Breast-​Feeding Basics

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN NIGERIA

If you, like many mothers, have decided to breast-​feed your baby, you have chosen to make use of a provision lovingly made by the Creator of humankind. The milk your own body produces will meet the exact nutritional needs of your baby, promoting healthy growth and development. It will also help protect your baby against common diseases. With good reason WHO (World Health Organization) states: “[Breast milk] is the best food a child will ever have. All substitutes, including cow’s milk, milk-​powder solutions, and cereal gruels, are inferior.”

Breast-​feeding brings benefits to you too. There are no bottles to wash or sterilize and no trips to the kitchen in the middle of the night to prepare a meal for your baby. Breast-​feeding will also benefit you physically, since it will help you lose the weight you gained during pregnancy and will help your uterus return to its normal size. And studies suggest that women who breast-​feed their children are less likely to develop breast cancer.

“Virtually every mother can breast-​feed her baby,” assures the United Nations Children’s Fund. So likely you can too. You may discover, however, that breast-​feeding is not as easy as you expected, especially if you are trying to do it for the first time. This is because breast-​feeding, while natural, is not instinctive; it is a skill that you must learn. You may find that it takes you and your baby several days or even a few weeks to establish a comfortable and enjoyable routine.

Before Baby Arrives

If you have not successfully breast-​fed a child before, talk to mothers who have. They can help you avoid or overcome problems. They can also help build your confidence in your ability to breast-​feed your baby effectively.

During pregnancy and afterward, it is important that you get enough rest. In addition, make sure you eat sufficient food. Breastfeeding, a WHO publication, states: “Poor nutrition before or during pregnancy can be the cause of poor growth of the baby in the uterus. It can also mean that the mother is unable to store enough fat to produce sufficient milk later. The mother therefore needs, throughout the pregnancy and breastfeeding period, to eat a balanced diet based on a variety of foods.”

Care of the breasts is also important. During the final months of pregnancy, rinse your breasts when bathing, but do not apply soap. Glands in the areola (the dark area around the nipples) secrete an antibacterial lubricant that keeps the nipples moist and guards against infection. Soap can dry the nipples and remove or neutralize the lubricant. If your breasts become dry or itchy, you may want to apply a soothing cream or lotion. But avoid getting it on the nipples or the areolae.

Doctors once recommended that mothers “toughen” their nipples during pregnancy by briskly rubbing them. Although this was supposed to prevent nipple soreness during nursing, studies show that such exercises do little good. Soreness usually results from incorrectly positioning the nursing baby at the breast.

Breast size and shape are not factors in successful nursing, but a baby cannot latch on to an inverted or flat nipple. You can test yourself by gently squeezing just behind each nipple with your thumb and forefinger to make sure the nipples extend outward. If they do not, talk with your doctor. He may recommend a breast shell, a simple device worn during pregnancy or between feedings. Shells often improve the shape of flat or inverted nipples.

The Early Days

It is good for you to begin to breast-​feed your baby within an hour after giving birth. Some might think that immediately after all the work of giving birth, both mother and baby would be too tired to greet each other. But mother usually brightens for the occasion, and baby, after taking a few minutes to adjust to life outside the womb, eagerly seeks the comfort of the breast.

New mothers can provide their newborn with a yellowish or clear substance called colostrum. This “liquid gold” is extremely beneficial for the baby. It contains components that fight harmful bacteria. It is also rich in protein and low in sugar and fat, making it the ideal food during the first few days of life. Unless there is some medical problem, the baby will require no other food or drink. Supplementary bottle-​feeding can discourage a baby from feeding at the breast, since less effort is required to suck from a bottle.

Mothers generally begin to produce milk without colostrum from two to five days after giving birth. The increased flow of blood to the breasts at this time may enlarge your breasts and make them tender. This is normal. Nursing will usually alleviate the discomfort. Sometimes, though, swollen breasts will cause the nipples to flatten. Since this makes it difficult for the baby to suck, you may have to release some milk manually. You can do this by using both hands to massage each breast, starting from its base and working toward the nipple.

You cannot measure how much milk your baby takes from the breast, but do not worry​—your body is equipped to supply all that baby requires, even if baby is twins! The more you nurse, the more milk you will produce. This is one reason why you should not supplement breast milk with other bottle-​fed drinks, such as milk-​powder solutions or cow’s milk. If you do, your baby will take less from you. This, in turn, means you will produce less milk.

