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Feeding mother milk to baby


Breast Milk Is Best | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Breast Milk Is Best | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby. It contains just the right amount of nutrients. It is also gentle on your baby's developing stomach, intestines, and other body systems. It is recommended that you breastfeed until your baby is 6 months old, then breastfeed with solid foods until at least 1 to 2 years old.

Benefits of breastmilk

You may know some of the reasons that breastfeeding is best for your baby. Here are some of those reasons.

Healthy nutrients

  • Compared with formula, the nutrients in breastmilk are better absorbed and used by your baby. These include sugar (carbohydrate) and protein.

  • Breastmilk has the nutrients that are best for your baby’s brain growth and nervous system development. Studies of breastfed babies have found that they do better on intelligence tests when they grow older.

  • A breastfed baby's eyes also work better. This is mostly because of certain types of fat in breastmilk.

Preventing infections

  • Breastmilk has many disease-fighting factors. They help prevent mild to severe infections and hospitalization.

  • Breastfed babies have far fewer digestive, lung, and ear infections.

  • Babies born early (premature) who are breastfed are also less likely to get a serious infection of the intestines called NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis).

  • If your baby gets an infection when breastfeeding, the infection is likely to be less severe.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis | David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D.

Preventing other conditions

Breastfeeding helps protects babies from many serious health problems. And it keeps on offering protection as they get older. Breastfed babies have:

  • A lower risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) than babies who are not breastfed.

  • A lower risk of getting asthma and skin problems related to allergies. Formula-fed babies are more likely to have milk allergies.

  • Less diarrhea and a lowered chance of getting some digestive conditions. Formula can actually change healthy bacteria in a baby's intestines. The bacteria help with digestion and fighting disease.

  • A lower risk of developing leukemia.

  • Fewers long-term health problems as they grow up. These include diabetes and obesity.

Women who breastfeed also get many health benefits. If you breastfeed, you are more likely to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy. You are also less likely to get breast and ovarian cancer and diabetes later in life.  

What is exclusive breastfeeding?

Only breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months of life is best for your baby. This is called "exclusive" breastfeeding. Breastmilk can be expressed and fed to your baby in a bottle, as needed.

You should not give your baby water, sugar water, formula, or solids during his or her first 6 months. The only exception to this is:

Your baby’s provider may also tell you to give your baby vitamins. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfed babies get extra vitamin D. Your baby's provider will tell you about the type and amount of vitamin D you should give your baby.

Risks of not breastfeeding only

You know about many of the benefits of breastfeeding. But you might not know why it is important to breastfeed only for at least 6 months.

Your baby gets the best protection against health problems when he or she gets only breastmilk. Breastfeeding some of the time is good. But breastfeeding all of the time is best.

Giving your baby formula or other liquids may make you:

  • Have more problems breastfeeding

  • Produce less milk

  • Be less confident in breastfeeding

  • Breastfeed less often

  • Stop breastfeeding before your baby is at least 6 months old                                                                                                                                      

Who should not breastfeed only

Breastfeeding only is almost always recommended. But your healthcare provider may have reasons to recommend giving your baby formula or other liquids. They include:

  • Your baby has certain health problems. Breastmilk only is usually recommended, but you may need to add formula or other liquids. For example, your baby may need this if he or she has low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), or loss of body fluids (dehydration).

  • You have or have had certain health problems. There are few reasons why you should not breastfeed your baby. Some infections can be passed through your breastmilk. Also, women taking certain medicines or using drugs or alcohol should not breastfeed..  

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | Breastfeeding

What are the benefits of breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding is good for both infants and mothers. Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most infants. As an infant grows, breast milk changes to meet the infant’s nutritional needs. Breastfeeding can also help protect the infant and mother against certain illnesses and diseases:

Benefits to Infants

Infants who are breastfed have a lower risk of:

  • Asthma.
  • Obesity.
  • Type 1 diabetes.
  • Severe lower respiratory disease.
  • Acute otitis media (ear infections).
  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  • Gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting).
  • Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) for preterm infants.

