How To Make Breastfeeding Easy
How to make breastfeeding easy? Understanding a few basic concepts can help.
Breastfeeding can seem like a rather tough skill to learn sometimes. There’s all the different holds and positions, and that whole “latching on” piece to think about, and knowing if baby has had enough milk, and how much milk mom is making, and breast pumps and nipple shields and…wait.
Breastfeeding is actually a pretty simple thing to learn, when we are able to understand and work with some basic principles about our bodies and our babies. I’m really excited to explain how easy breastfeeding can be when we understand how mothers and babies are hardwired to breastfeed successfully. I’ll spend time in another article talking more about actually latching, and troubleshooting breastfeeding issues. The focus now is on our incredibly fascinating bodies and the reflexes and instincts that play into nursing a baby. I’ll also talk about how we can take advantage of our hardwiring to get breastfeeding off to a great start. Breastfeeding is easy – with a few simple things!
A newborn breastfeeds contentedly on his mother. (photo by Soullenz Photography)
Babies are born with all the reflexes needed to seek and drink from mother’s breast. A newborn baby is an amazing being!
- Babies have about 20 primitive reflexes that help them seek and find a mother’s breast, including rooting and stepping.
- Babies can recognize (and demonstrate a preference for) their mother’s voice, scent and face, immediately after birth.
- Hunger and thirst leads a baby to a predictable sequence of feeding cues, first awakening, then putting hands to mouth, and finally, crying.
Mothers are also equipped with reflexes. We are designed to respond to our babies without having to think much about it…another amazing being!
- The skin on a mother’s chest can increase or decrease temperature to keep a baby at a normal temperature; more responsive and nurturing than any blanket or warming table.
- Nipples become erect and ready for latching when baby’s body contacts the mom’s.
- Holding, stroking and nursing her baby releases the hormone oxytocin into mom’s bloodstream, leading to feelings of warmth, satisfaction, love and comfort. Oxytocin also acts within the breast to release milk (letdown reflex), as well as acting to decrease pain, lower blood pressure and minimize stress and anxiety.
Even though the reflexes happen without thought, there’s a lot of stuff that can get in the way. We’re taught a lot of information about breastfeeding in a more technical sense (such as specific positions, the “right” way to latch, or other instruction sequences). Mothers sometimes feel they don’t know what to do, or can’t remember what they learned in their class or from a book. Dr. Christina Smillie, a lactation consultant and pediatrician, encourages us to think of breastfeeding as a right-brained activity, or one that is more based on body knowlege and feelings rather than a left-brained activity, using book knowledge or a set of instructions. This is quite wise! I always like to use the idea of breastfeeding as a dance that neither partner has done before. Mom might have learned some about nursing, and baby comes equipped with great reflexes and instincts, but it’s the actual breastfeeding that sorts the whole dance out. The partners need to practice together, finding each other’s rhythms, until they can perform the dance flawlessly in their own unique way.
So, how can we use our instincts and reflexes to maximize breastfeeding success? There are a few simple steps to take from birthing time onward.
- Place baby skin to skin on his tummy between mom’s breasts immediately following birth unless health or safety concerns dictate otherwise. Stay skin to skin for at least the first hour or two, and longer if possible. Lean back and be comfortable together, with support for mom’s arms and head and a warm blanket covering both of you. Procedures such as vital signs, assessments and medications can be done with the naked baby on mom’s bare chest. Getting the weight can wait a bit!
- Watch for early feeding cues such as baby putting her hands to her mouth, bobbing her head to seek the breast, or smacking her lips and tongue. When you see your baby doing these early cue behaviors, talk to her and guide her to the breast. If baby is crying, spend a few minutes calming her, then guide her back to the breast.
- If your baby seems uncomfortable, or there are big gaps between your bodies, readjust so that the baby’s body is tummy down, touching your body between your breasts. Follow his lead as he bobs or leans to one side or another, gently guiding him to the breast if you feel that’s right.
What if this sequence can’t happen right away, such as after a cesarean birth, or if mom or baby needs medical attention right away and there’s been some separation? Or what if mom has received medications in labor that make the baby sleepy, or less organized with her breastfeeding reflexes?
The good news is that there’s no expiration of the reflexes, and they can be triggered and accessed long after the initial period following birth, perhaps even for months. If you have had a rough start, or a delay in being with your baby, always start with the basics outlined above. More than anything, getting skin to skin with your baby is the most important step to take toward breastfeeding easily. Remember that you can always use these simple actions to take advantage of your baby’s (and your own) amazing biology as you find the steps within your own unique dance.
Check back soon for more information about what successful breastfeeding looks like, feels like and how to tell if breastfeeding is going well.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login