“Full-​term normal babies are not nearly as helpless at birth as has been thought and they can organise their own meals to suit themselves and their mother’s bodies, if only other people will let them do it,” writes Gabrielle Palmer in The Politics of Breastfeeding. The guiding principle is that of supply and demand​—when your baby demands food (usually by crying), you supply. Initially, demands will come every two or three hours. You should allow your baby to nurse at both breasts each time he nurses. Most babies take from 20 to 40 minutes to complete a feeding, though some babies like to dine at their leisure, with pauses. Such slowpokes may take up to 60 minutes to finish their meal. Generally, your baby is getting enough to eat if he nurses at least eight times in 24 hours, if you can hear him swallowing, and if he has eight or more wet diapers a day after the fifth day.

A most important skill you need to master in breast-​feeding is how to hold your baby correctly at the breast. Bad positioning can result in your baby’s not getting enough milk. Some babies even refuse to feed.

Bad positioning can result in another common problem: cracked or sore nipples. Breastfeeding Source Book states: “Sore nipples are caused by a number of factors, but an important one is how well the baby ‘latches on,’ and that in turn depends to a considerable extent on what position his head is in in relationship to the breast. For correct positioning, your baby should be in close, with his head neutral (not looking up, down or to the side), and coming straight at the nipple so he doesn’t pull it to one side.”

Ideally, the infant’s lips should form a seal on the breast, at least an inch [3 cm] behind the nipple. You will know that the position is correct if your baby’s whole body is turned toward you, if he takes long sucks, if he is relaxed and happy, and if you do not feel nipple pain.

When to Wean

After the first few weeks, both you and your baby will have come to know each other and will probably have established a comfortable and enjoyable routine. For the next four to six months, your baby will need no food or drink other than breast milk. After that time you should gradually introduce other foods, such as mashed vegetables, cereals, or fruits. However, until your baby is nine or ten months old, his main nourishment will still come from your milk; so it is good always to nurse your baby before giving solid foods.

How long should you continue breast-​feeding? As long as possible, recommends WHO. Many mothers continue nursing well into the second year, keeping an eye on their children and not the calendar. The book Mothering Your Nursing Toddler states: “It is not difficult to see the need our children have for continued nursing​—their joy in nursing and their distress when it is denied. A simple but compelling reason for continuing to nurse is to please the child.”

Evidence of a Loving Creator

As you breast-​feed your baby, perhaps late at night when the rest of the family is sleeping, give thought to the Creator of this arrangement. Even if you do not understand the complex physical processes that make it possible, the wonder of breast-​feeding will help you see the wisdom and love of our Creator.

Think about it​—there is no better food for babies than mother’s milk. It totally meets a baby’s requirements for food and drink during the early months of life. At the same time, it is a wonder drug that protects against disease. It is safe, hygienic, requires no preparation, and costs nothing. It is universally available, and its production increases as the infant grows bigger.

And think about the fact that breast-​feeding is a pleasurable experience for both mother and child. The giving of food, the oral and skin-​to-​skin contact, and the physical warmth of breast-​feeding all help promote a strong bond of love and intimacy between mother and child.

Truly, the Creator of this wonderful arrangement is to be highly praised. No doubt you will echo the words of the psalmist David, who wrote: “I shall laud you [Jehovah] because in a fear-​inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful.”​—Psalm 139:14.

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Husbands, Be Supportive

• Let your wife know that you approve of breast-​feeding. Reassure and tenderly support her.

• Help your wife eat a balanced diet during pregnancy and while the baby is breast-​feeding.

• See that she gets sufficient rest. An exhausted woman may have difficulty producing enough milk. Can you help lessen her burdens by caring for the other children or sharing with household chores?

• If your wife is relaxed and happy, her milk will flow better. Keep her as happy as you can. Listen to her problems, and help solve them.

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Breast Versus Bottle

“Breastmilk is more nutritious, more hygienic, immunizes babies against common illnesses, and reduces the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Infant formula, apart from being expensive, is often overdiluted with unclean water and fed to children from unsterile feeding bottles. In poor communities, the difference is so vital that an estimated 1 million young lives could be saved every year if the world’s mothers went back to exclusive breastfeeding for the first four to six months.”​—The State of the World’s Children 1993, a publication of the United Nations Children’s Fund.