Benefit to Mothers

Mothers who breastfeed their infants have a lower risk of:

  • Breast cancer.
  • Ovarian cancer.
  • Type 2 diabetes.
  • High blood pressure.

Families can visit CDC’s Infant and Toddler Nutrition website to learn more about what to expect while breastfeeding.

When should a mother avoid breastfeeding (contraindications)?

Breast milk provides the best nutrition for most infants, including premature and sick newborns. However, there are rare exceptions when breast milk or breastfeeding is not recommended. Learn more about contraindications to breastfeeding.

Only a few medications are contraindicated (not recommended) while breastfeeding. Although many medications do pass into breast milk, most have little or no effect on milk supply or on an infant’s well-being. However, health care providers should always weigh the risks and benefits when prescribing medications to breastfeeding mothers.

Learn more about safe prescription medication use while breastfeeding.

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How is growth assessed for breastfed infants?

In the United States, the World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Standard Charts are recommended for use with both breastfed and formula-fed infants and children, from birth to 2 years of age, to monitor growth. The WHO growth charts reflect growth patterns among children who were predominantly breastfed for at least 4 months and were still breastfeeding at 12 months. The WHO growth charts establish the growth of the breastfed infant as the norm for growth and are the standards for how children should grow when provided optimal conditions. Clinicians should be aware that healthy breastfed infants typically gain weight faster than formula-fed infants in the first few months of life but then gain weight more slowly for the remainder of infancy, even after complementary foods are introduced.

For children older than 2 years (2 to 19 years of age) CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that health care providers use the CDC Growth Reference Charts.

Visit the Growth Chart Training website for a set of self-directed, interactive training courses.

Source: Grummer-Strawn LM, Reinold C, Krebs NF. Use of the World Health Organization and CDC growth charts for children aged 0 to 59 months in the United States. MMWR  Recomm Rep. 2010;59(RR-9):1–15.

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How long should a mother breastfeed?

The U. S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans [PDF-30.6MB] recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for about the first 6 months, and then continuing breastfeeding while introducing appropriate complementary foods until your child is 12 months old or older. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization also recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first 6 months, with continued breastfeeding along with introducing appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years of age or longer.

Mothers should be encouraged to breastfeed their children for at least 1 year. The longer an infant is breastfed, the greater the protection from certain illnesses and long-term diseases. The more months or years a woman breastfeeds (combined breastfeeding of all her children), the greater the benefits to her health as well.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. To learn more about infant and toddler feeding, visit CDC’s Infant and Toddler Nutrition website.

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What can happen if someone else’s breast milk is given to another child?

Very few illnesses are transmitted via breast milk. Learn more about what to do if an infant or child is mistakenly fed another woman’s expressed breast milk.

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Are special precautions needed for handling breast milk?

CDC does not list human breast milk as a body fluid to which universal precautions apply. Occupational exposure to human breast milk has not been shown to lead to transmission of HIV or Hepatitis B infection. However, because human breast milk has been implicated in transmitting HIV from mother to infant, gloves may be worn as a precaution by health care workers who are frequently exposed to breast milk (e.g., people working in human milk banks (defined below). For additional information regarding universal precautions as they apply to breast milk in the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B infections, visit the following resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Perspectives in disease prevention and health promotion update: universal precautions for prevention of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, Hepatitis B virus, and other bloodborne pathogens in health-care settings. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1988;37(24):377–388.

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Where can mothers find more information about preparation and storage of breast milk?

CDC has guidelines for proper storage and preparation of breast milk to maintain the safety and quality of expressed breast milk for the health of the baby.

For more information about specific storage and preparation of breast milk questions, such as where to store breast milk at work, and what to do when the power goes out, visit CDC’s Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk Frequently Asked Questions.

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What are human milk banks?

Human milk banks are a service established for the purpose of collecting milk from donors and processing, screening, storing, and distributing donated milk to meet the specific needs of individuals for whom human milk is prescribed by licensed health care providers. When possible, human milk banks also serve healthy infants who have been adopted or are not able to get their own mother’s milk.

