Baby Care

The basics of breast feeding

“A newborn baby has only three demands. They are; warmth in the arms of (his) mother, food from her breasts and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastmilk satisfies all three.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends elite breastfeeding until the newborn baby is at least 6 months of age as it is ideal for both babies and mothers.

The baby’s first feed and primary immunization against infections, diseases and allergies is the Breastmilk that keeps your baby healthy and supply your infant with all the important nutrients in its essential amounts. It has the ideal combination of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and fats.

The importance of breastfeeding for both mother and baby is well known and often spoken about, But the are certainly other considerations that mother’s ought to know about to be able to breastfeed their infant efficiently.

Phases of Breastmilk:

The breastmilk will be produced by the mother’s body when the time comes, and the body is ready. Breastmilk has 3 stages. Colostrum is the first Yellow/Golden liquid that is released from the breast which is the ideal first food for your infant, in fact it’s considered it as the first dosage of immunization that contains the essential proteins, minerals, vitamins and antibodies. “Transitional milk “is the next milk produced by the breastfeeding mother, transitional milk is a combination of colostrum and breast milk. The final phase of breast milk is known as Mature milk which is consist of water, carbohydrates, leukocytes, proteins, urea, uric acid and fats.

Indications That Your infant is Getting Sufficient Breast Milk:

New mothers are always concerned if their baby is getting enough breast milk. A new mother ought to know a few signs to be noted that will help understand if the infant is feeding sufficiently. A newborn baby should be fed 8-12 times per day and the baby must have an 6-8 wet diapers approximately. You can understand if the baby is feeding appropriately if you are able to hear the infant sucking and swallowing milk.

How To Store the Breast Milk?

Nowadays, most mothers need to resume work a month after their delivery and discover the need to collect and store their breast milk as they will be apart from their newborn babies. Storage of the breast milk is always a query in the minds of the mothers. Mothers tend to store extract milk using the breast pump which can be stored for future use, this will allow the baby to feed when mother is not around.

Expressed breastmilk can be stored in an insulated cooler bag with ice cubes/ice packs for 1 day (not refrigerated). Unless being utilized instantly, refrigerate the milk immediately after expressing. Breastmilk can be refrigerated/frozen, the milk can be refrigerated for 5 days at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, if being frozen it can last up to two weeks at 0-5 degree Celsius. When using breastmilk should be warmed in a container with lukewarm water and you should discard the unused milk.

Breastfeeding is the primary bonding between mother and her infant, but in some cases, mother won’t be able to breast feed her baby or may intentionally choose not to continue breastfeeding even for 6 months of age. In such cases the mother can still utilize her breastmilk by expressing her milk, spoon feeds the infant or use the dropper.