My Fleep:
Family & Parenting
Family & Parenting
The Facts on Breastfeeding
Are you one of the increasing numbers of women experiencing
unbearable nipple pain because of breastfeeding?
Did you know that 83% of new mothers experience varying
degrees of nipple pain and trauma as well as other
lactation problems?
So, don't worry, you are not alone. These problems are
thought to be due to the teaching of incorrect
breastfeeding methods.
Basically, current teaching involves the mother or others
thrusting the baby onto her breast and this is completely
unnatural, resulting in the baby being rammed to the breast
by the base of the head, neck or shoulder, preventing the
baby from vacuuming correctly and causing the nipple to be
crushed between baby's tongue and the hard palate.
This is not the mother's fault. It seems that, for all its
good intentions, our modern approach has overcomplicated
the breastfeeding process and unnecessarily interfered with
what should be for most mothers and babies a relatively
simple and completely instinctual process. To ‘unlearn'
this unnatural method, especially with the first and early
breastfeeds after birthing, it is suggested that mothers
need to first understand a few key points about their
newborn. Remember, healthy babies are not as helpless as
you may think – they are programmed to survive. They are
already skilled at drinking the surrounding water before
birth
Within minutes of birth the healthy newborn instinctively
seeks, attaches and vacuums to the mother's nipple and
breast in a natural, harmonious way which allows it to
leisurely draw colostrum – the first, super-concentrated
form of milk that mothers produce. The act of
breastfeeding, when done correctly, is also critical in
stimulating maternal hormones and milk volume over those
vital first 72 hours.
It never ceases to amaze me as I watch a newborn's survival
instincts in action – minutes after birth, if gently placed
skin-to-skin with the mother, facing the breast, the baby's
‘rooting reflex' will kick in. This is where they use their
senses - smell, taste, sight and touch – in order to locate
the nipple. The baby will eventually draw the breast and
nipple comfortably into their mouth, perfectly and gently
molding the nipple and breast tissue inside the oral cavity.
When a mother is focused on her baby, the "love" hormones
present just after birth are primed, and without
interruption the mother gently guides her baby so that
nose, cheeks and chin touch her breast symmetrically.
Once the baby is swallowing symmetry can be fine tuned by
slight, gentle movements, improving extension of the
tongue, preventing gums pinching and painful ridging of the
nipple.
Given that it sounds so simple, you might wonder why you
weren't told this beforehand. This has to do with our
modern tendency to overcomplicate many natural life events.
Western expertise assumes that newborns do not know how to
feed, whereas in fact they have a pre-programmed instinct
for it. Your baby already understands what it has to do to
feed and the mother's role is simply to gently guide the
baby into the right comfortable position for easy access.
Natural breastfeeding allows evolved behaviors to have
their play. The baby draws intermittently, swallowing in
harmony with the pulsating ejections, taking in breast milk
until they reach satisfaction. The baby will then generally
stay nurtured in its mother's arms for a while until the
important emotional and psychological part of the feed is
completed.
The baby always knows how long to feed for satisfaction and
emotion. Therefore, timing feeds interrupts this cycle. As
a guide it is suggested that the young baby takes
approximately one hour, including a rest in between each
breast for digestion and a nappy/diaper change.
The very first feed may take up to three hours changing
from breast to breast until satisfaction with small amounts
of colostrum is achieved.
Basically a baby feeds from the first breast until relaxed
and sleepy, and then continues nurturing until slipping
off. Afterwards the baby rests and digests, lying stretched
out, slightly inclined, in order to help with self burping
and the transfer of pre-digested milk into the intestine.
When ready for the second breast, the baby communicates
with its arms and legs, and rooting begins again until the
baby increasingly vocalizes. The feed continues from the
second breast until the baby is relaxed and comes off again.
It's wise to hold the baby upright for a while until the
stomach has time to settle. By this stage pre-digested milk
from the first breast has transferred to the intestine,
allowing milk from the second breast to refill the stomach.
Time and patience minimize gastro-intestinal problems like
reflux and colic, which encourages relaxed and healthy
sleeping.
Healthy mothers and infants should be able to breastfeed in
an essentially painless and low fuss way. Nipple damage,
she says, should not be the norm, but a rarity. So relax
all you frustrated mothers – there is an alternative to the
pain and anguish of incorrect breastfeeding methods.
----------------------------------------------------
For more information on Robyn’s incredible breastfeeding
breakthroughs, and a host of breastfeeding tips, visit
http://www.benefitofbreastfeeding.com/a1.html . For a
limited time Robyn is offering a free ebook, ’20 tips to
pain-free breastfeeding’. You can also find out more about
her instructional breastfeeding video
Are you one of the increasing numbers of women experiencing
unbearable nipple pain because of breastfeeding?