Milk banks accept donations directly at their deposit sites or they can arrange for safe, overnight transportation of human milk at no cost to the donor. Learn more about donating to a milk bank by visiting the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).

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Is it safe for families to buy breast milk on the internet?

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food and Drug Administration recommend avoiding Internet-based milk sharing sites and instead recommend contacting milk banks. Research has demonstrated that some milk samples sold online have been contaminated with a range of bacteria.1

Nonprofit donor human milk banks, where processed human milk comes from screened donors, have a long safety record in North America. All member banks of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) must operate under specific evidence-based guidelines that require extensive testing and processing procedures as well as self-reported health information and a health statement from both the donor’s health care provider and the infant’s health care provider. Because most of the milk from milk banks is given to hospitalized and fragile infants, milk banks may not have enough to serve healthy infants at all times. To find a human milk bank, contact HMBANA.

1Keim, SA, Hogan, JS, McNamara, KA, et al. Microbial contamination of human milk purchased via the internet. Pediatrics. 2013;132(5).

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What legal rights do breastfeeding mothers have?

Breastfeeding Laws

  • All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location. Visit the National Conference of State Legislatures to learn more about federal and state laws that protect and support breastfeeding.

Workplace Laws

  • The “Break Time for Nursing Mothers Provision”  of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to support breastfeeding mothers to express breast milk for 1 year after each child’s birth by providing mothers with reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space to express their breast milk. Visit the United States Department of Labor to learn more.

Travel Laws

  • Air travelers are permitted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to bring breast milk, formula, and juice in excess of 3.4 ounces in their carry-on baggage and it does not need to fit within a quart size bag. Ice packs, freezer packs, and other accessories needed to keep the liquid cool are also allowed in carry-on bags. All liquids and partially frozen accessories are subject to being screened by X-ray. TSA is required by the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act (BABES act) to provide ongoing training to ensure TSA staff receive consistent training related to traveling with breast milk, formula, and infant feeding equipment. Visit the TSA to learn more about traveling with breast milk, formula, and juice. For tips on travel and breastfeeding, visit Travel Recommendations for the Nursing Mother.

Visit the Federal Policies, Programs, & Initiatives website to learn more about laws related to breastfeeding protections.

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How can a mother continue to provide breast milk to her infant after returning to work or school?

Being prepared for returning to work or school can help a mother ease the transition and continue to breastfeed after her maternity leave is over. The Office on Women’s Health has information for making this transition easier.

When a mother is away from her infant, she can pump or hand express her breast milk so that her infant can drink breast milk from a bottle. Mothers can visit CDC’s Infant and Toddler Nutrition website to learn more about pumping breast milk.

Mothers who are expressing their breast milk should visit the CDC’s Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk website to learn how to prepare and store breast milk safely for her infant.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to support breastfeeding mothers to express breast milk for 1 year after each child’s birth by providing mothers with reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space to express their breast milk.  For more information about the types of employees and employers to which the requirements apply, refer to the United States Department of Labor’s Frequently Asked Questions.

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Where can mothers find breastfeeding support and additional Information about breastfeeding?

Help mothers find lactation support through the following resources:

  • International Lactation Consultant Association (IBCLCs)
  • United States Lactation Consultant Association (IBCLCs)
  • Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics
  • La Leche League

Help mothers find resources about breastfeeding by directing them to the following websites:

  • CDC— Infant and Toddler Nutrition
  • Office on Women’s Health—Breastfeeding
  • American Academy of Pediatrics—Healthy Children
  • United States Breastfeeding Committee—State Coalitions Directory
  • US Department of Agriculture—WIC Breastfeeding Support

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Does breastfeeding during a child’s vaccine injections help with pain management?

Parents who are breastfeeding should be encouraged to breastfeed children age 2 years or younger before, during, and after their child’s vaccination. Several aspects of breastfeeding are thought to decrease pain by multiple mechanisms: being held by the parent, feeling skin-to-skin contact, suckling, being distracted, and ingesting breast milk. Potential adverse events such as gagging or spitting up have not been reported. Alternatives to breastfeeding include bottle-feeding with expressed breast milk or formula throughout the child’s procedure, which simulates aspects of breastfeeding.

