Your Breastfeeding Guide

Breastfeeding is an essential part of motherhood. It has many health benefits for you and your baby. Not only does it help keep your baby healthy but nurtures your bond with the baby. Your baby can feed on it and become healthy.

Human breast milk has many benefits to the child’s health. Therefore you should try to nurse them. If you have any problem with it, you must seek professional help. To get an expert opinion, you can visit a gynecologist in Lahore.

Here in this article, we will tell you about breastfeeding basics. So you can feed your child with ease.

What Are Breastfeeding ABCs?

The ABCs of breastfeeding can be explained as:

A is to have awareness- to know when your child needs the feed is essential. You should not wait for your child to cry. Instead, get the clues from their little gestures. If they put their fingers or hands inside their mouth, they must be hungry. However, you also need to prevent overfeeding. Maintaining the line between underfeeding and overfeeding is hard. But noticing their body language and taking those signs as an indicator can help.

B is to be patient- with a child and their feeding routine you have to be incredibly patient. Feed your child until they stop taking milk. When they are hungry, they might take longer. They may take 20 to 30 minutes to feed from each breast. Therefore you have to be patient. It might take some time for you to get accustomed to their feeding routine. But once you get into it, you can manage their schedule.

C  is for comfort- while you feed your child, you should be in a comfortable pose. Otherwise, you will get exhausted, and nursing might become a problematic job for you. While you feed them, keep your feet up, and support your arms and shoulders with a pillow.

What Other Things Are Essential With Breastfeeding?

The other things essential with breastfeeding are:

Soothe Your Nipples

With breastfeeding, your nipples might become sore. To treat them, you can rub an ointment or petroleum jelly over them. Or rub a little breastmilk over your nipples and let it dry. The soreness and inflammation remain initially. It may subsidize once you find the right position to feed your child and they start to latch properly.

A little soreness and redness are normal with breastfeeding. But if it becomes too painful, you must seek professional help for it. You must get checked with a healthcare provider as it can be an indication of some infection or injury.

How Often Will Your Baby Feed?

A common and confusing question that arises among nursing mothers is how many times they have to feed their children. There is no exact number for that. It differs from child to child. But usually, in the first month, they want to get fed around 8 to 12 times daily. It means you will have to nurse them every two to three hours. However, it may reduce in the later months.

In a single sitting, you can feed them from both breasts. In this way, your one breast does not get inflamed.

Should You Wake Up Your Child To Feed?

In the initial months, when your child is little, you will have to wake them up to feed them. They need to get fed at least 8 times a day in the starting days. You can wake them up gently by changing their nappy, giving them a massage, or by removing blankets.

Should You Use Both Breasts?

In the beginning, your first breast should drain and then shift to another. It is because, in the start, the milk is more water content and thin. After that comes the thick and creamy texture. If your child takes the initial milk from each breast, they would not get the thick texture of creamy milk. Therefore let your baby finish with the first breast and then offer them milk from the second breast.

The Bottom Line

Nursing your baby can be a challenging task, especially if you are doing it for the first time. Therefore you need to learn tips and techniques. It is always a better idea to ask those moms who have already nursed their children. They can give you expert advice. If you have swollen and painful breasts, you must seek professional help. To get an expert opinion, visit the best gynecologist in Karachi.