difficult to pacify her, particularly at the stage where both of you are still learning. As the newborn matures, her feeding time and frequency reduces. At this point, the act of breastfeeding should be easier for both of you.

Does Breastfeeding Hurt?

Ever heard that breastfeeding is simple and without pain?

On the contrary, the outcome may shock you as the first few days of feeding are both uncomfortable and difficult.

The reason, in most cases, is that your breasts and nipples have probably never experienced such frequent and intensive sucking.

While you ease your way into breastfeeding, the first 24 hours may be uncomfortable for the newborn and for you.

Describe your experience the first time you tried to wear a pair of new but stiff shoes. Painful? Achy?

These adjectives are exactly similar to the type of feeling you get when your baby latches wrongly on the breasts. You may damage your nipples like your feet in the stiff shoes.

Prevention, as said, is better than cure or treatment. If you experience severe pains during breastfeeding, consult a consultant in breastfeeding and lactation as long as the pain doesn’t subside in a few days.

According to a mother in Canada, she said her son’s latch seemed exceptional but she felt hurt and damaged as he fed on.

Eventually, the experts found out that the culprit was a tongue tie. To rectify the anomaly, she was diagnosed by the community’s breastfeeding clinic.

Similarly, the first feeding is characterized by cramps (like periods) or afterpains especially in cases where it is your first birth.

Whenever the body distributes oxytocin, it results in the contraction of the womb. The afterpain kicks in when the womb is about to return to the normal size.

As milk fills your mammary gland, the breasts assume fullness and firmness which make the breast look larger than its normal size.

Meanwhile, some women experience ‘engorgement’ – a condition that describes hard, swelling, and tenderness of the breasts.(7)

You may reduce the pressure from such pains as the baby sucks on your breasts.

What is The Frequency at Which The Newborn Expels Wastes?

What goes up also comes down, and colostrum is not left out. As mentioned earlier, the colostrum has many benefits part of which is to ‘act as a laxative’.

As a laxative, it forces the baby to expel ‘meconium’ – her first poo. Don’t be surprised that the poo may be tarry and sticky.

After a while, her body will adjust and subsequent expulsions will be of a sweet and inoffensive nature.

From the table below, you will find the number, frequency, and appearance of dirty nappies of your newborn.

Day One	Number Color Texture	1 or more Greenish black Sticky and tarry
Day Two	Number Color Texture	2 or more Dark greenish brown Less sticky
Day Three	Number Color Texture	2 or more Greenish brown to brownish-yellow No longer sticky
Day Four	Number Color Texture	2 or more Yellow at the end of day four Seedy – similar to American mustard with whole grains. Also, loose and watery

As for the baby’s wee, the usual color is pale yellow.(17 )On average, a newborn pees once in a day.

But from the third day, she should have between three and five wet diapers in a day. If you pay close attention, the diapers will grow heavier every day.

What is The Quantity of Breast Milk That Your Baby Should Get?

Have often do you think about the quantity of breast milk that your newborn should have?

Yes, you produce minimal quantities of milk but the mammary gland works in a way that it produces the right amount of the milk that the baby needs.

To keep track of the breastfeeding routine, check the number of wet and dirty diapers she produces by following the table above. In case the pattern is different from the above, talk to a medical expert.

Usually, babies feed and sleep in the first four weeks of breastfeeding. In extreme cases where the baby is never satisfied, it may be the right time to speak to a medical expert.

Word From Us

In the absence of these signs, your baby may be meeting the targets for growth and maybe consuming sufficient milk that she needs for growth. With time, the mother and child will get used to the breastfeeding routine and ease into a more predictable fashion.

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