Golden rules for successful breastfeeding.

The first postulate of successful breastfeeding is early breastfeeding (within the first hour after birth). Ideally, if the baby can suck a little already in the delivery room. Previously, in the 60s and 70s, colostrum proved useless, so the baby was immediately taken from the mother after birth and brought to her for the first feeding only on the third day. In fact, the precious drops of colostrum are absolutely essential for a newborn. They accuse him of immunity against microbes, with millions of which he faces in the first minutes of his life. It is the colostrum, and not the milk, that is more suitable for the crumbs. Your stomach in the first few days is capable of digesting only a few dozen grams of food. Therefore, only very fatty colostrum,

The joint stay of mother and son in the same room.

Much has been said about the importance of the joint stay of the mother and the baby in the hospital. Only in this case, the mother can feed him on demand. With 6-7 feedings per day (as is usual in most maternity hospitals, where babies are taken for feeding after 3-3.5 hours), the breast does not receive enough stimulation, lactation is getting worse. It is not natural for a newborn to endure intervals of 3-3.5 hours between meals, and even with a night rest of 6 hours, because for 9 months he received food from the placenta continuously. Normally, if your child will be applied to the breast up to 20 times a day or more. Do not count the feeding, this is not necessary for you or the child.

Don't try to limit feeding time. With the correct latch on the nipple by the baby, there will be no discomfort when sucking. It is possible that the chest will get sick from the habit only on the first day, two, and then adapt to his new job. Most of the women enjoyed the feeding process.

If your baby is ready to suck almost continuously for the first few days, then to protect the breasts and reduce pain, you can limit the sucking time to one to 5-10 minutes, then gently push the little finger into the corner of the mouth and release the nipple. If the baby continues to moan (especially at night when it is not possible to shake or reach), she offers another breast.

Why is it not necessary to express milk?

The more your baby suckles at the breast, the faster he will begin to make enough milk for it. If you feed on demand, don't decant the milk after feeding, and let the baby suckle as much as she wants, then the mother-infant system is established very quickly between you. This means that the mother's breast produces exactly the same milk that the baby eats.

Now imagine that after feeding you decant milk residues ("to the last drop", as the doctors recommended before, they will not work, because milk is produced all the time, it is squeezed out, but it comes). So, you expressed milk and gave your body the signal that it needs as much milk as your son drank, plus what he expressed. More milk will come at the next feeding, and you will have to pump it again. Therefore, your body works with a double load, and it is quite possible that the lactation will die out sooner than it would have if you had not overloaded it.

When pumping is useful

All this does not mean that milk should never be decanted at all. On the contrary, there are times when it is simply necessary. For example, 3-4 days after birth, when the milk comes in sharply, and the baby still sucks very little, moreover, it is not yet strong enough to squeeze the breast. Thick and fat-containing milk almost does not pass through undeveloped ducts, and if it is not decanted, it is very easy to gain lactostasis (stagnation of milk) and even mastitis. Not to mention the fact that a rock-hard, hot, crowded chest causes burning pain.

In such a situation, pumping is not only permissible, but sometimes necessary. If the breast is full, it is advisable to express a little milk before feeding, so that the baby can latch on to the nipple more easily. After nursing, if the breast is still firm, you can express a little more milk until it softens. It is very important to massage the mammary gland from the periphery to the center, carefully stretching the hardening. They occur in places where the ducts are "clogged" and milk does not come out of them. This hardening is absolutely necessary for the massage (it can be under a warm shower), since this is where milk stagnation can occur.

You may have to tithe a couple of times during the heat of summer, when your child has less appetite and eats less than usual.

However, do not engage in pumping. Limit expressing a small amount of milk from an overcrowded breast, but don't decant "every last drop."