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Benifits Breast-feeding
Successful nourishment of the newly born baby aids his healthy growth and development and provides contentment to both mother and baby.
benifits Breast-feeding is a wonderful is a wonderful experience for both mother and baby but it is not by any means the only wonderful experience, and just as good a relation can be established with a bottle-fed baby. If a mother is worried about any of the difficulties in breast-feeding, she will be tense and this will be communicated to the baby so that the difficulties are increased. If the mother’s milk supply is inadequate, feeding the baby may be more difficult than simply settings for the bottle. If there are any difficulties, she should consult her doctor.
By nature’s design, breast-feeding is the best possible way of meeting your infant’s nutritional needs. At the same time, it provides a warm, intimate relationship between you and your child, which is quite important for his healthy psychological growth. Breast milk is the ideal food for infants. It contains all the nutrients, a normal child needs to develop and thrive.
1) Benefits to your baby
Besides offering your infant a natural complete diet, breast milk also provides a number of other important benefits. Some important benefits are stated below.
- Its proper balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals permits easier digestion with fewer intestinal problems such as diarrhea or constipation.
- Breast-fed babies are less likely to become overweight.
- There is also less chance that your breast-fed infant will suffer from excessive water loss or other related disorders.
- Breast-fed infants are less likely to experience allergic reactions or bacterial infections.
- Breast-milk provides the new-born with many natural immunities, because important antibodies are transmitted from mother to child through the milk.
- Breast-feeding also affords psychological benefits to the baby by allowing him to experience the close. Physical warmth of this mother’s body, to take pleasure in the sound of her voice and the sight of her face and at the same time, to satisfy his sucking needs.
2) Benefits to you
- As a breast-feeding mother, you too will benefit by sharing a unique and satisfying relationship with your infant.
- The physical act of your baby’s sucking will relieve the discomfort of your full breasts.
- Breast-feeding also helps you regain your figure more quickly, while permitting your uterus to return more rapidly to its normal non-pregnant stage.
3) Essentials of breast-feeding
Because breast feeding (benifits Breast-feeding) is the preferred feeding for new-borns, you should talk to your doctor early during pregnancy so that you can develop a comfortable attitude towards it and prepare yourself physically for missing. You should discuss your decision with your husband, who can lend his full support and involvement to your efforts.
For the mother who is breast-feeding, Cleanliness is the first essential. You must make proper care of your breast and nipples both during and after pregnancy. During the final weeks of pregnancy, you can begin to prepare your nipples for nursing by rubbing them once or twice a day with quick, gentle strokes using a towel or washcloth. Another helpful exercise involves rolling the nipple between your thumb and forefinger a few minutes each day. To prevent any unnecessary drying of the nipples, you should avoid soaping them while bathing. Instead, allow clear water to run them freely.
In order to breast-feed successfully, you should eat correctly. A well balanced diet during your pregnancy, and especially while nursing, is important in order to supply an adequate amount of high-quality milk.
Liquids such as water and juices are important for adequate milk production.
Unless prescribed by your doctor, drugs of any kind should not be taken during your pregnancy, especially while breast-feeding, since they can be transmitted to your baby through the milk. You should also avoid alcohol and cigarettes during this periods.
4) How to Breast Feed
The baby obtains milk from the breast on sucking and this experience ought to be a pleasure as well as a necessity for him and the mother. Both should be relaxed and comfortable. The baby must not be tightly wrapped in clothing. Let his hands be free to touch the breast if he wants to. The baby may require a few moments to waken up before being put to the breasts, and this is an ideal time for a little love and play.
During the first few weeks, you may find it comfortable to nurse while lying on your side with your baby resting on your arm. Later, however, you may prefer to breast-feed while sitting in a low easy chair with a pillow behind your back and your feet raised on a footstool.
You should keep your nipple as clean as possible. This can be accomplished by dabbing them with cotton dipped in previously boiled water. Babies instinctively know how to suck, however, they may have difficulty finding the nipple at first. Perhaps the easiest method to use is to hold the baby so that his cheek rests on your breast. You can then guide the nipple into his mouth, making sure that his lips are separated far enough so that he is sucking on the entire darkened area of the breast (the areola) and not just the nipple (refer to the figure that follows)
By pressing the areola, you can stimulate your milk secretion and its release.
During the first few days of nursing, a yellowish fluid called colostrum is released from the breast. Colostrum is an important source of antibodies that help protect your baby against various diseases until he begins to develop his own antibodies. Colostrum is replaced gradually by whiter breast milk within the first few days of nursing.
