Feeding Guide for Nursing Moms

(Newswire.net — November 20, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — There are few things more painful than a baby latching on badly during a breastfeeding session. It’s not their fault though as the baby is merely following the mother’s lead. Instincts can carry the process so far. This is where lessons on how to position the mother and baby just right is needed so that nursing can be an effortless and enjoyable experience on all counts.

“Babies are designed to breastfeed, they are born with instincts that help them find Mom’s breast and latch on often with very little assistance,” says Emily Pease, an international board certified lactation consultant of Swedish Hospital’s Breastfeeding Center in Seattle. “And if problems do come up, there are lots of ways to troubleshoot.”

How to hold the baby properly is the first pre-requite to nursing properly. It would be a good start to participate in hospital prenatal classes or La Leche League International meetings if any are available in your area to learn the basics of breastfeeding and be a part of a healthy support group.

Forearmed with the fundamentals about how to hold your baby on their side facing your breast it’s time to think about how the mom is sitting. Being in a comfortable position is critical since breastfeeding takes up a bit of your time, especially if you’ve decided to breastfeed exclusively, so you’ll be fixed in a particular stance for extended periods. Leaning slightly backwards on a pillow or some sort of back support is usually the best posture for the purposes of nursing. 

“Gravity helps support your baby so you don’t have to do all the work,” says Parent Magazine. “And it’s an easier position for your baby to use her hands, lift and turn her head, and bury her chin into the breast, all helpful things for her to do when she’s latching on.” 

Learning the various proper ways to hold a baby allows you position options as the need arises. The most commonly used hold is called the cradle in which the baby’s body lays across your arm while their head rests on the corner of your elbow. Depending on the size of your growing baby the other hand may be required to support of the weight as well. Facilitating the baby’s instincts to latch on and suck is the next step as the wrong latch can prove frustrating for your young and painful for you the mom.

“Your mammary glands are located behind the areola,” explains Agnes Pedicino, a childbirth educator in New York City. “You want your baby’s mouth covering most of the bottom of your areola and some of the top, not just your nipple, so those glands are stimulated when she sucks, and produce milk.”

 

Therefore all of that darker circle area around your nipple needs to be navigated into the baby’s mouth as that’s where most the baby’s suction power needs to be concentrated. Gently flattening the areola with a slight squeeze of the hand will compress the essential partition of the breast for the baby to latch onto effortlessly and nurse. 

While breastfeeding is somewhat of an art it certainly isn’t rocket science so even the uninitiated can learn the ropes with a little guidance, patience and maternal love. Nursing, when done right, is a beautiful way to bond with your child and as time progresses there will be a gradual interdiction to solid foods to compliment their breast milk diet.

Similarly, mothers are encouraged to eat a healthy and balanced diet prior, during and after pregnancy but that’s no reason to stop indulging responsibly in mature comforts such as a glass of wine every now and again. Indeed, more thought and consideration are involved now that breast feeding is a duty.

Making judicious drink selections and allowing for the appropriate wait time between consumption and nursing is strongly advised. And there is no better way to learn if it’s safe to resume nursing than to test a sample of your breast milk with an accurate and reliable kit such as the PureMilk alcohol analysis strips. Being well informed and exercising wisdom is all a part of being a great mom to your baby while satisfying the personal desires responsibly.