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Does breastfeeding after a child’s rotavirus vaccine impact the vaccine’s efficacy?

There is not sufficient evidence to suggest that breastfeeding can have a negative effect on rotavirus vaccine efficacy. A previous study found that human milk from women who live in areas with endemic rotavirus contains antibodies that can neutralize live rotavirus vaccine virus. However, in licensing trials, the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccine in breastfed infants was comparable to that in non-breastfed infants.

CDC does not recommend restricting or discontinuing breastfeeding before or after a child receives the rotavirus vaccine. Breastfed infants should be vaccinated according to the same schedule as non-breastfed infants.

Learn More about prevention of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis among infants and children.

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Breastfeeding on demand

You can often hear from a nursing mother: "I feed on demand, my baby requires a breast every 3.5 hours." Or: “I have always fed on demand. In a year, we already had 1 feeding in the evening, and my child calmly refused to breastfeed. Before talking about the demand of the child, it is necessary to find out what modern women mean when they say - "I breastfeed."

Modern mothers consider breastfeeding necessary for feeding their baby. Just for feeding. Breast milk is food, the mother supplies the baby with the nutrients necessary for growth and development. When a baby suckles at the breast, he eats. Breastfeeding makes sense only as a process of supplying proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements.

During suckling, the baby receives the nutrients it needs with mother's milk. This is the absolute truth. There is another unconditional truth, which is not given any importance in modern society, it is not taken into account and is not considered. Breastfeeding for a child is communication with the mother. We need to figure out how the child understands feeding on demand? Can he understand anything at all? Is there any difference for him how he is fed, for 15-20 minutes after 3.5 hours or in some other way?

What is on-demand feeding

On-demand feeding of a newborn baby means putting it to the breast for every squeak or search. Squeak and search movements in newborns, even as early as the second or third day of life, begin to appear much more often than after 3.5 or 2.5 hours. The need for attachments increases rapidly, and by the 10-12th day of life, the need to attach to a child may occur 15-16 or more times a day. Applications vary in duration. The baby can fall asleep and sleep while sucking for, for example, 1. 5-2 hours. Can release the breast after 1-2 minutes. And then ask her again. Why does a child need such frequent contact with his mother's breast?

That's why. Being in the mother's belly, in a calm, familiar environment, listening to the noises of the mother's body, being in a warm, cramped, confined space, the baby sucked his fist, fingers, loops of the umbilical cord, swallowed amniotic fluid. Learned to suck and swallow. After birth, experiencing discomfort for any, the most insignificant reason, the baby tries to get rid of it. You can get rid of discomfort by getting into the usual conditions of a comfortable stay. The only place where the baby after birth can feel the sensations familiar to him is in the arms of the mother. The only familiar action is sucking. The only familiar taste and smell is the taste and smell of milk and lube in the areola. Milk and lubricant have an odor and taste similar to the taste and smell of amniotic fluid. Therefore, experiencing discomfort, the baby squeaks, or begins to look for an object to suck with his mouth. Ideally, it is immediately applied to the chest. The baby becomes warm, cramped, he hears the beating of his mother's heart, breathing, grumbling in the intestines, he sucks and feels the familiar taste and smell. If such an action happens constantly, the baby gains confidence, no matter what happens, he will solve all his problems with his mother. The place of comfort is now under the breast, and you can suck on the breast.

This whole process is biologically justified. A newborn child does not feel the feeling of hunger, this feeling is not formed in him. It will begin to form at about two months of age. How to feed a creature that does not experience hunger ?! How to encourage him to take some action to get food? This can be done only at the expense of some other incentives. This stimulus for the newborn is constant bodily discomfort, thanks to which he wants to suckle all the time! The most intense, frequent and prolonged sucking in infants is observed in the first two or three months of life. It is in these first months that the main weight gain of the baby occurs.

