Breast Feeding Of Baby

Breast Feeding Of Baby

Breastfeeding is the very most natural way to feed your baby. It provides all the nutrition to your baby during the first six months of life, satisfying their hunger and thirst at the same time. It also helps to create a loving bond between you and your child.

Health Benefits Breastfeeding Of Baby

Breast milk has lots of many health benefits for your baby:

Breast milk contains all the nutrients your baby needs for the first 6 months
It also satisfies the child's thirst
It helps in developing eyes and brain and other body systems.
Breastfeeding helps in developing jaw
It helps the child to resist infection and disease, even later in life
It reduces the risk of obesity in childhood and later in the life
There are many factors that protect your baby while their immune system is still developing.
Breastfeeding also benefits many mothers. Not only is it convenient, inexpensive and always available, it is also:

Reduces the risk of bleeding immediately after delivery
Reduces your risk of breast and ovarian cancer
Is convenient and cheap
Can calm your child
Increases the amount of time before you regain your period
to start
You can usually start breastfeeding within the first hour of your baby's birth.

The first milk in your breasts is called colostrum. This milk is very thick and can be yellow in color. It is very rich in proteins and antibodies that will help give your child a wonderful start in life. Mature breast milk gradually replaces colostrum in the first few days after birth.

Ideally, you should try to maintain close skin contact with your baby immediately after delivery. If you place your baby between your chest and your breasts for a while, there is a good chance that it will find your nipple and start weaning without any help. Your midwife or lactation consultant can also help guide you and your baby into the situation.

Good condition and attachment

The key to successful breastfeeding is a comfortable position and good attachment.

If your baby is well connected to your breast, you are less likely to experience breastfeeding problems, such as cracked nipples, and your baby will get the most milk from your breast.

There are lots of ways to position and engage your baby for breastfeeding, but here are some general tips:

Sit comfortably with your back and legs - you can be completely straight or you might like to back off a bit.

Unplug your child and hold him or her against you.

Turn your baby towards him so that they wrap around you with your nipple at the level of your nose.

Make sure that you support your baby's neck and shoulders with your hand, but do not hold your baby's head - allow her to find the best position to attach to her breast.

Bring your cute  baby to your breast, not your breast to your baby.
Gently brush your baby's mouth with your areola (the area around the nipple) - this usually makes your baby's mouth too wide.

When your baby opens their mouth, bring it near their breast quickly so that they take a good mouthful of breast tissue.

When you bring your baby near to your breast, it can help hold your breast, like you would a sandwich with your nipple on the roof of your baby's mouth.

Signs that your child is well connected:

Your baby's chin should be tied to your breast, and its mouth should be widened towards the back of the lower lip.
Your baby's nose will be clean or just touching your breast.
More of your ball will be seen below your child's upper lip.
Your baby's cheeks should not be sucked and there should be no noise during sucking.
There should be no nipple pain - but you may feel a stretching sensation as your nipple adjusts to breastfeeding.

How often will my child eat?

During the first week of life, most children will gradually develop a method of feeding eight to twelve times in a 24-hour period. You should feed your baby whenever she shows signs of hunger.

You will know if your baby is getting enough milk:

Feeding at least 8 times a day (with some feeds occurring overnight)
There are at least 5 wet disposable nappies or 6 to 8 wet cloth nappies per day
Around the first 6 weeks of life, there are 2 or more soft or flowing bowel movements per day (infants have less bowel movements when they reach about 6 weeks).
Gaining weight and growing as expected
Alert upon waking, and reasonably satisfied
Build your own milk supply
When it comes to breastfeeding, supply equals demand. The more you feed your baby, the more milk will make your breasts. Some tips on establishing and maintaining a good milk supply include:

Let your baby feed her until she stops sucking and swallowing and release your breast, and then introduce her other breast