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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Breastfeeding is natural

Breastfeeding is natural, but as i always tell the others, it is not always easy.

It is the biological norm, but it is not the cultural norm in most places.

There are a few basic principles that could help mothers to dramatically increase their likelihood of success and make breastfeeding the enjoyable experience it should be.

1. Babies Have the Urge to Self-Attach :

Start breastfeeding your baby immediately after birth. Babies have a period of alertness during the first hour after birth, and display a strong sucking reflex that is not as strong again until approximately 40 hours later.  Research has shown that, given the chance, babies only minutes old will often crawl up to the breast from the mother’s abdomen, and start breastfeeding all by themselves.  This process may take up to an hour or longer, but the mother and baby should be given this time together to start learning about each other

2. Use the Power of Skin-to-Skin Contact:

Studies have also shown that the warmth from your skin will keep your baby warm enough as in the incubator. It can also enhance the emotional connection to help a new mother feel confident in her ability to care for her newborn. which later promotes increased milk production and breastfeeding success



3. More Milk Out = More Milk Made

That's demand-supply theory, as easy as that. The more you give, the more you get back.

Milk contains a small whey protein called Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation (FIL) – the role of FIL appears to be to slow milk synthesis when the breast is full. Thus milk production slows when milk accumulates in the breast (and more FIL is present), and speeds up when the breast is emptier (and less FIL is present). 
source by: kellymom

And as i have said, it is not always easy. But it is also not always hard. Once you've had the grip of it, it'll be as natural as it should be.

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