It’s always a first chance for
any new mother who is full of anxiety for the new one coming to their family.
Baby being the most precious and sensitive gift for a mother and to the family
it demands a great care from the mother herself, the father and the supporting
family. It’s all about the united effort of all the members within the family
which decides upon the healthy outcome of any child’s future in terms of
health, education, and emotional/ social development.
The first and foremost care
starts right from the day when a mother conceives her baby within her womb,
then giving birth to her child and reviving a life with hers, then feeding her
child with her milk which is the first and the most important nutritional diet
for any baby.
So being blessed with such a
blissful act she always carries a tension to fulfill her responsibility with
the best of her capability, knowledge and ability.
So here are some of the important
questions that most of the mother’s have in their mind when they are blessed
with this responsibility.
1. When is the right time to start
breast feeding?
All the mother should be well prepared to
breast feed their baby, right from her antenatal visit. Breast feeding should
be started within half an hour of normal delivery and 3-4 hours of caesarean
section or as soon as mother is comfortable. Prelacteal feed with honey water, grape water, sugar water or any
other liquid should be strictly avoided.
2. How can one initiate breast feeding and what is the proper way
of breast feeding?
All the mother should be well prepared,
encouraged and educated to breast feed their child after birth, right from her
antenatal visit. Any problem related to her breast and nipple should be sorted
out and she should be emotionally supported. She should be happy and taking
proper nutritious diet, with extra calorie to meet the demands of her new born
baby. Mothers first milk
( Colostrum-
rich in protein and immunoglobulin’s),thick yellowish milk is very important
for the baby so it should not be thrown and should be feed to baby.
Rooming in- keeping baby and mother
together, Bedding in- keeping baby
and mother in the same bed close to each other, Mothering in- keeping baby on the mother’s abdomen, Kangaroo mother
care for the pre term baby- keeping baby on the mothers abdomen or close to her
chest, are some of the important factors that play a important role in mother
and a baby bonding and helps in proper lactation as well.While breast feeding both the
mother and the baby should be relaxed, in comfortable position and in an
appropriate room temperature.
Preferably mother should breast feed the child
in the sitting posture with her back supported and baby held in a semi-sitting
position with the face held close to the mother’s breast by one arm and
hand while the other hand supports the
breast making the nipple easily
accessible to the infant’s mouth without obstructing the nasal breathing. The
infant’s lips should engage considerable areola as well as nipple. This would
be the best way to feed your baby and you share the bond as baby sucks.
3. How often and how long one should breast feed their baby?
There is no hard and strict rule for
timings regarding breast feeding. It can be a demand feeding (as when ever your
baby feels hungry). Roughly it could be every 2-3 hourly. No extra water, other
liquid or food is required till 6 months of age.
The infant should empty at least
one breast at each feeding and it may take 15 – 20 minutes approximately per
feeding. Most of the baby’s tend to sleep while feeding so it’s necessary to
wake them by rubbing their back, ear lobule, behind the ear, or by tickling/patting
them on their sole to feed them properly.
4. How do we know that the breast milk is sufficient for the baby?
Mother’s milk is sufficient for
the baby till 6 months of life provided mother is healthy and producing
good amount of milk. The most important thing to be noticed for adequate
feeding is:
The weight gain by 20-30 gms per
day
Baby will pass urine frequently,
almost 6-10 times a day
Baby may pass 1- 6 liquid stools
per day
Baby will sleep 2-3 hrs post
feed.
5. Quite often we think that breast milk is not sufficient for the
baby because they keep crying most of the time in spite of being feed properly,
Why?
Remember it’s not only the hunger
which can make your baby cry, if your baby cries even after you breast feed
properly then it means there may be some other factor troubling your baby, so
please check out - if baby diaper is wet because of stool or urine, if baby
cloth is too tight or cold, if some other child is troubling your baby
unintentionally, or some other factors in her/his lying vicinity. Is it to
sleep? or if it’s due to other illness (i.e.
nasal blockage, vomiting, cold, fever etc).Check the environment temperature if
it’s too hot /cold. Your baby may need your warmth and attention at times too.
6. What is burping and why is it important after breast feeding?
Baby tends to take in lots of air during
feeding/sucking, which leads to abdominal distension, colic’s, regurgitation.
So to avoid all this, mother has to burp her child by putting the child on the
left shoulder, head supported with mother’s left hand and then with the right
arm support the buttocks and gently pat on the baby’s back with the right hand.
Slowly air will escape from the baby’s mouth and baby will feel comfortable. It
has to be done after every feeding and it may take 10-15 minutes for a baby to
burp.
7. What other food or liquid should be give to the baby in
addition to the breast milk?
Well no other form of food or liquid is required for the baby till 6
months of age. It’s only mother milk and mother’s milk. Mother’s milk is the
best feed for the baby as it provides the best of the nutrition required for
the baby growth and development. While sucking breast milk baby gets fore milk
initially which satisfy the thirst of the baby and further sucking provides the
hind milk that satisfy the hunger and the nutritional demand of the baby. So no
other supplemental feed should be given other then breast milk in normal
situation.
8. Till what age baby should receive breast feeding?
Start breast feeding right from the birth. Add on with supplemental feeds
in form of weaning from 6 months of age and continue it with family pot feed
till 2 years of age.
As well said breast milk is for
brain growth and cow’s milk is for body growth so continue breast feeding till
2 years of age.
9. If you are a working mother how can you continue breast feeding
your baby?
Well in that case feed your baby when you are at home and for the time when
you are in office you can express the breast milk and keep it store in a steel container
in a refrigerator in the middle compartment till 24 hrs. And it can be used as palada feed, or a spoon feed with proper
sterilization. Don’t heat the milk directly on the heater rather warm it up by
keeping the container in the hot water vessel.
10. Can we bottle feed our baby?
No. It’s not accepted, as there is an
increased chance of gastrointestinal infection in form of diarrhea. Baby may
develop nipple confusion once you put him on breast feed again as sucking milk
from the bottle is comparatively easy then sucking from breast directly. And as
when mother put their baby for breast feeding it acts as a stimulant to the
mother and helps her for better milk production and gives an emotional,
physical and mental support both to the mother and a baby. And human milk is
uniquely adapted to the infant’s need. But
in case of working mother you can use it provided you maintain a proper hygiene
and sterilization of the bottle.
11. Do we need to give some vitamin supplement in addition to the
breast milk?
Absolutely no for all the
term healthy babies in normal cases as breast milk is rich in all the required
nutrition, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, immunoglobulin’s, antibodies which is
required for the baby growth and development. Breast milk is the best gift that any mother
can give to her baby for their better and healthy life as it provides unique nutritional, immunological and psychological benefits.But yes additional vitamin supplements may be
required for the preterm babies, and babies less than 2 kg at birth, or any
high risk babies.
12.
What are the contraindications of breast feeding?
For mother : HIV infection, Active
Hepatitis B infection, Active Tuberculosis, Typhoid fever, Breast cancer,
Malaria ,Septicemia, CMV, Rubella infection, Herpes simplex virus infection.
For
baby: Galactosemia
But it’s always better to consult your regular
doctor before you plan to stop/hold breast feeding your baby.
13.
What food should mother avoid till she is breastfeeding her baby?