Feeding in the first month

Baby falls asleep with breast in mouth, sleeps sucking for a while. Falling asleep deeply, lets go of the chest. After sleeping for a while, he wakes up, and is applied on waking. After sleep, he can stay awake for some time, for example, an hour and a half. During wakefulness, he may feel discomfort 2-3 times, for example, from a completely natural desire to pee, and having called his mother for help, having kissed for a couple of minutes, he will do his deeds. Then he will want to sleep, feel discomfort and, kissing his chest, will again fall asleep sucking. After some time, he will wake up and attach again. Then again a little "walk". And after some time, he will fall asleep at the chest again.

The daytime naps of a one-month-old infant feeding on demand vary in duration and number. There can be 4-6 dreams during the day, and they can last from 5-15 minutes to 2-2. 5 sometimes 3 hours. "Around" each dream, the baby is applied to the chest, and applied between dreams several times. At night, the child falls asleep at the breast. Usually in the early morning hours, he begins to fuss and apply. In the morning, he almost never fully wakes up. The baby sleeps, from time to time, sucking on his mother's breast. Waking up in the morning, the baby is again applied to the chest. If you count all the attachments that have happened in a baby of one month of age, then approximately 16-20 attachments are obtained. This is how a newborn human cub behaves if it is given the opportunity to behave in accordance with physiological and psychological needs, which, by the way, are genetically determined. The child of the first months of life does not separate his personality from the personality of the mother and from her breast. Mom and her breasts, and everything connected with them, are the universe of the baby and himself.

In most cases, a modern woman, being afraid to “accustom a child to hands”, strives to limit his requests for suckling. A pacifier and a bottle of tea or water come to her aid in this matter. They, too, can be sucked ... The need for sucking seems to be satisfied. But only the need for communication with the mother during suckling is not satisfied, the peculiar chain of mutual assistance and cooperation between mother and baby is destroyed, the formation of maternal affection and concentration is disrupted. Is the difference in the two actions noticeable to the reader: the baby cried, the mother took him, put him to her chest and started rocking him, or gave him a pacifier and started rocking the stroller, even with the words “Why are you crying, my sun?”

The modern woman who gives a pacifier and pumps a stroller is not a bad person deliberately harming an infant. She is simply in captivity of prejudices regarding the relationship between mother and baby. She does not know how to behave correctly, does not know what to do in accordance with the natural needs of the child. If you tell her what the child really needs, she will exclaim in horror: “What is it, don’t let him get away with?!” Indeed, the child of the first months of life must not be let off the hook. For a woman who does not know how to comfortably carry a baby, and who does not know how to feed him in various positions (sitting, lying, standing and even moving), this can be very difficult. Especially if she is not sure of the correctness of her actions.

An action that should become automatic for the mother of a newborn: when the baby cries or shows other signs of anxiety, put the baby to the breast.

What's next?

The baby is growing. A fairly stable rhythm of daytime sleep begins to form in him, and a 3-4-month-old baby behaves quite differently from a newborn. Feeding on demand at this age looks something like this...

