How to Breastfeed your baby

 Do you know that during first 6 months from delivery doctor asked mother not to feed even water to their baby. The requirement of water is to be fulfilled by the breast milk. Breast milk as a whole contains everything that is required for the baby.

Becoming a mother is one of the beautiful experience in the life of women. During 9 month of pregnancy when the baby is in the womb of mother, there is a built up of emotional bonding between them. And after delivery when mother breastfeeds the baby for the first time this bond becomes much stronger. 

When it comes to nutrition breast milk is most important as it is a primary source of nutrients for the baby.

Many first time mothers do not have proper knowledge about the breastfeeding. So, to educate them Lifestyle has brought some points in this post.

#. Why to breastfeed?

It is observed that baby who breastfeed has proper overall development of their body. This is because each and every nutrients required for a baby is present in a breast milk.

Breastfeeding should be a painless procedure, so staying comfortable while breastfeeding your baby increases its benefits. It is also proved in research that breastfeeding helps to get rid of postpartem depression for mothers.

#. Benefits of breastfeeding

Some mothers get anxious for feeding her baby from her breast. So, sometime they opt for bottled milk instead of her breast milk. This is a bad and needs to be stopped because breast milk is like nectar for the baby. Breastfeeding for first 6 months after delivery is most.

Benefit of breast milk for the baby :-

• Breast milk contains ample of nutrients which is important to fight diseases for the baby.
• It contents proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral, water and enzyme which is important for proper growth and development of the baby.
• It helps to build up the immunity for the baby as it contents beta carotene, antibodies and WBC.
• It is found that child who has been breastfed for one year has less chance of obesity later on in their life.
• It makes baby much stronger.
• It also supplies anti-infectious protein which protects baby from infectious diseases.
• Breast milk is light on the gut of baby and is easily digested.
• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of high cholesterol and high BP in future.

Although breastfeeding has a long list of health benefits, it is found that only 40% of mothers breastfeed their baby for first 6 months which is surprising.

It's benefits are not just limited for the baby but even mother has lots of its benefit.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the mothers :-

• It helps to build up emotional connection between mother and child.
• Oxytocin which is responsible for milking also saves mother from mental health problem and stress.
• It also helps mother to come out from postpartem depression.
• It also decreases the risk of breast and ovary cancer in the mother.
• It also improves the sleep quality.
• It also increases the metabolism in mother's body.
• Some women think that breastfeeding will makes them gain weight but truth is exactly opposite, breastfeeding actually increases in the calorie requirement by about 500 calories which helps mother to lose weight instead of gaining it.

#. Comfortable positions for breastfeeding

When a woman delivers her first baby, she is a bit confused that how she can breastfeed her baby and which position will be most comfortable for both of them.

So let's find out here :-

1) Recline position

To feed a newborn baby reclined position is considered to be best. It is also one of the comfortable position to breastfeed.

Sit against the wall or sofa. You can use pillow or cushion in back for comfort. Then, take the baby from both hand and breastfeed by attaching the baby from your chest and abdomen.

In this position baby is very much close to the mother. So there is a buildup of emotional bonding between them.

2) Cradle hold 

This is the very common position for breastfeeding.

In this position baby is brought close to the breast with the support of hand. Head of baby supported by hand or pillow and fed.

3) Side-lying position

For about 6 month baby need to be fed every 2 - 3 hours. Sometime mother gets exhausted due to frequent breastfeeding. In this situation, side-lying position can become very comfortable especially breastfeeding during night.

In this position feeding is done by lying on the bed. Mother need to turn in one of the side in which she is comfortable. Mother and baby should face each other than baby should be fed.

It is also preferred position for mother with Caesarean delivery.

4) Upright breastfeeding position

In this position baby is made to sit facing the mother. Their back and head supported by the hand and made to feed.

This is the best position to feed a baby of 6 month to 2 year.

5) Laid-back position

In this position mother is to be laid in semirecline position in bed or sofa. A pillow or cushion is put at back for a support. Then baby is taken upon and fed.

It is also very comfortable for baby. It is recommended for baby of any age group. Mother need not to carry the baby all the time.

#. Precaution to be taken during breastfeeding

During her first child, women find challenging to breastfeed their baby. Because it is first time for mother and she is learning to do it in proper way. 

Do you know, breastfeeding is not only challenging for mother but for baby as well because like mother is learning, baby is also learning how to do it. 

In this case here are some precautions that should be taken by mother during breastfeeding :-

1) Don't let the baby sleep during breastfeeding - 

Sometime baby tend to sleep during breastfeeding. And if they do it, they tend to collect a lot of milk in their mouth which may block their throat leading to breathing problem. So it should be avoided.

2) Keep patience - 

When a baby is newly born, they take time to feed. Sometime they may even take 30 to 40 minutes for breastfeeding. In this case mother should not rush and patience should be kept.

3) Maintain breast hygiene - 

Especially during summer and autumn when we tend to sweat a lot, breast hygiene should be taken care of. Before breastfeeding clean the area properly to avoid transfer of any infection to the baby. You should wear a comfortable clothes before breastfeeding.

4) Don't prefer formula milk - 

In the case of nutrition breast milk is considered very much superior than any other milk. Breast milk contains antibodies and enzyme which formula milk lacks. Moreover it takes longer time to digest which is not good for a baby anyway. However, formula milk can be given as substitute only when mother can't breastfeed the baby with the consultation of doctor.

5) Work-baby balance -

Due to busy work schedule, sometimes mother finds difficult to set the coordination between work and taking care of baby. So some of the time she could not get time to breastfeed so she tend to choose formula milk when she is at work. 

In this case breast pump can come to rescue. You can pump the breast milk out and refrigerate it when you are at home which can be given to baby later on by other family member during work hours.

#. When you shouldn't breastfeed

There is no other milk in the world that can even come close to breast milk of mother for a baby because it is very important for baby's health. But there are some conditions in which mother cannot breastfeed their baby even if they want to do so.

1) HIV positive 

If mother is HIV positive then doctor do not advice her to breastfeed her baby. According to WHO, HIV can be transmitted through breast milk. During treatment of HIV, some medicine which is given to mother can have bad effect on the health of baby. So in this case formula milk can be given.

2) Cancer 

If mother has cancer and if she is on Chemo or Radiotherapy, she shouldn't be breastfeeding to avoid it's effect on baby.

3) Tuberculosis 

If mother is on medication of tuberculosis. Here, also it is not recommended to breastfeed her baby.

4) Herpes 

If mother had caught Herpes on her breast, then breastfeeding should be avoided at all cost. Because it may transfer to baby which may be fatal for them.

5) If mother is Drug or Alcohol addict.

6) If mother is ill and is on medication, she should consult the doctor before breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is one of the purest thing in this world. So, we want to help new mothers to make this journey smoother and comfortable for them.

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