Be Prepared for Breastfeeding

In an age when often our first experience of breastfeeding is our own child at the breast, something that's 'natural' isn't always easy.  In the western world we frequently grow up without the first hand opportunity to observe breastfeeding and learn.  We don't tend to walk around with our nipples bared, so the first onslaught to the breast from a newborn can be a little arduous to that soft tissue!  If the newborn has trouble latching on (possibly through being 'tongue-tied') or through incorrect positioning, then problems can rapidly escalate with the result of an anguished mother and hungry baby.

Couple the roughness of a babies tongue with the rigid roof of the mouth and if the nipple isn't far enough back in the newborn's mouth a sandpaper affect is brought to bear upon the nipple, resulting in the excrutiation of cracked and bleeding nipples.

Thankfully, there is a plethora of information and support for new mother's today.  Books, the Internet, message boards (a quick Google search 'breastfeeding message boards' brings up a host of online support groups), hospital support and the professional expertise of lactation consultants (I had never heard of this vocation until I was in dire need of one!) can help turn a difficult start into a success story.

Though having forumula to fall back upon is a relief, it isn't something to be rushed into without a little perseverence with breastfeeding.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend 'infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.  Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.'

I was personally fortunate to have an extremely supportive husband and midwife to thank for my ability to persevere through tears and excruciating pain to successfully breasfeed my first daughter.  I recall the emtional and physical pain of feeling unable to feed my child.  After a couple of weeks of cracked and bleeding nipples, with my daughter latched on for feeds lasting in excess of an hour to increase my milk supply, I was ready to call it quits.  She wasn't gaining weight, but there were plenty of 'wet and dirty' nappies and she had a good birth weight to allow for a little loss, but she wasn't happy and neither was I. 

A visit to a lactation consultant turned everything around.  My nipples were given a little time to heal, were gaining 'flexibility' and my baby was improving her coordination (breastfeeding is definitely a team effort between mother and child!).  Some slight repositioning and lashings of 'Lansinoh' had us working like a well-oiled machine at the six week mark.

I never imagined I'd still be breastfeeding my child on her 2nd Birthday and before entering the realm of motherhood I didn't even realise this was possible, or indeed of any value.  Indeed extended breastfeeding is a very natural and normal thing to do.   Even though a toddler gets most of their nutritional requirements from solid food, breast milk still provides calories, valuable immunities, vitamins, and enzymes. In fact, studies have shown that breastfeeding toddlers get sick less often than their peers.

In short, be prepared for breastfeeding:

• Get in contact with a Lactation Consultant before baby arrives.
• Stock up on 'Lansinoh'.
• Ensure plenty of support in the family home to allow mother to rest in the first month and demand feed the baby to ensure a good milk supply.
  
• 'Air those nipples' (if one can do so without offending the neighbours - but then it is perfectly natural!).
• Consider extended breastfeeding, if it suits your personal circumstances.