  • At three months, the baby has 10-12 feeds during the day and 2-4 at night. There are frequent applications for a short time, but their number is reduced. There may be a long night break in feedings, about 5 hours, but this is very rare. Much more often the night break is 2.5-3.5 hours. By this age, the baby's body is noticeably rounded.
  • At four months, the baby begins to breastfeed noticeably less frequently. The main feedings are associated with sleep: the baby suckles before bedtime, during awakening and during sleep, both daytime and nighttime. In this regard, he has a fairly accurate feeding regimen. And many babies stop breastfeeding when they wake up after daytime sleep, sometimes as early as 2.5-3 months.
  • At five months, the baby has 8-10 daytime feedings and 2-3 nighttime, attachments as well as in the fourth month of life, are organized around dreams - the baby eats when going to bed and some babies suck during awakening.
  • At six months, the feeding regimen changes. The most active sucking shifts to the last 2-3 hours before waking up from a night's sleep. The period of daytime wakefulness can be divided into two periods: in the morning, when the baby sucked during the night is rarely applied to the breast, and in the evening, when attachments become very frequent. In total, there can be 7-10 day applications and 3-4 night applications. At this age, the baby begins a period of acquaintance with new food - pedagogical complementary foods. Sometimes there are attachments associated with the introduction of complementary foods, the baby “washes down” samples of new food with mother's milk. But many children do not want to drink complementary foods. When complementary foods are introduced to an on-demand baby, it is never meant to replace feedings with complementary foods. This is practically impossible, because the main feedings of the baby are associated with sleep, and mother's breakfasts, lunches and dinners, during which the baby gets acquainted with new food, are located between the baby's dreams, during his wakefulness.
  • At seven months, the frequency of application is about the same.
  • At eight months, the feeding regimen changes. Since the baby shows high motor activity and is very busy exploring the surrounding space, in the daytime he forgets to breastfeed. In this regard, the number of daily feedings can be reduced to 6-8 times. The baby compensates for the reduction in daytime feedings by increasing the frequency and duration of nighttime feedings up to 6 times.
  • In the second half of the year, babies who stopped breastfeeding when waking up after daytime naps recall this habit again. The baby’s daytime sleep in the second half of life, as well as in the region of a year and older, looks something like this: the baby falls asleep sucking, sleeps quietly for a while, for example 1-1.5 hours, then starts tossing and turning, fiddling, worrying, at this moment the mother lies down next to , gives him a breast and the baby can fill up 10-15-30 minutes sucking. Mom may well use this time for her own rest - lie down, read, while the baby sleeps while sucking. I know my mother, a lover of embroidery, who used this time specifically for embroidery ...
  • Breastfeeding becomes more frequent at nine to ten months. In the daytime, this is 4-6 full feedings and about the same number of attachments for various reasons. The baby has new reasons for attachment. If, during active actions to master the world, the baby fills a bump or gets scared, he calms down with his mother's breast. There may be situations when you can comfort the baby by sitting next to him and hugging him. At night, 4-6 feedings remain, the baby begins to suckle more actively in the morning between 3 and 8 hours.
  • At eleven months, a baby can already have 2-3 complete complementary foods. Initiation to adult food in the mind of a child is not associated with breastfeeding: attachment to the mother's breast is something other than the desire to get enough of the product they like. As a rule, after the baby has eaten, he feels the need to attach himself to the breast. The number of daily feedings remains the same in the child, but the number of short-term attachments increases. There are active mid-morning feedings between 4 and 8 o'clock in the morning.
  • At ten or twelve months, the baby, if he is already walking, can sometimes breastfeed every time he comes to his mother, i. e. about every 15-30 minutes. Attachments around dreams and night sucking persist. Therefore, if a mother says that a child suckles once or twice a day, this means that there is no feeding at the request of the child. There are restrictions imposed by the mother, with which the baby has come to terms. He treats breast sucking like food, sucks on a pacifier or a finger to fall asleep or soothe, or falls asleep just like that, without calming down.
  • At twelve months, the baby is applied in about the same way.
  • At the age of one and a half years, there may already be one daytime nap, so there are fewer attachments associated with sleep. Preserved for morning sucking. The baby is very free with his mother's breasts. Sometimes it happens that he comes up to suck just for pleasure. For example, like this: he comes up, climbs on his knees, looks into his mother’s face, smiles, starts to swarm in his shirt, gets breasts, smiles at his breasts, sucks for 30 seconds and leaves.

As for the number of feedings per day when feeding a child on demand, their number is almost never less than 12. A newborn has 12 or more attachments, mostly they are all associated with dreams. And a child, say 1.5-2 years old, can also have about 12 attachments, only 3-4 are associated with sleep, and the rest are short-term attachments for various reasons. I suggest to all mothers reading this text - do not count the application, do not notice their duration. Breastfeed your baby as often as he asks, when you feel the need to.

Moms who don't think about breastfeeding without looking at the clock may get the impression that when breastfeeding on demand, the mother can do nothing but feed the baby. This is wrong. After the birth of a baby, a mother begins another life, she is called life with a baby. That's all. The child is with the mother, not the mother with the child! Feel the difference! You need to be able to organize your life in a different way, in the first months, of course, the help of loved ones is very necessary. In the tradition of many peoples, it was customary for the first 40 days after childbirth to remove a woman from any housework and household chores, she was engaged only in a child. In some nations, objects that the mother of a newborn touched were considered “unclean”, therefore, they preferred to protect the mother from the rest of the household, allocating her a separate “corner” of the house, where no one bothered her and she did not interfere with anyone. Among the Slavs, such a restrictive custom was called a six-week. By 1.5-2 months, the rhythm of daytime dreams begins to form, and the baby has a kind of “regime”, the mother becomes more free.

