Breast milk is ideal food for a baby during the first months of life. Knowing this, many young mothers try their best to establish natural feeding and continue it as long as possible. There are several secrets for women to succeed in this endeavor and breastfeed for as long as necessary.
The composition of breast milk fully meets the needs of the baby's body and is ideally balanced. It includes fats, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, autoenzymes that promote the rapid digestion of milk, as well as maternal antibodies. And this is only a small part of what the mother's body is able to provide for her child.
Features of breastfeeding
Mother's milk is individual in composition, which is regulated by the baby himself. This means that the composition of milk can change during the day, and it also changes throughout the entire lactation period.
The quality of milk largely depends on the health of the woman. Lack of vitamins and minerals in the mother's body can adversely affect the growth and neuropsychic development of the newborn. Realizing this, many mothers start to worry about whether they have enough milk and how to properly latch their baby to the breast.
Pediatricians are sure that in the first 6 months of life, only one breast should be given per feeding. The child first sucks out the so-called "upper" milk, which serves as a drink for him. Only then does he get to the more fatty "lower" milk, which provides him with everything he needs to develop quickly and grow well. If you correctly alternate the breast during feeding and give the baby a meal in 2, 5-3 hours, then each mammary gland has time to fill up over the past 5-6 hours. The nutritional needs of the infant with this diet are fully satisfied, and lactation becomes more stable.
"Golden" rules for successful feeding
There are a number of requirements, the observance of which helps to quickly establish breastfeeding and maintain it throughout the entire first year of a child's life. First of all, it is necessary to apply the baby to the breast immediately after birth. Colostrum is an irreplaceable source of protective antibodies against the millions of microbes that a newborn encounters in the first minutes of life.
The child and the mother should be in the same room - then the mother can feed the baby immediately after he wants it. First, the newborn should be fed on demand, without expressing "excess" milk. Bottle feeding should be avoided. Only in this case, the baby will develop the habit of sucking the breast correctly, and the mammary gland will produce exactly such an amount that he can eat.
It is not recommended to wash your breasts before and after feeding, because any soap dries the skin, and cracks form on the nipples. To maintain hygiene, it is enough for a woman to take a shower in the morning and in the evening. It is not difficult to follow the above tips, and efforts to preserve breast milk always pay off handsomely: the baby will be healthy, well-fed and cheerful.
