3 Breastfeeding Rules
Just Meant to be Broken
By Carrie Lauth
Breastfeeding advice abounds in parenting magazines, books, websites, and
even free booklets from formula manufacturers.
Some of the information is contradictory
and some of it is just plain
false. For instance, here are 3 bad pieces
of advice and why they’re bound to lead
to problems.
Only nurse for X minutes per side
Fill in the blank here. It may be 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes, but breastfeeding mothers are often told to watch the clock instead of watching their baby. Well meaning people (like the labour and deliver nurse who told me this after my oldest was born) say this because they think that soreness has to do with how long or how often baby nurses. It doesn’t. Soreness has to do with how baby nurses.
So why is this poor advice?
Because babies can’t tell time. A newborn
may take 15 minutes to nurse on
one breast, especially if he’s (and you’re)
still learning the ropes. Don’t set a time
limit on your newborn’s nursings. There
is no such thing as non-nutritive sucking.
Baby will always be rewarded with ounces
or drops of milk for as long as he is at
the breast.
In addition, the milk that baby gets at
the end of the feeding, after the second letdown, is higher in
fat and calories.
Limiting time at the breast may, for some
babies, lead to slow weight gain, fussiness,
excessive gassiness and other problems.
Breastfed babies poop every day
While many young breastfed infants do have a dirty diaper every day, many don’t. This has led to much angst of the part of a poor mom who thinks her baby is starving if he doesn’t fill a diaper every day. Remember that breast-milk is digested completely and there is none or little “waste”. Sometimes, especially during a period of rapid growth, your baby will skip days in between bowel movements. My second child went eight days without a bowel movement once when he was a newborn, and I was concerned. When he did finally go, he made up in quantity what he lacked in frequency. If memory serves, several loads of laundry were needed to clean up the resulting mess! If your baby is producing plenty of wet diapers, has no signs of dehydration and is gaining weight according to schedule, he’s probably fine. The consistency of his movements rather than the frequency is a more accurate sign of constipation. Keep in mind that totally breastfed infants do not get constipated. If a baby who is eating some solids struggles to pass a hard stool, call your doctor or a breastfeeding consultant. And don’t limit his time at the breast.
Don’t let him use you for a pacifier
This is another well intentioned
piece of advice in which the advice
giver tries to lighten the load of the
breastfeeding mother, but it betrays a
lack of understanding of the breastfeeding
relationship.
Breastfed infants do not just nurse when
they are hungry. They also nurse when
they are thirsty, tired, over-stimulated,
scared, hurt, coming down with an illness,
lonely or bored. And that’s ok.
Frequent nursing keeps a mother’s milk
supply at a high level to meet baby’s
needs. A baby who suddenly wants to
nurse “constantly” may be going through
a growth spurt and is signaling to mom
to “send more milk!” in the most effective
way possible. Or he may be teething or
otherwise not feeling well.
Think about how you might feel if
someone said that you shouldn’t comfort
your preschooler when they fell
down and skinned their knee. A baby
who uses the breast as a “pacifier” is no
different than that older child, or a
friend who calls you for a shoulder to
cry on. It’s called relationship.
Nursing is also pleasurable for babies.
Sucking is a comfort and regulates the
nervous system, and for the young
infant, the best kind of sucking is the
kind that takes place at the breast. Babies
who are offered pacifiers tend to wean
earlier than babies who don’t take them.
Frequent nursing also has benefits for
Mom. Levels of certain hormones are
kept constant in her bloodstream, helping
her to feel calmer, more impervious
to stress, and happier. Frequent nursing
also tends to keep fertility away, which
may be a desirable side effect and also
protects her health long term.
The bottom line? Listen to the baby
and your own common sense, and listen
less to the books and advice givers.
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