For a mother who can't imagine breastfeeding without looking back at the clock, and who is sure that the “right” baby is the baby lying quietly in her crib all the time, feeding on demand will be a complete hassle. It will be much easier for such a mother if she stops looking at the clock and ties the baby to herself with a large scarf or uses a patchwork holder (sling). It will become easier for her if she stops running between the nursery and the kitchen, but takes the baby with her to the kitchen and carries him around the house with her, doing housework, in a box, a cradle, a special chair, if she tries not to put him off often, and pick up as soon as possible, postponing the baby only in case of emergency and not for long.

Breastfeeding is not the same as house arrest. In the conditions of modern society, it is possible to organize the exit of a nursing mother to work from about 6 months of age of the baby. If necessary, you can start working from the age of 4 months, but, of course, it is better not every day of the week and not full time. It is the responsibility of a breastfeeding consultant to help a mother organize her return to work.

Sometimes, when I advise mothers on breastfeeding, I suggest that they forget for a second that they are already living in the 21st century. I propose to return, for example, to the cave and ask what they will do if the child woke up at night, how to calm him down? If you are walking through the forest and trying not to attract the attention of predators, how to make the baby silent? If the child is thirsty, what will you give him? What is the baby used to, for thousands of years of its existence? To the fact that he sleeps on his mother while she wanders through the forest with a digging stick in search of roots, and wakes up when mother stops. Since mom stopped, then there is time to wake up and suck. Therefore, even now the child sleeps well, tied to the mother with a patchwork holder, wakes up when the mother, having done a few household chores, sits in a chair to take care of the baby.

Some mother, reading about the cave, will be offended, saying that she is a civilized creature. But please think. Man, mother's breast and mother's milk have been created by evolution over millions of years. They are made for each other. Baby food has created progress and more recently. The skills of motherhood and breastfeeding have also been lost by our society quite recently. A person is not physiologically adapted to artificial feeding and a pacifier. The mother's breast will not produce enough milk at 6-7 feedings per day. Nature did not know, when creating man as a mammal, that the time would come when the need for breastfeeding would be satisfied by some kind of pacifiers and nipples.

Changes that occur during the formation of the personality of a child who did not have full contact with the mother during prolonged breastfeeding are noted by modern research by psychologists and sociologists. These are changes with a minus sign. It would be better if they were not, these changes.

Breastfeeding is not only important for the baby, it is also important for the mother. During on-demand feeding, the woman's feelings change, a stronger attachment to the baby is formed, the woman becomes more sensitive to the needs of the baby. Deeper affection and understanding are not only preserved in infancy. They persist for life. For clarity, imagine what happens to a woman’s feelings if she tries to “withstand” a child, endures his crying, anxiety. What happens to a woman if she uses the recommendation from one very popular parenting book: "Go to the child if he cries for more than 15 minutes"? Speaking in abstract terms, humanity is interested in reviving the practice of breastfeeding. The revival of this practice is impossible without mothers realizing the true reasons for the child's need for attachment to the breast.

Lilia Kazakova, pediatrician,
Head of Lactation and Child Care Counselors

BREASTFEEDING: BENEFITS FOR EVERYONE

We want to lift the veil of secrecy and finally convince all expectant and new mothers that breastfeeding is the most necessary nutrition for a child.

To begin with, I would like to tell you about the uniqueness of composition of breast milk . Breast milk is the ideal food for a baby. This product was created by nature, fully balancing its composition to the needs of the growing child.

