Importance of Breast Feeding
Breast feeding is the natural method for feeding a human infant. It should be commenced as early as possible after the child birth. Infant Formula is either made from cow’s milk or soybeans cannot be substituted for breast milk. Starting right will make breast feeding a pleasurable experience for both the baby and the mother.
Almost all the mothers are capable of a perfect breastfeeding. But many hospitals and health care centers are not taking enough care to promote breastfeeding. The early days of child birth is very important to establish a perfect breastfeeding pattern. The baby and the mother can manage it perfectly well even if it is not a perfect start.
Latching on Well
The baby latching on well to the breast is the most important factor in breast feeding. It is quite obvious that a baby who latches on well will get enough milk and those who don’t will have difficulty in getting milk. So the first thing to do is to teach both the mother and the baby to latch on well. For this the mother should take expert advice from the hospital itself. Many hospitals have experts who give advice in this area. Many who are already mothers may give you advice on latching, which is generally not useful because problems may vary from mothers to mothers. A bad latch will be painful for the mother and gives a sore nipple.
Sleeping with the Mother
It is better to take the baby to the breast within hours after the child birth, because it will begin a bonding between the mother and the baby. The baby should sleep with the mother because it will familiarize the mother with the feeding patterns of the baby and it will give more rest to the new mother. If the baby sleeps separately from the mother, the baby will cry when he is hungry and that will delay the proper latching to the breast and results in insufficient intake of the milk. The baby moves when he is hungry, before crying the mother can identify it when the baby sleeps next to the mother.
Colostrum
Studies say that the first milk that oozes out of the breast which is called the “colostrum”, which is thick and yellow, plays an important role in the health of the baby.
There are many cases when the baby was allowed to go to the breast immediately after the birth, the baby latches onto the breast and starts feeding. These babies won’t have any problem in breast feeding later. But some babies find it difficult to latch onto the mother’s breast properly and this may lead to inflicting pain to the mother. But it will be settled down in the due course. The mother and the baby will adapt a comfortable pattern in breast feeding very soon. But if the mother stops breast feeding at this point, it is not going to work out properly later, due to many reasons like lack of milk. So in the case of breast feeding it is better to start as early as possible. It is with out doubt that breast feeding is the best method of weaning a baby.
