Parenting Blog

Breastfeeding is the bond between the mother and the baby. It is a very challenging part of pregnancy. Some mommy’s complaint ‘I did not have sufficient milk’, others say, ‘Breastfeeding hurts’. Breastfeeding and the birth experience that the mother faces are connected. It is a researched fact that the general obstetrical problems (technological, medical, surgical interventions) can give rise to a number of problems like the inability of the baby to suck, swallow, breathe. It can also lead to mothers discomfort while the baby is breastfeeding.

Even today, many of us consider breastfeeding and child birth as two unrelated and separate events. The connection between these two events can be visualized properly if you think of breastfeeding as the 4th stage of labor (after dilation and baby-birth).

The thumb rule says that you will have fewer problems in breastfeeding if you have less intervention at the birth time. So all you need to do is a little homework and make your parenting journey easy. Some tips for you include:

1. Educate yourself and your partner about the childbirth by taking a childbirth education class. The more knowledge you have regarding the birth, the better you will be able to nurse.

2. Study the details of epidurals, labor inductions, v-bacs and c-sections. Researches suggest that women who had C-section have less chances to room-in with their little baby and also have less chances of breastfeeding their babies. The less pain you have had while and after birth, the more problematic will be for you to concentrate on your baby’s needs.

3. Take enough information about how your provider can aid you labor easily without the use of drugs. The smoother your pregnancy is, more comfortable will be the post pregnancy period for you. Ask if you can labor in a tub, the support which you will have, whether you will be allowed to move around.

4. Find a Doula. Doulas help in providing various kinds of help before, during and after child birth. Researches show that doulas help mothers feel satisfied about the baby-birth.

5. Inquire about your hospitals post partum policies. Breastfeeding succeeds more by skin to skin contact with the mother. You can ask for waiting before the baby gets cleaned, measured, bathed until there is a nursing chance.

6. Tell the hospitals not to give any supplemental bottles of formula or glucose. This has increased a lot in the past few years and this is true that supplement feeding will derail nursing.

7. Be well aware as parents. Participate in the decisions for you and your little one. Ask the advantages, disadvantages and risks of various drugs. Meet with other nursing mothers and know their experiences.