By Suzana Breastfeeding – What is the Best Way to Feed Your Baby?
As a mother, you want to give the best nourishment to your children. As for newly-born infants, the best nourishment comes from the breast milk of their mothers. Therefore, it is important to know the ins and outs of proper breastfeeding.
A mother can do breastfeeding as long as she wants; and as long as she deemed it needed for her baby.
The advantages of breastfeeding include the following:
o It helps to fight certain infections.
o It helps to prevent allergies.
o It is the best way to stop baby’s tantrums.
o It is the best means to help a child who is hurt.
As women, we should know how breastfeeding affects us and our newborn baby. We have to be abreast of the scientific information needed in order to utilize its advantages further. There must be an initial stimulation of breastfeeding because it is a fact that breasts stop producing milk after giving birth. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk as the prime source of nutrients and feeding for your tots.
These are other advantages of breastfeeding:
o It aids you, the mother, to lose weight.
o It is considered as the cheapest; and, at the same time most effective means to feed your child.
From breastfeeding, the baby could receive amino acids in proteins, vitamins and enzymes. All these contribute to the complete nutrition that the baby needs at this stage.
Breastfeeding can be done 3 minutes right after giving birth. The first little sucks and bites and the first milk produced by mothers, called colostrum is the best source of nutrition for the newborn baby. When the nipples are stimulated, it also aids to stop uterine bleeding by enabling the uterus to contract.
The time comes when the baby can open one’s eyes, and place its fist into the mouth, this is the signal that the mother can now offer her breasts for feeding. Unless prescribed by doctor, never give newborn baby water filled with sugar.
The last and most important thing to know and understand is the proper manner to breastfeed a child. Here is how it should be done:
o Press gently a few drops from your nipples until it is already moistened.
o Now, encourage the baby to open his/her mouth through massaging the lips as gently as possible.
o Finally, after breastfeeding is over; do not pull your nipples away from the baby’s mouth immediately. Do it gradually and tenderly; you could start by inserting your finger into the corner of the baby’s mouth.