Clare Byam-Cook, Author of “What to Expect when you’re Breast-feeding…..and What if you Can’t” is an expert speaker at The Baby Show which returns to Olympia London from 24th – 26th October. Find out more at www.thebabyshow.co.uk/olympia
The health benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and baby are enormous with the result that the majority of mothers want to breastfeed their babies. But it is also important to acknowledge that some mothers can’t or don’t want to breast feed or plan to do a combination of breast and bottle feeding. Either way, I think it’s important to respect a mother’s choice and to give her all the advice she needs to have a happy and well-fed baby.
But I am going to spend most of this article discussing breastfeeding as it’s a much bigger subject and can affect mothers very differently. Some mothers are lucky and sail through breastfeeding without having any problems at all but others can struggle with various problems right from the word go. I have spent over 40 years helping mothers who are having feeding problems and can usually sort out their problems in one session. But if I can’t resolve the problem and nor can anyone else who they have consulted, I always make the point that the mother should not feel guilty or a failure if she gives up breastfeeding completely or switches to a combination of breast and bottle-feeding.
My first recommendation is that mothers use the weeks leading up to the birth to do their research as to what help is available after their baby is born. They can also ask their friends, family and health professionals what they would recommend by way of books, breast pumps and any other equipment so that they are fully prepared well in advance with everything they might need.
While recommendations are useful, it also makes sense to buy books that reflect the way you plan to feed your baby. If you would like to establish a routine shortly after the birth there are plenty of books that explain how to do this, but if you would like to take a much more ”feed on demand’ approach it would be better to choose a book that takes that view. But it is always worth keeping an open mind as once your baby is born, you may find that your views change if your approach is not working as well as you thought it would! If you do buy any equipment such as a breast pump, I suggest reading the instructions before your baby is born so you can quickly assemble and know how use it if you need it in a hurry.
How breast-feeding works.
For the first two or three days after the birth, breasts produce very small amounts of a highly calorific milk called colostrum and your milk proper will normally come in on about day three or four. During the colostrum phase your baby will need to feed 8-12 times a day, but once your milk comes in he will get larger feeds which may last him 3 to 4 hours before he wants another feed.
Shortly after the birth, your midwife will help you latch your baby on and show you how to hold him comfortably. When your baby is latched on correctly, he should have his mouth wide open & his lips curled back, he will do deep rhythmic sucks and it should not hurt. If he is latched on badly, feeding will be painful & his sucking will be shallow and irregular without any audible sounds of him swallowing milk. If this happens & your nipples become very sore, seek help as soon as possible from your midwife, health visitor or a breastfeeding specialist. You could also consider using aids such as nipple shields or breast pumps to tide you over until the problem is resolved. I have a slightly different method of latching a baby onto the breast, which I explain in my book., so it might be worth reading that if you continue to have problems.
Once any initial problems are resolved and breastfeeding gets underway, it will a learning curve to work out how long a feed should last and how you know whether your baby is getting enough milk. If your baby is happy, settled & gaining the right amount of weight, everything is clearly going well. But if that is not happening, please continue to ask for help & advice to find out what the problem is and whether anything can be done to resolve the issues.
And finally, I will end this article on a very positive and upbeat note to say that many mothers sail through breastfeeding and have no problems at all!