Your Baby will obtain most of his milk during the first few minutes of nursing but may continue to suck for an additional time. Start the baby nursing on one breast and after he has finished his most vigorous sucking, switch him to the other one for the last few minutes of feeding. Then, at your next nursing session, start him on the breast he nursed from last, let him again nurse vigorously and then once more let him finish on the other side. In this way, he will receive approximately equal amounts of milk from each breast during the course of a day, and you will avoid any possible sensation of over fullness in either of your breasts.
To break the baby’s suction on your breast, you can insert a finger into the corner of his mouth or gently push down on his chin with your thumb or forefinger. Your baby usually will decided for himself when he has had enough and will release your nipple.
Your baby’s nursing stimulates your breast to produce more milk. Relax and enjoy your feeding sessions, a tension or anxiety can only serve to inhibit the natural let-down reflex that makes your milk flow.
5) Time and length of feeding
It is important to try to avoid sore or cracked nipples. It used to be thought that strictly limiting the time the baby spends on the breast will avoid this but this is not strictly true. It is essential to encourage the baby to suck on the breast in order to stimulate location-but prolonged sucking on a breast not yet producing milk will give rise to sore and cracked nipples.
The baby will get all the colostrum he needs in 5- 10 minutes. There are no hard and fast rules as to how long, how often and how vigorously the baby sucks on the breast and you must take the advice of your doctor. Remember that breast-feeding is an individual relationship between you and your baby although it may need much encouragement and support to establish this relationship.
Ten minutes at each breast is the maximum time allowed when full feeding is established? A hungry baby empties the breast in less time and as he takes nearly two-thirds of his feed in the first 5 minutes, he should be put to alternate breast at the start of each feed.
Some mothers may wish to demand-feed their babies, and providing this is carried out in a sensible fashion there is nothing wrong with it, and it gradually resolves into a regular feeding routine that is acceptable to mother, baby and the rest of the family. It is often more relaxing and successful than sticking to a rigid timetable.
6) Breaking the wind
Most babies bring up wind once during the feed, usually when they are being changed from one breast to the other. To ‘wind’ the baby, he is held upright against the left chest and his back gently patted or rubbed. This slight movement releases the air in his stomach. A muslin or cotton cloth should be strategically placed to prevent soiling of your clothes whilst your baby is being winded. He should be winded again at the end of the feed. If the baby is laid in his cot without first bringing up wind, he will pass into his intestine and cause colicky pain.
7) Complete emptying of the breasts
The breasts should be completely empty after feeding and until breast feeding is fully established, they should be expressed after each feed, thus stimulating lactation and avoiding engorgement. A few minutes spent expressing milk after feeds can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful lactation, and the art is quickly learned.
8) Difficulties in breast-feeding
Engorged breasts: if the breast are not prepared for feeding, they commonly become heavy and hard on the 3rd and 4th day of the puerperium. This is painful and should be treated by.
- Bathing the breasts in warm water before feeds and gently stroking the breasts firmly towards the nipple for a few minutes.
- Expressing some putting the baby to the breasts for a few minutes and then expressing the remaining milk.
- Applying cream or ointment to the nipples and wearing a firm supporting brassiere.
Cracked Nipples: If cracked nipples are treated at once, they will heal rapidly. The baby should be taken off the breast for 24 hours if the nipple is tender and 48-72 hours if cracked.
The milk should be expressed from the breast manually or by breast pump. Ointments soothe the nipple but must be applied very sparingly.
9) Myths Related to breast feeding
No. 1: Breast-feeding affects the mother’s figure.
Reply: Having a baby itself has some effect on the breast outline. Breast feeding as such has no adverse effect. Wearing a good brassiere is more important than anything else. Exercises to improve posture or strengthen the muscles of the arms help the appearance of the breast outline to a great extent.
No. 2: Mother’s milk does not agree with the baby.
Reply: This is a misconception and is entertained especially in cases where the baby falls ill frequently, or suffers from diarrhoea. The fact is that mother’s milk is the best and most nutritious food for a baby. Thus discontinuing of mother’s milk just because the baby suffers from diarrhoea would be potentially disadvantageous for the baby.
No. 3: the mother will not conceive so long as she continues to breast-feed the baby.
Reply: This belief has a certain basis in fact. But at the same time, it cannot be said to be true in each case. It is thus advisable to adopt a convenient method of contraception in consultation with a doctor.
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