Did you know that 83% of new mothers experience varying
degrees of nipple pain and trauma as well as other
lactation problems?
So, don't worry, you are not alone. These problems are
thought to be due to the teaching of incorrect
breastfeeding methods.
Basically, current teaching involves the mother or others
thrusting the baby onto her breast and this is completely
unnatural, resulting in the baby being rammed to the breast
by the base of the head, neck or shoulder, preventing the
baby from vacuuming correctly and causing the nipple to be
crushed between baby's tongue and the hard palate.
This is not the mother's fault. It seems that, for all its
good intentions, our modern approach has overcomplicated
the breastfeeding process and unnecessarily interfered with
what should be for most mothers and babies a relatively
simple and completely instinctual process. To ‘unlearn'
this unnatural method, especially with the first and early
breastfeeds after birthing, it is suggested that mothers
need to first understand a few key points about their
newborn. Remember, healthy babies are not as helpless as
you may think – they are programmed to survive. They are
already skilled at drinking the surrounding water before
birth
Within minutes of birth the healthy newborn instinctively
seeks, attaches and vacuums to the mother's nipple and
breast in a natural, harmonious way which allows it to
leisurely draw colostrum – the first, super-concentrated
form of milk that mothers produce. The act of
breastfeeding, when done correctly, is also critical in
stimulating maternal hormones and milk volume over those
vital first 72 hours.
It never ceases to amaze me as I watch a newborn's survival
instincts in action – minutes after birth, if gently placed
skin-to-skin with the mother, facing the breast, the baby's
‘rooting reflex' will kick in. This is where they use their
senses - smell, taste, sight and touch – in order to locate
the nipple. The baby will eventually draw the breast and
nipple comfortably into their mouth, perfectly and gently
molding the nipple and breast tissue inside the oral cavity.
When a mother is focused on her baby, the "love" hormones
present just after birth are primed, and without
interruption the mother gently guides her baby so that
nose, cheeks and chin touch her breast symmetrically.
Once the baby is swallowing symmetry can be fine tuned by
slight, gentle movements, improving extension of the
tongue, preventing gums pinching and painful ridging of the
nipple.
Given that it sounds so simple, you might wonder why you
weren't told this beforehand. This has to do with our
modern tendency to overcomplicate many natural life events.
Western expertise assumes that newborns do not know how to
feed, whereas in fact they have a pre-programmed instinct
for it. Your baby already understands what it has to do to
feed and the mother's role is simply to gently guide the
baby into the right comfortable position for easy access.
Natural breastfeeding allows evolved behaviors to have
their play. The baby draws intermittently, swallowing in
harmony with the pulsating ejections, taking in breast milk
until they reach satisfaction. The baby will then generally
stay nurtured in its mother's arms for a while until the
important emotional and psychological part of the feed is
completed.
The baby always knows how long to feed for satisfaction and
emotion. Therefore, timing feeds interrupts this cycle. As
a guide it is suggested that the young baby takes
approximately one hour, including a rest in between each
breast for digestion and a nappy/diaper change.
The very first feed may take up to three hours changing
from breast to breast until satisfaction with small amounts
of colostrum is achieved.
Basically a baby feeds from the first breast until relaxed
and sleepy, and then continues nurturing until slipping
off. Afterwards the baby rests and digests, lying stretched
out, slightly inclined, in order to help with self burping
and the transfer of pre-digested milk into the intestine.
When ready for the second breast, the baby communicates
with its arms and legs, and rooting begins again until the
baby increasingly vocalizes. The feed continues from the
second breast until the baby is relaxed and comes off again.
It's wise to hold the baby upright for a while until the
stomach has time to settle. By this stage pre-digested milk
from the first breast has transferred to the intestine,
allowing milk from the second breast to refill the stomach.
Time and patience minimize gastro-intestinal problems like
reflux and colic, which encourages relaxed and healthy
sleeping.
Healthy mothers and infants should be able to breastfeed in
an essentially painless and low fuss way. Nipple damage,
she says, should not be the norm, but a rarity. So relax
all you frustrated mothers – there is an alternative to the
pain and anguish of incorrect breastfeeding methods.
----------------------------------------------------
For more information on Robyn’s incredible breastfeeding
breakthroughs, and a host of breastfeeding tips, visit
http://www.benefitofbreastfeeding.com/a1.html . For a
limited time Robyn is offering a free ebook, ’20 tips to
pain-free breastfeeding’. You can also find out more about
her instructional breastfeeding video