Home Cooking Is Best

Home Cooking Is Best: Breastfeeding

Nature has provided women with the equipment to feed our babies successfully. It has carried our kind through millennia, and many other species of mammals for millions of years. Milk production, lactation, is the logical culmination of the reproductive cycle.

A British study found that around 95% of women are physiologically capable of nursing their children, others claim it could be 98%. Many people may say that 'Breast is Best.' I prefer to tell you that breastfeeding is normal, fulfilling the expectations of the new-born child, and meeting so many of a child's needs in their early years.

Healthy, alert babies, not affected by anesthesia or intervention, have the instinct to haul themselves up their mother's belly to the breast, where most would, without interference, latch on and suckle.

The first food, colostrum, is rich in mother's antibodies, and has been called 'Nature's immunization.' It's also rich in nutrients, although it comes in very small quantities, which matches the size of the newborn's stomach, and encourages frequent feeding, the surest way to encourage a sufficient milk supply.

Colostrum is a natural laxative, too, helping baby to expel meconium, the tarry substance which is present in his bowels at birth. Meconium has high levels of bilirubin, and it's continued presence can contribute to new-born jaundice.

Both anesthetics and mother-infant separation can affect the effectiveness of the baby's reflexes, but this does not preclude a healthy breastfeeding relationship. The suckling reflex has been found to be present in babies of just 28 weeks gestation, so prematurity doesn't mean no breastfeeding, either. The breastfeeding baby does not need extra water or glucose or formula, and any of these 'supplements' can disrupt the breastfeeding relationship.

While a little weight loss after birth is normal, supplementing with water will lead to greater weight loss, filling baby up without providing calories. Formula supplements can lead to cow's milk allergy and intolerance, especially when given in the 'new-born' period.

Nipple confusion sometimes arises when babies are fed with bottles or given pacifiers, or if mother uses a nipple shield. Supplements and pacifiers can also contribute to engorgement and reduced milk supply, by reducing the amount of time the baby suckles the breast. Pacifiers have also been associated with slow weight gain and thrush, and with early weaning from the breast, generally when the pacifier (or 'dummy') is used as a weaning tool.

Breastfeeding meets not only the nutritional needs of young babies and children, the closeness can fulfill their need to be held, and all babies have a certain level of 'sucking need' which is met at the breast. While many of a baby's needs are being met at the breast, the mother can ascertain more easily those needs which aren't met at the breast, since their relationship is close and adaptive to each other.

Mothers become attuned to the postures and expressions of their babies, knowing instinctively when to feed and when baby needs some other attention, or no attention at all!

Mother's milk is a constantly changing substance. During a feed, it changes from a thin, sugary substance called foremilk, which is stored in the breast between feeds, to fat-rich hindmilk, which is produced in the breast during each feed. Colostrum changes gradually to milk, and milk gradually changes its constituents week by week to match the needs of the child.

The flavor of breast milk will vary with the mother's own food intake! This tends to make life easier when parents introduce different foods, since baby is already familiar with the taste! Allowing baby to finish the first breast first makes sure that the child gets the right balance of foremilk and hindmilk for them. A baby who consumes too much foremilk, perhaps from having feeding time restricted, may become 'fussy,' both at the breast and in between, may start 'possetting' or 'spitting up' more, and have runny, greenish stools.

Sleepy or poorly babies may benefit from 'switch' feeding, frequent changes of breast for stimulation purposes. Breastfed babies tend not to nurse regularly at first. Many have 'cluster's of feeds, perhaps in the evening (my own daughter nurses several times in the early morning, before we get out of bed!) Efficiency of both breast and baby will dictate how long the infant stays at the breast, along with the baby's personal comfort needs, of course.

Growth spurts tend to occur at 2 to 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks old, when baby tends to feed more in order to increase his supply. Fully breastfed babies have protection against obesity in adulthood, and it is ill-advised to restrict feeds, even with a baby who gains weight rapidly. This can lead to foremilk-hindmilk imbalance, along with depriving the child of the fat reserves which are used up when he reaches toddlerhood.

In the early days, babies have no sense of day and night, this comes to them gradually as they become used to the periods of activity and inactivity in your household. However, breastfeeding should continue to be 'on cue' through the night as well as during the day, since the hormones involved in milk production are higher at night. The simplest way to achieve this is to share sleep with the baby. This allows baby free access to mother's milk at any time during the night.

Sleep laboratory studies have found that co-sleeping parents consistently underestimate the number of feeds taking place during the night. Mother will often not wake while baby latches on, and father may not realize that any feeds have taken place. Parents who do not regularly co-sleep have commented that they feel more rested when they have, even though their baby has been fed more often, though for shorter feeds. The risk of SIDS is reduced by co-sleeping unless either parent smokes, or consumes alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medicines which reduce the responsiveness of the parent.

As baby grows, and his nutritional needs change, so breast milk changes to meet those needs. Most authorities on breastfeeding recommend that exclusive breastfeeding continues until the baby shows signs of readiness for solid food, generally around 6 months of age. Some babies, perhaps those with potential allergy problems, thrive on breast milk alone for much longer while rebutting any attempts to give solid food.

In some cultures, and in the past, solids were not introduced until a child had all his milk teeth, around 2-and-a-half years old. While some babies wean spontaneously around a year old, many nurse through toddlerhood and out the other side! This seems biologically normal, and anthropological studies where human attributes have been compared with other mammals' have shown that weaning should occur between 4 and 8 years of age. While that may seem abnormal to some, some children do not wean from the bottle, pacifier or trainer cup until around this age, either.

Breastfeeding is a natural resource which deserves sustaining, by mothers continuing to breastfeeding their babies and supporting others to do so. We also need the support of our medical practitioners, our families, our employers, and our government policy makers to ensure that all mothers have access to good information on breastfeeding, and that all babies have access to their mothers to be breastfed.

About the Author: Ms Oldfield resides in England, is a member of the La Leche League, and is active in the movement to return families to the natural world of breastfeeding.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of Ms Oldfield, and do not reflect the views of the La Leche League or their affiliates. If you have any questions about breastfeeding, please contact the La Leche League.