As a new mom, you must be tired aftermath of childbirth and
to coax your new born to breastfeed is both tough and challenging. The job of
introducing breastfeeding may be arduous that you might be tempted to start
your baby on formula.
This is where most of the moms go wrong and introduce
formula milk denying their baby the first nutritious milk or the colostrum.
Hope these below tips help in getting your newborn to nurse.
Proper Positioning
Do not put the baby on the lap and lean in to feed the baby,
sit upright and hold the baby in the arms so that his body is parallel to
yours.
Latching difficulties
After sitting in the
proper position, the next step is to latch the baby’s mouth to the breast. Put
your clean forefinger and thumb at the edges of the areola ( thumb top with
forefinger below) and guide the nipple to the baby’s mouth and ensure firm
latch. It will take a few tries to get it right, and the baby to find the right
way, please try to be patient till then.
Breastfeed Frequently
It is advisable to feed at least 8 to 12 times a day in an interval
of 4 hours so that the sucking will stimulate the neural centres and will
facilitate more milk production.
Nipple Care
Any nipple deformities or diseases may prevent the proper
latching of the baby to the breast. Talk to your doctor about treating those
problems.
Early Breastfeeding
Initiate
breastfeeding in the first hour after childbirth as that is the time when the
suckling instinct of the baby will be high.
Knowing the milk
requirements
The new born’s stomach can hold only 5 to 7 ml of milk and
initially the breast milk is of the same quantity to suffice the baby’s needs.
But many moms think that the milk is not enough and start with formula.
Hope the above tips were useful for getting your newborn to
breastfeed. If you are not to able to breastfeed even after trying these tips
you can take the help of a lactation consultant.
Author Bio
I am Dr.Hemapriya, a.k.a the “Doctor Mommy”. I am a medical
doctor by profession, no longer into active medical practice as my two little
moppets keep me pretty much busy. But, this has not stopped me from putting my
medical knowledge to good use.
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