Breastfeeding Issues | Breastmilk

BREAST FEEDING ISSUES:

Expressing Breast milk

For those times when you can't be there to breastfeed your baby, you can express breast milk manually or by using a breast pump. Expressed breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (store in the main part of the fridge, not the door) or you can freeze it for up to three months.

What to Eat When You're Breast feeding

The healthy diet you would have adopted during pregnancy should form a good basis for the diet you'll need after your baby is born. There are no special foods to include or avoid when you're breast feeding, though you will need to eat well, as a breast feeding mother needs to consume between 3100 and 4200 extra kilojoules a day.

You may often feel both hungry and thirsty while you're breast feeding, so you should eat for hunger and drink for thirst, and try not to worry too much about sticking to a rigid eating plan. by eating a variety of healthy, nutritious foods and avoiding foods that contain lots of fat, salt or sugar, you should ensure you're getting enough food to produce adequate supplies of milk for your baby.

If you're concerned about the amount of vitamins you are getting then a special vitamin supplement, specially designed for breast feeding mothers, may help ease your mind.

Is My Baby Getting Breast Milk Enough

As discussed earlier, many women have worries about their body's ability to supply their babies with sufficient quantities of breast milk. When you can't see how much they are getting, it is natural to wonder, particularly if your baby is difficult to settle. Rest assured, you can be fairly sure your baby is getting enough if:

your baby is attaching correctly to the breast and sucking strongly.
your baby is feeding six to eight times in 24 hours.
your baby is having at least six wet cloth or four heavy disposable nappies in 24 hours.
your breasts are softer after a feed.
your baby is gaining sufficient weight.
your baby sometimes possets (bring up) small amount of milk after feeds.
your baby is more relaxed after a feed.

Breast feeding as Contraception

Breast feeding your baby can act as a natural form of family planning. Used effectively, the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) can be successful for several months after childbirth.

Basically, it works like this, the baby's sucking motion stimulates the production of prolactin, cutting off production of the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and the luteinising hormone (LH) necessary for ovulation. This means that fertility is reduced and the chances of failing pregnant again are slim. In order for this method to succeed, you must observe the following guidelines:

you need to be fully breast feeding. Once you start introducing other foods into the baby's diet, fertility may return.
you need to be feeding at intervals of no more than four hours, you need to express breast milk manually or by using a breast pump. The nipple stimulation is the key to ensuring that this method works.
don't use dummies because they can reduce the amount that babies suck on the breast.

Breast feeding and Work

If you want to continue breast feeding after you return to work, you have a number of options.

if your baby is cared for at or near your place of work, then you may be able to arrange your hours and breaks so that you can breastfeed your baby at the same time he would normally feed.
Express breast milk for your care to give to him, either in a bottle or a cup (if older). If you choose this option, you will also need to express breast milk while at work. To do so, you will also need a quiet area to use while expressing (not the toilet) and a clean refrigerator to store the expressed milk. You will also need some kind of cooler to use when transporting your milk between work and home.
give your baby formula while you are at work, again, in either a bottle or cup. If you are unable to express breast milk, then this will be the best option for you.

Breast feeding Twins

Many women worry that they won't have enough breast milk to feed twins or higher order multiples, but breast feeding works on the theory of supply and demand, so the more a baby (or babies) suck, the more milk you'll produce. Many women successfully breastfeed twins or even triplets, so rest assured, it can be done.

Positioning two babies at the breast can be difficult at first, so you may be advised to feed one at time at the start. Eventually, you can try holding both babies at once, using a rugby, or football hold. At first, you may find it easier to support your babies' heads with a V-shaped pillow or ordinary cushions or pillows. However, as your babies get older and their head control improves, you'll find you won't need the cushions anymore.

During the first few months your babies will go trough growth spurts. At these times, they will need to feed more often in order to increase the amount of milk that you're producing. You may feel that this extra feeding is a sign that your babies are not receiving enough milk, and be tempted to offer bottle feeds. If this happens, remember the supply and demand principle, and know that once your supply increases, your babies' feeding patterns will settle down again.

As in tandem feeding, it is often the resistance of other family and friends to the idea of feeding two at once that causes doubts in the breast feeding mother

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