Breast milk fats contain certain compounds that immature intestinal enzymes can break down. In addition, mother's milk contains its own lipase enzyme, which promotes the digestion of fats. Thanks to lipase, breastfed babies are less likely to have problems with stools, suffer less from colic and constipation.
Human milk whey proteins are of high biological value. They are easily digested, absorbed and take an active part in the construction of tissues and organs of the baby. It is very important and valuable that mother's milk proteins do not cause allergic reactions, which cannot be said about mixtures made on the basis of cow's milk.
Human milk carbohydrates include the sugar lactose, which creates an ideal acidic environment in the baby's intestines. It prevents the growth and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria, thereby protecting the baby from infections.

Breastfeeding: benefits for the baby

Milk fully satisfies the energy needs of children. The child eats exactly as much as he needs. Bottle feeding, unfortunately, does not predispose to this. Everything else breast milk contains vitamins, enzymes, hormones and other biological substances necessary for the growth and development of the baby.

Together with milk, the mother passes on her immunity to the baby - lysozyme, immunoglobulins and antibodies to various diseases she has suffered. Thus, the baby is protected from many infections. No wonder they say that breastfeeding is the guardian of health. And what is very important, mother's milk contributes to the proper colonization of the intestines with beneficial microflora. And this, you see, determines the health of the gastrointestinal tract for many years. The correct order of settlement of lacto - and bifidobacteria of the intestine is provided by breast milk . And the right microflora, in turn, ensures good digestion and soft stools.

Breastfeeding is beneficial for the development of the facial skull. When the nipple is captured, the correct bite is formed and various dental problems are prevented, including caries. Which, unfortunately, can not be said about sucking nipples and bottles.

Breast milk does not need to be heated, sterilized, which simplifies the task of feeding. In addition, such food cannot turn sour, deteriorate and “reward” the child with an intestinal infection.
A very important point is the close psychological bond that is formed between a mother and her baby through breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding: benefits for the mother

We all know that breastfeeding is good for the baby. And, having read the previous section, you even know why. But few people are aware of the significance of this process for the mother herself. While it's just awesome.

At the time of breastfeeding, a woman's body produces a hormone oxytocin . It promotes contraction of the uterus. That is why it is so important to attach the baby to the breast even in the delivery room in the first half hour after his birth. Rapid contraction of the uterus helps stop bleeding and prevents them in the postpartum period. Breastfeeding in the first 2 months helps the uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy shape, as well as to return to their usual places for all internal organs shifted during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding is a natural prevention of breast cancer. According to some reports, feeding a child for three months reduces the likelihood of breast cancer by 50%, and ovarian cancer by 25%.

Well helps breastfeeding and with mastopathy, as well as with mastitis - inflammation of the mammary gland. However, it is important to remember that frequent attachment to the breast and prolonged sucking is effective for the mother and safe for the child only when it is not about purulent mastitis. This form of the disease is a contraindication for natural feeding.
Breastfeeding allows a woman to regain her former shape and build more quickly. Of course, only if during natural feeding the mother eats for two, and not for two.

Scientists have found that breastfeeding... strengthens the immune system. This is due to the acceleration of metabolic processes in the body of the mother. That contributes to the renewal of tissues, the removal of toxins and toxins.

Breastfeeding protects against depression. The fact is that the absence of this natural process after childbirth leads to a decrease in the level of sex hormones - endogenous depression develops. While a nursing mother, in the process of sucking her breast, a baby releases a whole bunch of useful hormones, including endorphin - the hormone of pleasure and joy.

Among other things breastfeeding is convenient and makes life much easier for the mother. You can enjoy motherhood without sterilizing bottles, preparing formula, and worrying about cleanliness of breeding grounds (where possible, except in your own kitchen). When breastfeeding, food for the baby is always with you, it is warm and tasty, the way he likes.

And one more thing. High-quality adapted formulas are quite expensive, while mother's milk - the most delicious and healthy - comes to you completely free of charge.

Breastfeeding promotes lactation. It is important to enjoy the process of feeding. After all, your emotions are transmitted to the crumbs at a subconscious level. Close contact between mother and child is very important. The warmth of the mother's body soothes the baby. Mutual affection stimulates milk production.

Premature babies require careful care. Contact "skin to skin" stimulates the growth of the child, relieves stress.

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