8 Tips On Proper Breastfeeding Your Baby

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1. Breast size has no bearing at all on the ability of a woman to breastfeed her baby. Women with small breasts sometimes produce more milk than those with full heavy breasts consisting mostly of fatty tissues.
The milk is formed in the glandular tissues that develop during pregnancy and passes to the small sacs in the breasts and out through the nipples.

2. Ask your obstetrician or nurse what to do to prepare the breasts, especially the nipples, during pregnancy, to avoid sore nipples later on. ^? ; ^^"^

3. If you will deliver your baby in a hospital, ask your doctor if your baby can be brought to you for nursing as soon as possible, instead of being given a bottle as practiced in most if not all hospitals.
It is believed that the watery fluid called colostrum which precedes milk provides the infant a natural immunity from many infections. The colostrum also serves as a milk laxative that cleans out the first stool or bowel movement the baby passes out after birth.

4. Even if you cannot continue breastfeeding your baby, breastfeed him while you can or during the rest in bottle feeding to give you that wonderful feeling of holding him close to you while feeding him.
Some working mothers give their babies their breasts when they are at home at night to make up for their absence during the day.

5. The baby's nursing stimulates the flow of milk more than anything else. A baby may nurse frequently (every two hours) at first but will later -prolong the intervals between feedings.

When he is about one month or six weeks old, he may even want to nurse all the time, apparently sensing that to get more milk, he must nurse harder and more frequently for two days until the supply of milk has built up or stabilized to satisfy him. Avoid rushing the nursing process and let the baby set his own schedule.

6. The best nursing position is lying down with two pillows to prop you up. Or sit down on a comfortable chair (the rocking chair is better), holding your baby in your arms.

Relax and rest while nursing your baby. Offer one breast first and let the baby suck for eight to 10 minutes, then offer the other breast. It will take the baby more time to empty the second breast.

Both breasts must be emptied or they will be painfully gorged and less milk will be produced because there will be less room for it.

If the baby falls asleep before he is fully satisfied or before the breast he is sucking is completely emptied, tap one of his feet or pinch his cheeks gently to awaken him.

If the baby fails to empty both breasts- despite all your efforts to make him continue to suck, it may be necessary to express the milk by hand or by using a breast pump (mamador).

Ask a nurse to show you the right technique in letting the milk out of your engorged breasts without too much pain.
Do not pull the baby's mouth or lips from your nipple. Instead, press the breast nearest the baby's mouth to release the suction and thus avoid tugging the nipple and making it sore.

To prevent the cracking of the nipples, hold the baby in a different nursing position each feeding session so that the nipples will crease in different directions.

Do not wash nipples with alcohol or water before feeding time; this may eliminate the naturally secreted oils that protect the nipples from drying up; daily bathing is enough for overall body cleanliness.

7. Ask your doctor what to eat'after delivering your baby if you plan to nurse him. As a rule, your diet should be the same as during your pregnancy, with more intake of milk and protein foods.

In the rural areas, clams with malunggay or sili leaves are given to nursing mothers to enable them to have more milk.

Your doctor may prescribe iron tablets or vitamin preparations. You must ask for his advice before taking any drugs.

8. Tension and other emotional problems and fatigue can reduce milk production of nursing mothers. So the best rule for a nursing mother to follow is to just relax and don't make yourself too tired.

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