Breastfeeding Education
Breastfeeding education and encouragement should begin in your first trimester. Find out if your hospital offers a free breastfeeding class, as many do! By taking a prenatal breastfeeding class and reading about breastfeeding during your pregnancy, you will be encouraged and confident in this journey!
A breastfeeding education class should cover the following:
Benefits of breastfeeding.
This includes the health benefits for mother and baby. Exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months is important and you should continue breastfeeding as you add the family foods one at a time at six months of age.
Basic breastfeeding management.
Latch, position, and hold should be included, as well as the importance of skin-to-skin contact for mother and infant.
Rooming in’ with your baby.
This means keeping baby in the room with you. Mom should nurse in the first hour of life then continue to frequently, exclusively nursing on your baby’s cues –not by the clock. No one is going to know your baby like you, so keep baby close to learn your baby’s cues to feed.
Family support, a mother’s return to work, and dietary concerns should also be reviewed during your class.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding
For baby, breast milk is perfectly matched nutrition, and easily digested. Colostrum is the first breast milk that is packed with antibodies that protect baby immediately following birth. For mom, it’s convenient, economical, gets you back in shape, contributes to a loving bond with baby, and it is the most beautiful, snuggly thing you will ever do!
Children who are NOT exclusively breastfed for 6 months have a greater chance of the following health problems:
- About 60% more likely to suffer from ear infections.
- About 40% more likely to get type 1 or 2 Diabetes
- About 25% more likely to be overweight or obese
- About 30% more likely to suffer from leukemia
- About 25% more likely to be hospitalized for respiratory diseases like pneumonia or asthma
- About 200% more likely to suffer with diarrhea
- Twice as likely to die of SIDS
It is very rare for a mom to not have enough milk for her baby. The medical indications to supplement an infant with anything other than mother’s own milk are also rare. Get off to a good start by holding baby skin-to-skin with you in the delivery room, nurse in the first hour, room in, and feed on demand. You’ll find that by day 4 or 5 you feel very full with milk and everything is going well.
Exclusively nursing means only breastfeeding. Bottles and pacifiers can mix up breastfeeding efforts in the first weeks. The bottles that come free-of-cost from formula companies in the hospital are a fast flow. Infants can have a preference for this easy option, but lose all the health benefits if they won’t go back to the breast as easily. The more an infant has a pacifier in his mouth, the more likely you are to miss the cues to feed, and the less your body knows to make milk.
Infant cues to feed include lip smacking and sucking on their own hand. This is their language and how they will tell you they are hungry! We recommend that you hold baby tummy-to-tummy with you and with your baby’s nose to the nipple. Have a breastfeeding specialist help you in the hospital so you will have confidence at home. You’ll know you are doing well on day 5 of baby’s life when you have been exclusively nursing and baby is wetting diapers at least 5 times in 24 hours and the stools turn to a yellow mustard seed color. Babies lose some weight at first, so don’t worry –keep nursing as often as baby cues to feed.
Dietary concerns are few; moms can eat what they want. Your milk changes in taste with all the healthy foods you eat. You should listen to your body; eat when you’re hungry and drink when you’re thirsty. It is the frequency in which you feed baby that makes lots of milk.
Breastfeeding is not always easy at first, but keep going and it will be the most wonderful, easy thing you do after a few weeks. If you are having any difficulty, know your resources and call for help.
Remember that breastfeeding is good for the environment, less health care dollars are spent on illness, and moms miss less time from work with healthy babies. Share all of this information with your family and loved ones so they can support you, as they, too, will know these incredible benefits.
